WFTO-Europe Board of Directors is currently composed of:
Juan José Martinez (Oxfam Intermón, Spain)
Caterina Occhio (SeeMe, the Netherlands)
Manfred Winkler (Globo Fair Trade Partner, Germany)
Martin Rhodes (Scottish Fair Trade Forum, UK)
WFTO-Europe staff currently includes:
Mikkel Kofod Nørgård, WFTO-Europe Coordinator
My name is Mikkel Kofod Nørgård, I am from Denmark and since September, 2020 I am WFTO-Europe’s Coordinator. From September 2018, I was WFTO-Europe’s Junior Project Officer. I am coordinating the European branch and am responsible for developing and implementing our fundraising strategy. Should you, as a member of our network, have any questions or requests do not hesitate to contact me. Similarly, I am always interested in hearing about your needs and difficulties as a Fair Trade organisation, since I firmly believe our fund-raising activities should focus on meeting the needs and building capacities for our members.
Concerning my background, I have a bachelor’s degree in Japan Studies, and a Master’s in International Studies from University of Aarhus in Denmark. Throughout my studies of international relations, Asia, and international political economy, I have focused particularly on inequality on both national and international level. It is clear to me that poverty and the stark gap in state of development between many countries are structural problems born from a highly flawed world economy and trade system. Therefore, I was extremely happy for the opportunity to intern here at WFTO-Europe in the Autumn of 2016, where I learned about an existing and feasible alternative model: Fair Trade. Particularly, I am very keen on Fair Trade’s commitment to constant improvement, empowerment of the marginalised, and striving for decent and transparent working conditions and fair payment for workers and producers. While Fair Trade is naturally most urgent for many communities in the global South, the strengths of this alternative model for world trade can and should benefit everyone across the world. This will be my approach to working here at WFTO-Europe.
Contact: coordination@wfto-europe.org
Elena Sbaragli, Project and Advocacy Officer
Hi everyone 🙂
In January 2024 I started to work with WFTO-Europe as Project and Advocacy Officer, but my journey within the Fair Trade movement has started way before, precisely in 2021, after graduating in International Relations and Diplomatic Affairs at the University of Bologna.
About myself, I can surely say that I have always been invested in volunteering activities, because I am convinced by the importance of being active citizens and helping each other. Also due to this, I highly value the Fair Trade network since it takes care of a wide range of topics, such as fair wages, gender equality, and climate justice, all matters that are close to my heart. Moreover, considering the world we are living in, I believe in the need of linking the dots and operating under a broad vision, realising how everything is highly interconnected.
Regarding my role in WFTO-Europe, my tasks are mostly related to looking for new opportunities related to projects and partners, but also executing the ongoing projects, organising webinars and workshops, and last but not least, in the following and advocate for the European files that are relevant for our members.
Contact: projects@wfto-europe.org
Hi! My name is Margherita, I’m 25 and I come from Milan, Italy.
I’m finishing my last semester of a Master’s degree in European Affairs at Sciences Po Bordeaux in France, and currently I am the intern in Project Management and Fundraising.
My daily tasks can vary a lot: not only do I help develop projects and raise funds, but I also regularly reach out to WFTO-Europe’s members, organize working groups with them on specific issues, and help in administrative tasks.
I find my tasks to be very stimulating and enriching, and I especially love talking to members and listening to what they want to share with us, be it successful achievements or issues they may be dealing with. Furthermore, this experience in Brussels allowed me to conjugate two of my passions: working for NGOs and exploring the EU bubble.
Outside of office hours, I especially enjoy running, eating waffles and winning kahoots on EU Institutions with my partner in crime, Giorgia.
Contacts: administration@wfto-europe.org
Giorgia Dal Fabbro, Communication and Advocacy Assistant
Hi! I’m Giorgia from Italy and I am the new Communication and Advocacy Intern at WFTO-Europe! I am in charge of managing social media as well as all the communications at the Office while I also assist with project tasks.
I recently graduated with a degree in European and International Studies from the University of Trento writing my thesis on the gendered impacts of climate change in a small Fair Trade organization in rural Kenya, where I lived and worked with the local community for three months. As a student of international studies I have sat in many lectures dealing with inequality, infringement of human rights and climate change and wondered about how to face these global challenges and what my personal role could be. As I stepped into the World Shop of my hometown, however, I was struck to find out that someone who offers concrete solutions to these issues already exists and has been working towards social and environmental justice for decades! I kept asking myself “Why is not everybody talking about this?” and “If only a small niche of the global market is fair and respects the people and the planet, what kind of market is the rest of it? How have we come to consider that market the “traditional market”?” These questions have guided my participation in the Fair Trade movement ever since, motivating me to take on all kinds of volunteering activities, internships and international projects like the Young People for Sustainable Economy (YPSE) and Altromercato’s Laboratorio InnovAzione, which groups young Fair Trade activists from all over Italy.
At WFTO-Europe I look forward to contributing to spreading awareness about Fair Trade values and its potential in changing the world we live in.
When I am not thinking about Fair Trade, I am probably dreaming about ice-cream or complaining about Belgium’s weather.
Contact: communication@wfto-europe.org