The big moment has finally arrived: On April 19, 2023, Hochschule Geisenheim University will be awarded the status of a Fairtrade University in recognition of our commitment to promoting fair trade at various levels. We are only the second university in the whole of Hesse to receive this title, and our university community will celebrate this great success during an extended lunch break between 11 am and 2:30 pm.
In the official award ceremony, which starts at 12:30 in the Gerd Erbslöh Lecture Hall, our guests will learn more about the importance of fair trade in general and what it means for Hochschule Geisenheim University in particular. They will also have the chance to taste fair trade products during a reception with sparkling wine and juice, and a fair trade lunch prepared by our cafeteria team. The lunch will be rounded off with a themed pub quiz, with a package of fair trade university products as the main prize.
The commitment to fair trade fits perfectly into the profile of Hochschule Geisenheim University as research and teaching at our “new type” university covers the entire value chain of high-quality food and beverages. Special crops, which we usually see in the form of a finished product rather than during cultivation, include cocoa, coffee and cotton – typical fair trade products that cannot be grown in our local climate zone. In this context, fair trade certifications have been achieved to make sure that small farmers in the Global South receive a fair price for biodiverse and climate-adapted agriculture, as their livelihoods are threatened by climate change and low world market prices. Hochschule Geisenheim University lives up to its responsibility as a role model by actively promoting fair trade.
The awarding of the Fair Trade status is the official start of a series of events organized by the university's Green Office, which was established in 2022. News from the Green Office and information about upcoming events will be posted on our website (https://www.hs-geisenheim.de/en/university/campus/sustainability/).
