Sankofa had a stall at the Emerge Festival (Sundy 21 June 2009).

The Emerge Festival is presented and produced by Multicultural Arts Victoria during Refugee Week and is a celebration Victoria's diverse refugee and emerging cultures - it was a day filled with music, exotic food, dance, visual arts, ceremonies and a vibrant multi-cultural market place.

The marketplace was in the Fitzroy Town Hall with the African stage .... so we had a day of African beats, drumming, and dancing ... there were acts from Guinea, Sierra Leone, Burundi, the Congo and Ethiopia ... lots of fun for everyone.

If you missed the Emerge Festival this year .... remember to keep an eye out for it next year .... you'll be pleased you did!

Fair Trade Fortnight happens but once a year .... it's local, it's national and it's international .... wherever you are you're bound to be able to find some way somewhere to get involved.

This year's Fair Trade Fiesta was held at RMIT Storey Hall - there was something for everyone ... the day started off with education sessions for 75 school children in Year's 9 and 10 from schools around Melbourne - its great to see young children learning and getting excited about fair trade.

Next came the fair trade marketplace where a huge range of fair trade products were for sale ... the range of products available in Australia just keeps growing ... and growing ... and growing ... its great to see new businesses starting up and spreading the fair trade love ....

Alongside the market was a fashion installation of the latest fair trade fashion available on the market ... and again, the range keeps growing ... and growing ... and growing ... every year.

So if you made it along on the day ... thanks ... hope you enjoyed the music ... the chocolate ... the Ethiopian coffee ceremony.. the fashion ... the market ... and the inspirational speech made by Natalie Pa'apa'a from Blue King Brown ... and if you missed it ... there's always next year!