Green Action Fund 2016 winners announced

Twenty-two Consumers International members in developing countries will receive a grant of £2,000 each to implement Green Action Fund (GAF) campaigns on the theme of ‘Safer, More Sustainable Food for All’.

GAF is the funding element of Green Action Week, an annual global campaign running 1-9 October, to promote sustainable consumption. The fund is made available through the support of Consumers International partner Swedish Society for Nature Conservation (SSNC) and facilitated by Consumers International, with materials, research and policy support, and joint-campaign communications being provided.

The winners - eight from Africa, nine from Asia Pacific, three from Latin America, one from Europe and one from the Middle East - will run campaigns to raise consumer awareness on the benefits of safer, more sustainable food, and promote demand for food produced using farming methods that exclude chemical pesticides, such as organic farming.

Last year saw projects happening all around the globe to get the message out there about sustainable consumption; from guidebooks and training to public theatre and radio shows.

Yogyakarta Consumers Institute (YCI) in Indonesia reported:

“This programme is very strategic for women farmer groups and consumer groups especially on increasing their quality of life. By developing and spreading it, we are convinced that food consumption patterns can be improved. Green Action Week is very important and relevant to be developed in the future."