Enhancing our global citizenship

We are enhancing our global citizenship by:

  • promoting fair trade in Scotland, including through our core funding from the IDF of the Scottish Fair Trade Forum
  • inspiring our communities and young people to realise their roles as good global citizens, including through our contribution from the International Development Fund (IDF) to funding Scotland's Development Education Centres
  • taking a holistic approach to sustainable development, including a "do no harm" approach in policy development and seeking to go beyond that by identifying other government policies which can contribute positively to development outcomes and impact; and promoting the Beyond Aid agenda outside of government.

Fair Trade

Since 2010 we have provided core funding to the Scottish Fair Trade Forum (SFTF) to promote fair trade in Scotland, with the aim of achieving and then maintaining Fair Trade Nation status.

The SFTF's end of year reports are published under core funded bodies reports:

Scotland achieved Fair Trade Nation status in 2013 after meeting a range of criteria to demonstrate that we are contributing to reducing poverty, improving the lives of people that we seek to support, and helping them to access their rights.

The achievement of Fair Trade Nation status for Scotland, first in February 2013 and once more in March 2017, signals to the world that Scotland takes an active leadership role in challenging global poverty and recognising the dignity and rights of producers, through a commitment to fairness in international trading.

View the Fair Trade Nation criteria and our scores

Visit the Scottish Fair Trade Forum website for more information

Global citizenship education

We are committed to continuing to fund Scotland's Development Education Centres, which provide training and discussion on human rights and sustainable development. These centres will help to teach future generations to value thoughtful and responsible behaviour, and will encourage them to build on Scotland's existing reputation for global citizenship.

Beyond aid agenda

In addition to our annual £10 million IDF and Climate Justice Fund (CJF), we are increasingly seeing and shaping our international development work through the lens of the "Beyond Aid" agenda. This agenda recognises that development assistance and other initiatives funded under our IDF and CJF are one part of international development work, and that some of the greater benefits to the world's poorest and most vulnerable can be brought about through policy changes.

In government, we have put policy coherence for development (PCD) at the heart of this new approach. PCD means working across government policy areas, and with global partners, to face the challenges and maximise the impact on developing countries of all Scotland's actions (for example, our climate change targets). Firstly through a "do no harm" approach, and secondly through positive development contributions by other policy areas (for example, Hydro Nation).

Outside of government, we will promote the Beyond Aid agenda and seek to encourage others to make good and fair choices with regard to the impact of their actions on sustainable development and on developing countries.

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