Information
Trade Action Camp is a national conference of students activists and interested individuals who work on issues of fair trade and trade justice. It is being organized by two national student organizations: The United Students for Fair Trade and The Student Trade Justice Campaign.
This event is an opportunity for students, producers, educators, vendors, and other players in the Trade Justice movement to come together and share knowledge, experiences, and ideas. This year’s Convergence will have a strong focus on addressing the most current and pressing global crises and mobilizing the responses to these crises to implement solutions—both the Economic and Climate Crisis movement as a whole and the student movement in particular. The concept behind “Trade Action Camp” is to inspire student activists to challenge the Trade Justice movement to continue evolving by creating new goals and new interpretations of what Trade Justice is and should be.
To see pictures of last years eventm go to www.usft.org/gallery.
Since this event is entirely volunteer run by and for students, we also expect active participation from everyone when it comes to running the conference. We set the stage, but all of you make this happen!
Sessions and Topics
We currently expect to have a dozen or so classrooms for workshops and a few large rooms for community gatherings. Large rooms will hold a few hundred people while small rooms used for workshops we aim to hold about 20 attendees.
Our sessions are proposed by community volunteers. The official schedule will be based on the sessions chosen by members attending the camp! In other words, YOUR camp will be two days of kick-ass sessions chosen by YOU. Pick ONLY the sessions you plan to attend when compiling your own ultimate schedule. If you can only attend one day, pick eight instead of fifteen. We’ll keep an active tally. The sessions with the most votes will make the cut. See something you like? Add it to your schedule! What if a session doesn’t make it? Don’t worry… we’ll have an ‘open space’ time slot where you schedule your own discussions.
After we have a final schedule – sometime in the week before camp – we’ll need you to update your personal schedule from the sessions that made the cut.
Updating your schedule is super important for two reasons:
- So we can schedule the presentations in the “right-size” room.
- Secondly, and possibly cooler, we are going to be giving you a live iCal view – that means you won’t miss anything – you can walk around the camp and always have YOUR schedule up-to-date on your mobile phone or laptop.
Really, that means any changes during camp will be instantly available. Cool, huh?
What to Bring
- Your computer (and power adaptor)
- A surge protector or extension cord (labeled with your name)
- A notebook
- A reusable bottled water
- Container(s) and silverware
Also allowed
- A camera or video camera
- Podcasting gear
- Your cell phone, set to vibrate please
What NOT to Bring
- Alcohol or illegal substances of any sort
- Firearms, fireworks, etc
- Pets
- Small children (or anyone who doesn’t intend on participating in the conference)
