World Fair Trade Organization

The World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO), formerly the International Federation of Alternative Traders ("IFAT"), was created in 1989 and is a global association of 324 organizations in over 70 countries. Members are fair trade producer cooperatives and associations, export marketing companies, importers, retailers, national and regional fair trade networks and Fair Trade Support Organizations.

WFTO's mission is to improve the livelihoods and well being of disadvantaged producers by linking and promoting Fair Trade Organizations, and speaking out for greater justice in world trade.

WFTO's core fields of activities are:

In 2004 WFTO launched a fair trade certification scheme and mark. The FTO Mark identifies registered Fair Trade Organizations worldwide (as opposed to products in the case of FLO International and Fairtrade mark) and guarantees that standards are being implemented regarding working conditions, wages, child labor and the environment. These standards are verified by self-assessment, mutual reviews and external verification. The FTO Mark is available to all WFTO members who meet the requirements of the WFTO Standards and Monitoring System and so far over 150 organizations have registered.

World's fair

A world's fair, world fair, world exposition, or universal exposition (sometimes expo or Expo for short) is a large public exhibition. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in varying parts of the world. The next world's fair is Expo 2017 and is to be held in Astana, Kazakhstan.

Since the 1928 Convention Relating to International Exhibitions came into force, the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE; English: International Exhibitions Bureau) has served as an international sanctioning body for world's fairs. BIE-approved fairs are of three types: universal, international, and specialized. They usually last from three weeks to six months.

History

World's fairs originated in the French tradition of national exhibitions, a tradition that culminated with the French Industrial Exposition of 1844 held in Paris. This fair was followed by other national exhibitions in continental Europe and the United Kingdom.

The best-known 'first World Expo' was held in The Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London, United Kingdom, in 1851, under the title "Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations". The Great Exhibition, as it is often called, was an idea of Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's husband, and is usually considered to be the first international exhibition of manufactured products. It influenced the development of several aspects of society, including art-and-design education, international trade and relations, and tourism. These events have resulted in a remarkable form of Prince Albert's life history, one that continues to be reflected in London architecture in a number of ways, including in the Albert Memorial later erected to the Prince. This expo was the most obvious precedent for the many international exhibitions, later called world's fairs, that have continued to be held to the present time.

1888 Barcelona Universal Exposition

The 1888 Barcelona Universal Exposition (in Catalan: Exposició Universal de Barcelona and Exposición Universal de Barcelona in Spanish) was Spain's first International World's Fair and ran from May 20 to December 9, 1888. It was also the first of the two held in Barcelona (the second one being in 1929).

Summary

Eugenio Serrano de Casanova tried to launch an exposition in 1886, and when that failed, the Mayor of Barcelona, Francesc Rius i Taulet, took over the planning of the project. The fair was hosted on the reconstructed 115-acre (47 ha) site of the city's main public park, the Parc de la Ciutadella, with Vilaseca's Arc de Triomf forming the entrance. More than 2 million people from Spain, the rest of Europe, and other international points of embarkation visited the exhibition, which made the equivalent of 1,737,000 United States dollars. The fair was opened by Alfonso XIII of Spain and Maria Christina of Austria. Twenty-seven countries participated, including China, Japan and the United States.

1984 Louisiana World Exposition

The 1984 Louisiana World Exposition was a World's Fair held in New Orleans, Louisiana, in the United States. It was held 100 years after the city's earlier World's Fair, the World Cotton Centennial in 1884. It opened on Saturday, May 12, 1984, and ended on Sunday, November 11, 1984. Its theme was "The World of Rivers—Fresh Waters as a Source of Life".

Plagued with attendance problems, the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition has the distinction of being the only exposition to declare bankruptcy during its run. Many blamed the low attendance on the fact that it was staged just two years and two states from Knoxville's 1982 World's Fair, and because it coincided with the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Others may believe that the 1982 opening of Walt Disney World's EPCOT Center may have also drawn more people to Orlando, Florida.

This expo also had the distinction of being the very first World Exposition in the history of expos to have an official fair mascot. Seymore D. Fair, a large white costume pelican, became one of the most recognizable figures of any modern day World Exposition.