News

FAIRTRADE FORTNIGHT 2024 – 30 YEAR CELEBRATIONS

We circulated details from Susan Flynn of the Chifundo Fashion Show being held on Saturday 14th September in St Columba’s Hall, Chester.

Susan has now very kindly written a short report on that event and a similar one held at Neston URC Neston on Friday 20^th September  – attached below as JPEG and PDF.

Between the two events, the total proceeds were £1,169 which will be used to support Chifundo’s work with women and girls in Malawi.

We congratulate Susan and all those who helped her organise and put on these two events , and also to those who attended to lend their support and make them so successful.

Best wishes, John

John Tacon, Hon. Treasurer, Chester World Development Forum, on behalf of the CWDF Committee

24Sept-Chifundo report

EVENT April 2024

Our events calendar includes the talk on Tax Justice on 9th April in Wesley Church Centre – informative poster displayed here:

EVENTS Feb – March 2024

Two posters displayed here, one for the weekly series of Lent Lunches at various venues, organised by Christian Aid, the other for the Chester Fairtrading Spring Fair at Wesley Church Centre on 9 March.

CWDF FORUM  14 November 2023

• Here are the minutes of the final meeting of the Forum in its present form. Discussions are underway in the CWDF Committee regarding a continuing presence in the form of an Information Hub. The minutes cover the attendance of Chester’s Lord Mayor Cllr Sheila Little, and the former City of Chester MP Christine Russell – who jointly performed the cake cutting, celebrating the 30 years of the Forum 1993-2023. 231114 CWDF Forum Minutes 14Nov23
• Here is Bernard’s PowerPoint presentation, shown to the Forum as part of the 30-year celebration: Presentation 14-11-23 draft

CWDF FORUM  13 July 2023

• Here is the agenda for our meeting, at which we will welcome Sam Dixon, MP for the City of Chester. She will share thoughts on her time as new MP, and on a number of issues of special interest to CWDF.
• 230713 Forum Agenda 13July

CWDF AGM 9 May 2023

• Prior to the AGM business Steve Hughes, Chair of the Chester Sustainability Forum gave us a very helpful overview of some of the initiatives, campaigns and events currently happening or being developed by members of CSF.
• In the business part of the Forum the present chair, Terry Green, Treasurer John Tacon, and the present committee made up of Lindsay Lloyd-Cussons, Bernard Payne, Gill Miller and Ann McCarthy all agreed to continue until end of year. Members present agreed to this. CWDF in its present form will come to an end at the end of 2023, but the Committee will be considering options for it to continue as an information source.
• 230509 AGM minutes 09May23

CWDF Forum 14 March 2023

• Prior to the business meeting, Dr Rebecca Collins, Senior Lecturer in Human Geography, University of Chester, gave a highly informative talk on “Current Trends and Challenges in the Global Fashion Industry”. The talk highlighted the significant social and environmental impacts arising from the demands for “fast fashion” and the various initiatives that are underway seeking more sustainable solutions.  230314 Forum Minutes 14March23

CWDF Forum 10 January 2023

The first Forum of the New Year included a PowerPoint presentation by Gill Miller on a key theme emerging from the UN COP 27 Conference: Loss and Damage. Click on this opening image to listen to Gill’s presentation, a 50 minute talk illustrated with PowerPoint slides:

• Or, click here for the uncommentated version of the PowerPoint: COP 27 Loss and Damage presentation
• Or, click here for the PDF version: COP 27 Loss and Damage presentation

CWDF Forum minutes 15 November 2022

• Here are the November Forum minutes, including the note of Paul Tacon’s highly illuminating talk on Global Migration: 221115 Forum Minutes 15Nov22 with Paul Tacon talk

CWDF END-OF-YEAR LETTER

• As we draw very near to Christmas and the end of 2022, here is CWDF Chair Terry Green’s end of year letter. It provides a round up of our activities during the course of the year. It thanks you for your support over the year, and sends our good wishes for 2023. The letter is here both as a PDF, and as JPEG images of the two pages.

CWDF End of Year letter 2022 final

• Here’s the PDF version of our latest Diary of events, version of 20th November 2022:
  • Diary 22-11-20

And here are posters for two forthcoming events listed in the Diary:  online event on 30th November offered by Christian Aid Liverpool,  and the Folk Jazz fusion event on 9th December offered by Chester Friends of Palestine.

Here’s the poster for CWDF’s next meeting, on Tuesday 15th November in Best Building on the University’s Parkgate Road campus. Our guest speaker will be introduced via Zoom, and will be talking on the very significant issues around global migration.

• Latest CWDF Diary, 21st October 2022:
• Diary 22-11-10

• July Forum minutes, with note of talk “Jamie’s Fund and Uganda”, by Linda and Stewart Shuttleworth
• Forum mins 19-7-22 with Shuttleworth talk

• AGM May 10th 2022
• Chester World Development Forum held its AGM on May 10th 2022.
• Here are the Minutes and supporting Documents:
• 220510 AGM minutes 10May22 
• CWDF AGM Report 2021 to 2022 10May22
• 2021 CWDF financial report

• Presentation by Dominic Brain, March 2nd 2022
• The Forum and the University of Chester hosted a Presentation by Dominic Brain from Christian Aid entitled “Disaster Resilience and Social Safety in Nigeria”.   Notes from the meeting:  Notes on Dominic Brain presentation 02Mar22
• Meeting with MP, January 25th 2022
• The Forum was pleased to meet with City of Chester MP, Chris Matheson, on January 25th.      Report on the meeting:
• 220125 Meeting with MP 25Jan22
• Chester COP26 Exhibition, November 6th 2021
• CWDF was pleased to go “out and about” again at last! We had a stall at the Chester COP26 Exhibition in the Cloisters of Chester Cathedral on Saturday November 6th. We were pleased to chat with Real People and to distribute our new leaflet.
• 
• 

MEANWHILE … CWDF members were out and about at COP26- related events elsewhere:

Liverpool:

Brighton:

• CWDF AGM, 11 MAY 2021

Here are the minutes of the meeting, along with notes of the talk by Henry Sidsaph, and CWDF Chair Terry Green’s round-up of what has, for everyone, been a very difficult year coping with the pandemic:

• Forum mins AGM 11-5-21
• Henry Sidsaph talk 13May21
• CWDF Annual Report 2020-21 Final version

• CWDF “EXTRA”, 12 APRIL 2021

This was the first of our “Extra” sessions, utilising the possibilities of Zoom to host a meeting between the dates of the regular bi-monthly Forum meetings. In this session we took up the offer of a talk by professional photographer Jim Holmes about the Lower Mekong Basin – an area in which he had worked over a number of years, including commissions with the trans-national body the Mekong River Commission.

Here is the note of Jim’s very interesting talk: Jim Holmes – Lower Mekong 12-4-21

• CWDF FORUM-BY-ZOOM, 8 SEPTEMBER 2020
  

Our Forum business agenda was preceded by a talk by Namrata Bhattacharya-Mis, Gill Miller’s successor as Senior Tutor in International Development at the University. Namrata’s talk ‘Twin peril of Disaster among Pandemics –  Reflections from the Global South” was based on her research interests, which this summer focussed on India and Bangladesh following the super cyclone which hit the area on May 20^th 2020.

Here are the notes of Namrata’s talk,  and the minutes of the Forum business meeting.

• CWDF FORUM, 14 JULY – CANCELLED

CWDF Committee held a Zoom session on Monday 8th June to review activities given prospects for the gradual easing of the lockdown. Many uncertainties remain both for the near term and longer term. However, it was clear that it would be impractical to hold the scheduled Forum meeting on 14 July – and if current social distancing requirements hold we will need to assess the suitability of our regular meeting venues.

This Zoom session was a “first” for several of our Committee, but it worked well, and experience elsewhere suggests that Zoom meetings – at various scales – can provide a useful (but very incomplete) replacement for face-to-face gatherings until circumstances change. We will shortly be circulating our members to ask them about their experience with Zoom and whether they have the necessary facilities to take part in Zoom sessions.

The Committee will be Zooming again on Monday 6th July, hoping to take matters forward.

• CWDF AGM, 12 MAY – POSTPONED

In the light of the Coronavirus pandemic and lockdowns the CWDF Committee has decided that the next Forum meeting on 12th May should be cancelled, with the AGM held on a later date – sometime after the lifting of the present lockdown. In the meantime our latest mailing includes the Annual Report prepared by our Chair, Terry Green: CWDF Annual Report April 2020

The latest Diary gives an indication of the scale of the cancellations and postponements of meetings and activities in our local area: Diary-2020-version-22-04-20   Our dearest hopes must be that the nations of the world will be united in finding the medical solutions and the care resources necessary throughout the world – in developed and developing countries alike.

• CWDF March Forum – Talk on “Jamie’s Fund”

Here are the notes of the Forum meeting held on 10th March. The meeting was preceded by a very informative talk from the Shuttleworths about their involvement with “Jamie’s Fund” which was set up in support work concerning mental health development in Kisiizi, Uganda. Forum mins 10-3-20 plus Shuttleworth talk

• Climate Change update by Colin Watson at CWDF Forum 41-1-20

Here is the note of Colin’s talk: Colin Watson climate change update 14 1 20

And here are the PDF versions of the 2 PowerPoint presentations – the 1st tailored to CWDF, the 2nd given to the Chester Sustainability Forum:

Colin Watson Climate Emergency presentation 14-1-20

Colin Watson CSF presentation 20-1-20

• “Degrowth” presentation by Natalia Jancewicz, 12-11-19

Here are notes of the talk given by Natalia to the Forum meeting on 12th November 2019 – a descriptive note, and a link to the pdf version of the PowerPoint presentation.

Natalia’s presentation 12-11-19     Natalia Jancewicz Degrowth 12-11-19 pdf of PowerPoint

• •    “Responding to the Imperatives of Climate Change”:  University/ CWDF joint meeting 27-11-19

Very informative and well-attended lecture by Dr Jane Fisher, Centre for Alternative Technology, Machynlleth: The presentation included material drawing from the Centre’s publication Zero Carbon Britain – the latest edition of which was due to be published the following day.

Here’s the link to the pdf of Jane’s presentation (which with Jane’s kind agreement can be freely shared):  Responding to the imperatives of CC

And here’s the CAT link that gives access to the ZCB publication: www.cat.org.uk/new-report-zero-carbon-britain-rising-to-the-climate-emergency/

• CWDF Forum meeting  10-9-19 – Wetlands talk
  

Here are the notes of the talks given by Andy Scargill and Dr Christian Dunn , plus the pdf version of the PowerPoint presentation – with Christian’s kind agreement:

Wetlands Talk 10-9-19      Chester Wetland Public Talk – Forum

• Global Climate Strike 20-9-19

Very good turnout in front of Chester Town Hall, drawing from all age groups. Good range of speeches and impressive display of placards and banners. (Click on different portions of the panorama to enlarge)

• “The Time Is Now” Climate Coalition Lobby 25-6-19

Chester people joined over 12,000 people in Westminster to tell our politicians #TheTimeIsNow to end our contribution to climate change and restore our natural environment. Pictures here of meeting with Chris Matheson MP.

• CWDF AGM 14-5-19 – Minutes and Notes

Here are the minutes of the AGM held at The Unity Centre: Mins AGM 14-5-19

And here are the notes of the talk given by Shantele Janes prior to the business part of the AGM: Shantele Janes talk AGM 14 5 19     Shantele is Director of CHAWREC, the Cheshire, Halton & Warrington Racial Equality Centre, which is based at The Unity Centre. Shantele gave us an outline of CHAWREC’s overall activities, then looking in more detail at their work with asylum seekers and refugees.

• CWDF AGM 14-5-19

In readiness for our AGM on Tuesday 14th May here is Terry’s Annual Report for the period May 2018 – April 2019:  CWDF Annual Report May 2019

Prior to the AGM business we’ll be hearing from CHAWREC Director Shantele Janes about their work – with particular reference to their work with refugees and asylum seekers. (CHAWREC = Chester, Halton & Warrington Racial Equality Centre. Their headquarters is The Unity Centre, where we have our CWDF Forum meetings.)

• Christian Aid “Big Shift” campaign

Message from Katy Rowe: We braved the bad weather on 4 April and lobbied HSBC to reduce their fossil fuel investments!

• Talk on COP 24, Krakow

A note of the talk given by Catherine Green given to the Forum on 19th February 2019. Catherine was part of the CAFOD contingent at the Climate Change gathering. Catherine Greens Report 19 2 2019

• Finance and debt in the global economy

A note of the talk given to the Forum on 5th March 2019 by Nick Dearden, Director of Global Justice Now. Finance and debt in the global economy ND

• Chester Stop the War Conference on Palestine, 3rd November 2018:

There was a good attendance at the conference “Palestine; Reframing the Debate”.  Joseph O’Neill has supplied a  You Tube link to all the presentations:  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLd7iHpo9XmzpSO49hdFKQPb5XjdYrPu4F

• CWDF 25-year Celebration:

Here are the PowerPoint presentations shown at the Celebration:

Presentation 22-6-18 pdf    CWDF 25 celebrations Gill pdf

• CWDF 25-year Celebration, 22nd June 2018:

The celebration event proved to be a very enjoyable gathering – and Hoole Community Centre can be recommended as an excellent venue! We welcomed a number of supporters from the very early days, alongside more recent members.  Chris Matheson MP and Christine Russell, former MP, were both there – giving encouragement for CWDF to carry on the good work for the next 25 years! We were also lucky that Linda and Romy Tiongco are currently back from the Philippines for a while, so they too were able to join us. (And Gill Miller’s mobile phone buzzed with a goodwill message from Gyles Brandreth!)

Here’s the above photo collage as a PDF: 25 Year event collage

• CWDF 25-year Celebration, 22nd June 2018: Here are the details of the celebratory event we are holding. Please RSVP to Ann McCarthy, preferably by Friday 15th June:

• Annual Report, April 2018:  Here is the annual review prepared by CWDF Chair Terry Green and received at the AGM held on Tuesday 8th May 2018. CWDF Annual Report April 2018
• The work of Amnesty International: Note of talk given at the March Forum meeting by Mike Johnson, chair of the Chester & Wrexham Group of Amnesty International: Mike Johnson talk 13-3-18

• Fairtrade Fortnight in Chester: “Come on In!”

A couple of important events coming up in Chester to celebrate Fairtrade Fortnight 2018:

• Climate Change, Displacement – Christian Aid’s key campaigns for 2018: Note of a talk given to the January 2018 Forum meeting by Sarah Rowe, CA’s Campaigns Strategy Lead. Sarah Rowe talk 9-1-18

• “Fracking, not welcome here – or anywhere”: Here is a note of the very informative talk by Colin Watson, given to the Forum meeting on 14th November 2017: Fracking 14-11-17   And here is Colin’s edited version of his PowerPoint presentation: Fracking pptx
• Christian Aid’s “Big Shift” Campaign: On Thursday 26th October 2017, Forum members joined forces with Christian Aid members to take “Prudence Pig” to the  Chester branches of the main banks. This was all in support of  the CA campaign for the banks to put more of “our” money away from fossil fuel ventures and into renewables. For more about the “Big Shift” campaign go to … www.christianaid.org.uk/campaigns/climate-change/the-big-shift

…. and here are the photos Prudence Pig at four of the Chester banks [click for full size]:

• CWDF Forum, Tuesday 12th September 2017: the start of our 25th Year! We’d love to see you there …

Here’s a glimpse of some of the things we’ve been up to over those 25 years …

• CWDF AGM 2017: This was held on 9th May 2017. Click here to view the Annual Report that was presented at that meeting. And click here to view a PDF version of the PowerPoint presentation “CWDF Sustainable Futures” that a group of University of Chester students showed at the AGM. The students had been commissioned to look at the operation of the Forum and to make recommendations on how it might make its membership broader and more sustainable.

• Talk by Stephen Twigg MP:  Here is the note of the talk by Stephen Twigg MP, given in the Binks Building, University of Chester on 7th October 2016. The talk was on the work of the Commons Select Committee on International Development, which Stephen chairs.

• CWDF AGM 2016: The Forum’s AGM was held at The Unity Centre on 10th May. Click here to view the Annual Report that was presented, outlining the activities of the Forum over the previous 12 months:

• The Paris Agreement: Here is our note of the talk given by Rob Elsworth of CAFOD on 2nd February 2016, to a joint meeting of CWDF and the University of Chester’s Department of Geography and International Development: Note of Rob Elsworth talk 2-2-16        And here is the link to the pdf version of Rob’s full PowerPoint presentation: COP21_Chester_Event_020116