Fairtrade Fortnight runs from Monday 23 February to Sunday 8 March 2009

Fairtrade Fortnight will be celebrated by Newcastle’s Tyneside Cinema in March 2009 as it teams up with two fair trade organisations in the city.

Newcastle Fairtrade Partnership and fair trade lender Shared Interest are working with the cinema on Pilgrim Street to combine film, music and fashion for an event that will also play host to Divine Chocolate farmers from Ghana.

Part of the event will take place in the Tyneside Bar, with free entry from 12.30pm on Sunday 1 March. There will be music from live band Jinski, alongside stalls from ethical online retailer Ethicalsuperstore.com, and there’ll be some fair trade goody bags up for grabs.

The event includes a discussion from the Divine Chocolate farmers from Ghana’s Kuapa Kokoo cooperative, who will take centre stage to explain first hand the positive impact fair trade has on their lives. Following this, priced at £3.00 a ticket, Tyneside Cinema is offering a special screening of Stephanie Black’s film Life and Debt. Each person attending the screening and talk will be entered into a free prize draw for a chance to take home a Divine Chocolate luxury hamper.

Tyneside Cinema’s audience development manager Jonny Tull said:

Fair trade is such a significant part of consumer life and Fairtrade Fortnight shows how it is about so much more than a label on food. The Tyneside Cinema is really looking forward to hosting an event that will help people learn more about fair trade in such a fun way.

Shared Interest’s managing director Patricia Alexander added:

For people who are interested in knowing more about fair trade, this is a great chance to get a real insight into the stories behind the products and see how decisions we make in our everyday lives can have a huge impact in the developing world.

For instance, the chocolate market in the UK alone is worth over £3 billion a year, which gives you an idea of the difference made to cocoa farmers and their families if even just a small part of this is harnessed by the fair trade movement.

Contact the Tyneside Cinema Box Office on 0845 217 9909 to buy tickets for Life and Debt; the remainder of the event is free. Fairtrade Fortnight takes place between Monday 23 February and Sunday 8 March.