A group of 12 students from Illinois State University and two students from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale spent spring break 2023 in Costa Rica on a study-abroad program sponsored by the Department of Politics and Government and the Office of Sustainability. The trip’s focus was on fair trade and the fair trade movement. The program was designed and led by Politics and Government faculty Dr. Noha Shawki and Julian Westerhout. Elisabeth Reed, director of Illinois State’s Office of Sustainability, joined the group as a guest.
The program is designed as an independent study project that uses fair trade and experiential learning to help students think about and understand critical sustainability issues from a global perspective and to foster global engagement and global citizenship. It encourages students to study and engage with environmental, economic, and social dimensions of sustainability and global justice.
Students studied fair trade and the fair trade movement prior to traveling to Costa Rica. In addition to reading extensively about fair trade and completing writing assignments, students met several times with Shawki to discuss what they learned before and after the trip.
While in Costa Rica, the group visited fair trade certified farms and met with members and stakeholders of fair trade cooperatives to learn about fair labor practices, sustainable agricultural practices, and the impact of fair trade on community development. The cooperatives they visited grow a variety of fair trade certified crops, including coffee, pineapple, cassava, and sugarcane.
Students also attended talks on the campus of Veritas University given by a representative of UN Women, a staff member of a local non-governmental organization, and a faculty member at Veritas University. During their free time, students visited the National Museum of Costa Rica and spent time exploring San José.
