To begin your 1st year, apply for a Lead position of your choice. Then, undergo fair trade training to increase your knowledge as a fair trade advocate. This is a 2-3 hour process, after which you will need to pass a short quiz by 70% to prove your knowledge. Once trained, you can start planning what you want to do during the year, with the support of fair trade leaders across Canada! The time commitment is 10-20 hours/semester.

Year 1 positions:

• Social Media Lead (Communications Team): Designs social media campaigns and promotes global and SFU fair trade events. Ideally posts 1/week for ongoing campaigns and as needed for other events. Skills employed: graphic design, research, writing, media presence.
• Blog and News Lead (Communications Team): Writes blog posts on the fair trade topics of their choice; ideally posts 1/month. Writes at least 2 fair trade articles to be published in The Peak newspaper. Skills employed: research, writing, editing.
• Survey Lead (Communications Team): Designs and executes a campus-wide survey assessing fair trade knowledgeability in students and staff. Skills employed: concise writing, communications, analytics.
• Events Lead (Events and Education Team): Plans and organizes engaging events, ideally 1/month, to inform students about fair trade. Skills employed: planning, team coordination, public speaking, research.
• Presentations Lead (Events and Education Team): Facilitates the increase of awareness and education about fair trade through various presentations, on and off campus. Skills employed: public speaking, research, communication.
• Elementary/Childcare Lead (Events and Education Team): Collaborates with the Highlands Elementary School and SFU Childcare to introduce fair trade themes to children; edits and redesigns previously used content. Skills employed: communication, research, working with children.

    As a 2nd year Fair Trade Ambassador, you have the opportunity to take on more of a leadership role as a Team Lead. In this position, you will oversee the 1st year Lead operations, hold meetings, and offer guidance and support. The Team Lead is usually sponsored to travel to a country in the global south as part of the year’s Trip to Origin to learn about the production and export end of our global supply chains. Upon your return, you will write a trip summary report and present about the experience to the other ambassadors. The time commitment is 10-20 hours/semester.

Year 2 positions:

• Communications Team Leader
• Events and Education Team Leader

    By your 3rd year as a Fair Trade Ambassador, you will be well-versed in the workings of fair trade around SFU and could be offered a Co-operative Education (Co-op) position working for SFU Fair Trade. This opportunity may be adjustable according to your personal interests. Some possibilities include coordinating the SFU Fair Trade Ambassador Program, running an elementary school fair trade program, or even working with the Canadian Fair Trade Network! This is paid work that requires additional training from SFU (click here to learn more about Co-op), with a minimum commitment of 420 hours/semester.