So what is InspirA(C)Tion?

At 5Colours1World, we believe that without inspiration, we cannot live and experience life to its fullest. We must be ‘Inspired’ and we must take ‘ACTion’ on behalf of the issues and causes we believe in. Inspir(ACT)ion!

We have had the great fortune to encounter those who have inspired us. The people who have sacrificed in order to give us the freedoms that many of us in "Richer?" countries enjoy and sometimes take for granted, like Our grandparents and parents, teachers and students, innovative companies, organizations and foundations and numerous individuals who truly inspire us to do more then talk.  They inspire us to be ACTive CITIZENS, to get in the game of life, to stand up for the oppressed, to speak out and to work creatively on behalf of justice. They truly InspirA(C)Tion. Here are just a few of the people and initiatives that are working constructively and positively for societal change.

Nobel Peace Prize Winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel

Stuart, Gregory, Nobel Peace Peace Prize Winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel
and Dune filming Adolfo on a Green Screen before a public discussion.

We had the immense pleasure and honor to meet two incredible human beings. First, we traveled to Ljubljana, Slovenia to meet and interview Zlata Filipovich, writer of #1 Bestseller ‘Zlata´s Diary’ and ‘Stolen Voices’. Zlata shared with us her experiences of war torn Sarajevo, growing up in a multi-cultural city and receiving 150 letters from the Freedom Writers inviting her to California.

We then traveled to Santa Monica, California to meet and interview Erin Gruwell, co-author of ‘The Freedom Writers Diary’ which was made into a film starring Hilary Swank. Erin speaks so clearly, intelligently and passionately about the rewards and challenges that teachers face. How we must remember the past so that we do not repeat such atrocities, how idealism is alive and can change the world, how every child matters, her teaching experiences, how she learned from her students and how we can coexist with other cultures in a constructive, positive and rewarding way.

According to Erin Gruwell, "It was Zlata´s book that inspired her students the most because they identified with this young girl who was the same age as them."

Chimamanda Adichie: The Danger of a Single Story
This is a must see, she is powerful, brilliant and funny

Sir Ken Robinson: Bring on the learning revolution!

In this poignant, funny follow-up to his fabled 2006 talk, Sir Ken Robinson makes
the case for a radical shift from standardized schools to personalized learning
----------------- creating conditions where kids' natural talents can flourish.

The Power Of FairTrade

Fair Trade leverages the power of people working together across the supply chain. From Fair Trade farmers and artisans in developing countries, to Fair Trade distributors around the world, to the Fair Trade consumers at the end of the supply chain, each individual involved in a Fair Trade transaction ensures the health and well-being of workers, communities, and the environment (umwelt).

Here’s what you’re supporting when you buy Fair Trade:

A fair price for products

For commodities, like coffee and cocoa, Fair Trade certifying organizations establish a fair price that guarantees farmers will be able to meet their living needs, with enough left over for them to improve their communities. The Fair Trade price always includes a “social premium” over normal market prices.

Empowerment and self-sufficiency

Fair Trade offers an alternative to small farmers who are at a disadvantage in the “free market”system.

Women’s participation and equal pay,

Fair Trade ensures that women are paid equally for their work. Additionally, premiums from Fair Trade production are invested back into the community and can mean improvements in women’s lives. Often these premiums are used for education and job training, giving women an opportunity to work outside their homes, an option that many didn’t have before. Fair Trade encourages women’s participation in and leadership of cooperatives.

No Child labour,

Fair Trade ensures that no children are being exploited. Fair Trade also ensures that children have a chance to go to school instead of working in a factory or in dangerous conditions.

Environmental sustainability

Fair Trade’s focus on what’s good for communities means that Fair Trade producers are encouraged to use environmentally friendly practices that preserve the health of the soil, air, water, and workers in the fi eld. Fair Trade certification ensures that farmers obey all internationally monitored environmental standards, while empowering farmers and farm workers with financial incentives and resources for organic conversion, reforestation, water conservation, and environmental education.

Transparency and accountability

Are basic principles of the Fair Trade model, and farmers have a voice in how their profits are used to benefit their communities. For example, many Fair Trade farmers belong to cooperatives or associations that are transparent and democratically controlled by their members. For other Fair Trade producers who work on larger plantations, Fair Trade provides revenue that is invested in a community fund that is managed and controlled by the farmers themselves.
“Arturo Jiménez Gómez works for Cooptrabasur,a Costa Rican banana cooperative formed by former Chiquita banana workers. “Before Fair Trade I was someone that took a box and loaded it onto a train,” he told the Fairtrade Foundation. “That was my only responsibility. I was just a farmer, an intermediary. In this new system, I have become an international businessman. ... [I am] looked upon asa human being, not an object.”

Investment in communities

Fair Trade producer groups reinvest their profits into strengthening their businesses and communities, building health clinics and schools,starting scholarship funds, building housing,providing leadership training, and establishing programs for women.

“A bite of Fair Trade chocolate means a lot to peasant farmers in the global South,” says Kwabena Ohemeng-Tinyase, the managing director of Kuapa Kokoo, a cocoa cooperative in Ghana. “It opens doors to development and gives children access to healthcare, education, and a decent standard ofliving.”

What’s more, importers of Fair Trade products establish direct, long-term, stable relationships with producer groups, guaranteeing that producers will continue to benefi t from Fair Trade for years.Producers don’t live in fear of losing their community’s livelihood. Fair Trade companies agree to respect and preserve the cultural heritage of their producer communities, and Fair Trade craft businesses help artisan producers fi nd markets for their traditional handicrafts, artwork, and apparel.