SARUM U3A
U3As (Universities of the Third Age) are self-help, self-managed lifelong learning co-operatives for older people no longer in full time work, providing opportunities for their members to share learning experiences in a wide range of interest groups and to pursue learning not for qualifications but for fun. The three Salisbury U3As (Salisbury, Sarum and Spire), with a combined total of over 1000 members, work jointly to promote togetherness, sharing group activities and social events.
At the Sarum U3A Coffee Morning in September speaker Jane Munro assisted by Hilary Cox posed the question “Fairtrade – Is it Important?” and then proceeded to demonstrate that it most certainly is. The Fairtrade Foundation was formed in 1992 with the aim of creating a world in which every person through their work can sustain their families and communities with dignity. It is the only independent consumer guarantee of a fair deal for producers in the developing world. Its six objectives are: for farmers to receive a fair price for their products; producers to have the opportunity to improve their lives through a social premium; to afford greater respect to the environment; to strengthen the position of small farmers in world markets; to forge closer links between shoppers and producers; to avoid the use of child labour. The Fairtrade movement grows in strength with increasing numbers of supermarkets and food manufacturers supporting the cause.
At a local level, in 2008 Salisbury was awarded Fairtrade city status and Salisbury High School has become the first Fairtrade School.
