As many of you probably already know, Julissa and Kzannier visited Germany and Italy for 3 weeks in April and May. This trip was part of the biennial tours that FairMail organizes in Europe to promote our activities and raise awareness of our mission.

We were overwhelmed by the hospitality, the kindness and the generosity of the people we met, which all contributed to make this trip truly special for Julissa and Kzannier.

The photographers did an excellent job as FairMail Ambassadors, they for sure stepped outside their comfort zone multiple times and they perfectly lived up to their role.

In Germany they met the students and the teachers of the Evangelische Hochschule in Ludwigsburg and the EBC Hochschule University of Hamburg, two great opportunities to discuss the impact that FairMail has on the teenage photographers and their families and to spread the word on volunteering vacancies. They promoted FairMail at the fair-trade “Fair Handeln” in Stuttgart and visited our German publisher Goldbek in Hamburg, where they gained precious insights on the German greeting card market. You should have seen their faces when they saw for the first time their cards on sale in the Weltladen store in Ludwigsburg, they just couldn’t believe it! It was for them an incredible recognition for their talent and hard work.

In Italy, they participated in a photo workshop at Reflex Tribe, a prestigious photo school in Turin, they led a photo contest in EISWORLD – an ICT company that has been supporting FairMail for 3 years now. They met with the staff of Advice Group, which largely contributed to the trip, they went on a hike on the Alps with outdoor photographer Simone Cocco, they took pictures at the fair-trade fashion show organized by the Italian fair-trade network Altromercato. They also had the opportunity to help the 4 renowned Italian photojournalists from Collettivo X set up their photo exhibition and present FairMail at the inauguration of the show. They also visited printing house Tipografia Commerciale to learn how the card printing process works.

However, as much as their role in Europe was demanding, their biggest responsibility was to share with the rest of the photographers everything that they have learned, so that they could all benefit from this experience and grow as photographers.

This trip couldn’t have been possible without the generosity of all the people who contributed to the cause, so from the deepest of our hearts, we thank you and we are forever grateful!