1106 Lavaca St., Suite 102 Austin, Texas 78701 512-476-0569 (tel) 866-695-8776 (fax) info (at) texasfairtrade (dot) org

Our Choices, Global Impact: A Forum on Fair Trade and Latin America 1PM-5PM Sunday, October 21 Thompson Conference Center at the LBJ School of Public Affairs REGISTER NOW!! Oxfam UT and the Texas Fair Trade Coalition present a forum on US trade policy and its effects on Latin America. Through a panel of academics, social entrepreneurs and community activists, as well as workshops and discussion sessions, the forum will explore the many facets current trade policy and its alternatives. In order to encourage a wholistic understanding of how trade affects us both locally and globally, community activists will lead workshops on immigration, the environment, agriculture and food security, human and labor rights, jobs and economy and access to medicine. Afterwards, there will be small discussion groups to encourage attendees to share ideas and information. Fair trade organizations will be on hand to share information about how to support fair trade practices both locally and globally. The forum promises to be an informative and engaging event! This event is free and open to the public. Spanish translation will be available for all attendees. Panel on Fair Trade and Latin America: Dr. James K. Galbraith, Dr. Robert Jensen, Maria Jimenez, and Josefina Castillo will participate in a panel discussion about the wide range of social, environmental, and economic impacts of trade. The panel will be moderated by Louis Malfaro, President of the Austin Central Labor Council. Workshops To Include: Our Environment, Our Choice: Free trade and the fight for justice in the face of corporate power Susana Almanza, Co-Director of PODER The Immigrant Struggle and the Consequences of the NAFTA Model of Trade Maria Jimenez, Special Projects Coordinator for the Central American Resource Center; Josefina Castillo, Executive Director of the American Friends Service Committee -- Austin; and Luissana Santibanez, with Grassroots Leadership The WTO, CAFTA, and the Global AIDS Pandemic: How free trade agreements limit access to life-saving medicines Robert Earle, President of FACE AIDS Austin The Struggle for Food Security and Sustainability: Free Trade Problems and Fair Trade Solutions Sister Shell Balek, Foundation for Self-Sufficiency in Central America The Pending Free Trade Agreements with Peru, Panama, and Colombia: Prospects and Consequences for Workers and Small Farmers Marc Jacobson, Director of the Texas Fair Trade Coalition Safegaurding Worker Rights in the Global Economy: What we can do to support workers here and around the world Bill Beardall, Executive Director of the Equal Justice Center, and Carla Cheatham, Executive Director of the Religion and Labor Network of Austin One of the workshops will be specifically designed for children, ages 5 to 13. Entitled "Fair Trade Fun for Kids", and led by Elizabeth Cole from St. Austin's Church and three other adults, the workshop is open to 20 students. E-mail Erin at erink.dunn@gmail.com if your child(ren) would like to attend. Closing address to be made by Rev. Tom Vandestadt, Pastor of the Congregational Church of Austin and Board Member of the Religion and Labor Network of Austin Sponsoring Organizations: Texas Fair Trade Coalition Oxfam UT Ten Thousand Villages Pax Christi Austin Progressive Collective PODER American Friend Service Committee--Austin Foundation for Self-Sufficiency in Central America Religion and Labor Network of Austin Green Party of Travis County Handmade Expressions Austin Peace and Justice Center Supported by: LBJ School of Public Affairs University of Texas Student Events Center Latin American Studies Department at UT Austin Bios for some of the panelists and workshops leaders: Dr. James K. Galbraith, holds the Lloyd M. Bentsen Jr., Chair of Government/Business Relations at the LBJ School of Public Affairs, the University of Texas at Austin. He is as Senior Scholar with the Levy Economics Institute, and Chair of the Board of Economists for Peace and Security, an international association of professional economists. Galbraith is the author of several hundred scholarly and policy articles. His books include Inequality and Industrial Change: A Global View (Cambridge, 2001), co-edited with Maurreen Berner, as well as two textbooks that he co-authored, The Economic Problem and Macroeconomics. Maria Jimenez, is the Special Projects Coordinator for the Central American Resource Center in Houston, Texas. She has worked for over twenty years with the immigrant Latino community. Ms. Jimenez has also written numerous articles on immigration issues, including on the impact of NAFTA and trade policy. Dr. Robert Jensen, is an associate professor in the School of Journalism at the University of Texas at Austin. Jensen joined the UT faculty in 1992 after completing his Ph.D. in media ethics and law in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota. Prior to his academic career, he worked as a professional journalist for a decade. At UT, Jensen teaches courses in media law, ethics, and politics. He also is director of the Senior Fellows Program, the honors program of the College of Communication. Susana Almanza, is a founding member and Co-Director of People Organized in Defense of Earth and Her Resources (PODER). PODER is a grassroots environmental economic and social justice organization that works with neighborhood organizations, regulatory agencies and elected officials. Ms. Almanza is currently one of three co-chairs for the Southwest Network for Environmental and Economic Justice.