Meetings

SRW 2006: Advocating Fair Trade and Social Marketing

This year’s Subregional Workshop (SRW) on Fair Trade and Social Marketing of Homenet Southeast Asia was held in the Philippines, 23-25 November, jointly sponsored by UNIFEM-ESE Asia, Oxfam Hongkong, Fair Trade Alliance, and Asia Fair Trade Forum (AFTF). The venue, very near the town of Angono, is the idyllic Lake Island Resort in Binangonan, Rizal. Angono is known for its unique cultural life and history, with its citizens having achieved much in the field of painting, music, sculpture and native artistic traditions.

The objectives of the workshop were to facilitate exchange of experiences, and deepen knowledge and skills regarding fair trade advocacy, product development and promotion through participatory video, e-commerce, and other means, in the context of the issues, concerns, and aspirations of producers/workers in the informal economy.

Official representatives of Homenet SEA and leaders of national Homenets from Thailand, Indonesia, Laos, and the Philippines, participated in the workshop. Local participants from various producer groups, as well as representatives from fair trade groups in Vietnam, Cambodia and Timor Leste were also present to share their experiences.

Workshop Activities

Official representatives of Homenet Southeast Asia, leaders of national Homenets, local producer groups and foreign representatives from fair trade groups during the Subregional Workshop on Fair Trade and Social Marketing.

Participants arrived on November 22, which allowed them time for setting up their display in exhibit booths at the town plaza of Angono where foreign and local buyers converged.

On the morning of November 23, host organizations, through their leaders or representatives, each provided opening remarks.

Dr. Rosalinda Pineda Ofreneo, Homenet SEA Regional Coordinator, thanked the following for making the event possible: PATAMABA as host organization that provided technical and organizational support; AFTF for the linkage that made possible the presence of fair trade organizations: Artisans Association of Cambodia, Craft Link of Vietnam and Alola Foundation of Timor Leste; Fair Trade Alliance (FTA) for providing substantive inputs on the ASEAN situation as well as a small financial contribution; and Oxfam Hong Kong for the substantial material support that supplemented UNIFEM funding. Antonina Tina, National president of PATAMABA, welcomed everyone to the workshop and expressed elation over the opportunity for homeworkers to be seen and heard.

Philippine former Senator Wigberto Tanada, Lead Convenor of the Fair Trade Alliance, provided a background on the neo-liberal version of ASEAN’s economic progress, but forwarded a vision of a people-oriented ASEAN region that aptly addresses the real ASEAN situation. Claribel David, Convenor of the Asia Fair Trade Forum, welcomed Homenet SEA into the fair trade movement in Asia. Lot Felizco of Oxfam Hong Kong expressed concern over the issues of homeworkers, how fair trade and social marketing can help address these issues, and volunteered to work in partnership with other organizations to further pursue homeworkers’ cause.

Abhik Gosh of the ILO Subregional Office in Manila expressed his office’s full support of homeworkers’ advocacy towards the ratification of ILO Convention 177 on Homework. Finally, Prof. Joyce Caragay, spoke of the involvement of the University of the Philippines College of Social Work and Community Development (U.P. -CSWCD), in partnership with Homenet SEA and PATAMABA, in heeding the call towards social marketing and fair trade, and its full support for a just, sustainable and fair economy, especially for the homeworkers.

The first resource speaker on opening day was Dr. Rene E. Ofreneo, Executive Director, Fair Trade Alliance, who provided an in-depth insight on the ASEAN trade situation entitled “ASEAN Rising: What is in it for the Peoples?” Prof. Ofreneo went further to address how the ASEAN can truly become an economic community of the ASEAN majority, meaning the working population.

Dr. Donna L. Doane, Research Consultant, Homenet SEA, presented a topic entitled “Moving Up the Hierarchy: Local Markets, ASEAN, and Beyond”. She stressed the many things that organizations can do to help homebased workers “lower” in the hierarchy move up. Dr. Doane also pointed out that learning how to move “up” the hierarchy is a step-by-step learning process, and will involve gaining greater knowledge, contacts, and flexibility; and that being part of a network or union, and having ties with external individuals or organizations that can help with this learning process will be extremely important.

Noemi Bautista, Program Manager of the Asia Fair Trade Forum, provided a thorough discussion on the following: brief background on the AFTF; basics of fair trade; history and social meaning of fair trade; labeling; how to become a fair trade member and experiences in selling products at fair trade markets.

In the afternoon, Homenets Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines and Laos shared their country experiences in relation to fair trade. (Their presentations are featured in subsequent pages of this newsmagazine). The sharing continued during the morning session of November 24 which witnessed the presentations of fair trade groups from Vietnam (Craft Link), Cambodia (Artisans Association of Cambodia) and Timor Leste (Alola Foundation).

Resource speakers conducted innovative learning sessions for the day: Ma. Gichelle A. Cruz of U.P. CSWCD discussed the participatory video method (PV) as an innovative tool for social marketing. Representing WINNER-TIPS, Ben Milano’s “From Margin to Mainstream – Multiplying Opportunities by Narrowing the Digital Divide” elicited much interest from the participants. “Social Marketing in Fair Trade” was discussed by Myrna Sunico, herself an industrial designer, and member of APFTI - Advocates of Philippine Fair Trade, Inc.

The much awaited multimedia-supported fashion show entitled Fashioning Fair Trade: Disenyo at Sariling Likha took place at the Angono Gym starting at 9:00 in the evening.

Homeworker leaders as models of their own creations during the fashion show entitled Fashioning Fair Trade: Disenyo at Sariling Likha

The event showcased informal workers’ products crafted by the homeworkers of Homenets Thailand, Indonesia, Laos, Vietnam and the Philippines. An interesting feature of the fashion show was the enthusiastic participation of homeworker leaders and their children as fashion models of their own creations.

On the last day, November 25, simultaneous activities were Homenet Southeast Asia’s Subregional Council’s meeting and an exposure trip to PATAMABA’s homeworkers’ communities in Balingasa, Quezon City, and Angono, Rizal. Capping the 3-day workshop was a Solidarity Night and closing rites.