Concordia student named national Fair Trade Ambassador of the Year

Shatha Arslan, an MEng Environmental Engineering student with the Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science, was named Fair Trade Ambassador of the Year at the 2026 National Fair Trade Conference in Winnipeg.

The annual conference, held May 1 and 2, brought together schools, campuses, companies and government organizations from across Canada to strengthen and expand the Fair Trade movement. This year’s theme, “Where Rights Take Roots,” explored the role of Fair Trade in advancing human rights, elevating farmers’ voices and building trade systems grounded in equity, justice and human dignity.

The award recognized the efforts of a Fair Trade ambassador who promoted, educated about and advocated for Fair Trade practices within their communities.

“I was incredibly honoured to receive this award,” said Arslan, who graduates next month. “It recognizes the hard work I have put in over the last two years as an ambassador. At Concordia, we go above and beyond to spread the word about Fair Trade and to highlight the hard work farmers do to produce the products we love. Our job is to highlight what Concordia does and encourage students and community members to shop sustainably and look out for certifications that support farmers.”

Building sustainability awareness through creativity

Shatha has been involved with Fairtrade Concordia for the past two years, first as a volunteer before developing the university’s Fairtrade Impact Report in the summer of 2025. She later transitioned into the role of Fairtrade Coordinator.

Over the past year, she organized a range of educational and interactive events focused on Fair Trade products available across Concordia’s campuses.

Among them were Stinger Roast coffee breaks held in collaboration with multiple departments, highlighting Concordia’s own coffee brand, which is Fair Trade coffee sourced from a women-owned cooperative. She also led chocolate-themed awareness activities featuring Fair Trade products and organized a Valentine’s event where students exchanged answers to Fair Trade trivia questions for handcrafted gifts prepared by the ambassador team.

Her largest initiative, Bananacore, brought together departments from across the university for a large-scale celebration centred on Fair Trade bananas and sustainable consumption.

“Her greatest success was the creation of educational, original and engaging pop-ups focused on the main Fair Trade products available on campus,” says Oliver De Volpi, manager of Food Services, who nominated Arslan for the award alongside fellow student and Fair Trade ambassador Zoe Erika-Okoye. 

“She helped educate the Concordia community about Fair Trade and the products available locally.”

Reaching audiences beyond campus

In addition to engaging students in person, Arslan’s campaigns significantly expanded Fairtrade Concordia’s online reach.

“Several posts reached over one million views, spreading awareness of Fair Trade far beyond the Concordia community,” De Volpi said. “Her passion, creativity and leadership embodied the spirit of a Fair Trade Ambassador.”

For Arslan, the recognition reflected the impact small everyday choices could have when paired with education and community engagement.

As she prepares to graduate, Arslan hopes that Concordia does not lose this momentum in leading the Fair Trade movement. The more people who learn about this movement, the more effective it will be, so continuing to spread the word among students and community members will continue to be valuable. 

Following graduation, Arslan is still figuring out what comes next. For now, she’ll remain in her current position until the end of the summer and is working on several initiatives planned for the beginning of the year.