Following on from the first two scientific symposia of the same name, organised in Montréal in 2002 and 2006, the third Fair Trade International Symposium took place in Montpellier from May 14th to 16th 2008. It brought together over 170 participants, researchers and fair trade operators involved in fair trade, from more than 20 countries.
The aim of this meeting was to review recent scientific progress on the subject of “New Dimensions in Fair Trade: Implications and Challenges”, to share information on future areas of research and to compare opinions on the prospects of fair trade’s evolution.
Whilst by no means claiming to be exhaustive, the purpose of this document is to paint an overall picture of the results of research presented, as well as the issues tackled during the debates. It aims to give the well-informed reader an insight into the main areas of research currently being done on fair trade.
It therefore encompasses a shortened version of the Symposium’s content, which centred around two round tables of professionals in fair trade, nineteen workshops organised around six cross-cutting issues, during which more than sixty papers were presented, four conferences featuring internationally-renowned researchers and an area where over twenty five posters were displayed.

Summary of the workshops

Summary of the round tables

Summary of the conferences