Mae cyngor y salw Anything under £1,000 ac mae'r bwysig mae'n berth ychydigon nhw yng ngoswm o Mwsch 2664 yn ynghylch yn Clare Adamson yn cadwodau llwgfaeth. Mae'n bwysig ond byddai i'w cael ei cwestiynau'r bwysig. Rwy'n emlwg i'n meddwl, mae'n gweithio ddim gael ei wneud, rydw i'r gwneud a'r pwyntwys i'n teimlu hefyd o'r fflaeniau, i'r pwysig o'r rhaid i'r ymnas, rydw i'n mwybod i'w I invite Mr MacDonald to open the debate for up to seven minutes please Mr MacDonald. Sorry Mr MacDonald your microphone doesn't seem to have come on and that would explain it. Start again Mr MacDonald. First time in 11 years so I can't really. So unfortunately as you said Claire Anderson is unable to speak to her motion of fair trade forum pledge and as someone who supported the Blerno fair trade group my constituency over many years I hope I can do justice to Claire's motion. Scottish Fair Trade Forum pledges a way for MSPs to show their support for all actions which improve the livelihood of farmers and workers from developing countries I should say who produce many of the products which we consume every day. This also involves supporting a fair economy and committing to tackling the climate emergency. The Scottish Fair Trade Forum was established in 2007 by a group of Scottish-based fair trade campaigners to promote the cause of fair trade in Scotland and support Scotland becoming a fair trade nation. It has similar aims to the fair trade foundation which was established by Christian Aid, New Consumer, Oxfam, Tradecraft and the World Development Movement and the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development back in 1992. That same year the co-operative supermarkets became the first supermarket chain to sell a fair trade product, cafe direct coffee. The first fair trade fortnight in the UK, directed by Barnaby Milne, was launched on 12 February 1997 at St Augustine's United Church on Edinburgh's George IV bridge. He encouraged supporters during fair trade fortnight to go and ask for fair trade products and provided them all with a list of 85 supermarkets in Scotland's cities and larger towns. Scotland was the second nation in the world after Wales to achieve fair trade nation status in 2013 and support sales of products that offer a better deal to workers in developing countries. The result of all this effort is that today there is now over 6,000 fair trade products on sale from coffee and tea to flowers, clothes, wine, beauty products and even gold. What they all have in common is that they carry the fair trade mark, certifying that products and ingredients have been produced in safer working conditions, respecting workers' rights and having fairer levels of pay. Why is promoting fair trade important in developing countries independent small farmers who work their own land and market their produce through a local co-operative are paid a price that covers the cost of sustainable production? They are also paid a premium that producers can invest in development. By being able to exceed their production costs, they can improve their lives by having access to better education, healthcare and more nutritious food. We also have the fair trade producers. For example, most fair trade tea is grown on estates. The primary concerns for the workers employed in tea plantations are fair wages and decent working conditions. If the producers agree to pay decent wages, guarantee the right to join trade unions, provide good house and where relevant, maintain health and safety, as well as environmental standards and ensure that no child labour or forced labour can occur, and return their awarded contracts that allow for long-term planning and sustainable production practices where they can receive partial advance payments when requested. As a result, fair trade benefits workers and communities by spreading profits more equitably and stimulating the local economy. Profits are often reinvested into community projects such as health clinics, childcare and education. Nearly 1,900 fair trade certified producer organisations across 71 countries receive a fair trade premium of £169 million in 2020. On average, each producer receives £90,000 as an additional premium to support their local community. There are a large number of local fair trade community groups across Scotland, and in Balerno, in my constituency of Edinburgh Pentlands, they gained fair trade status in 2013 thanks to the volunteers promoting the benefits of fair trade to the local community. Every year, Balerno fair trade group organises among schools the fair trade art competition and hosts the annual coffee and crafts fair. During the course of the year, they encourage local businesses to stock fair trade products from family-run Carliles bar and kitchen to the local scot mid to the community cafe at the mill. This effort to keep fair trade in the public eye resulted in Balerno fair trade being awarded fair trade community of the month by the fair trade foundation in June of last year. Also, our schools promote fair trade, especially during fair trade for tonight, and I know Clare would have thanked schools in that area, such as Newman's, St Aidan's, Morningside Primary and St Bernadette's, for their efforts in raising awareness of fair trade produce. I should also take the opportunity to mention the schools in my constituency, starting with Stenhouse Primary, who were awarded fair trade status in 2010, Dean Park Primary in 2013, and the continued support and participation in local fair trade events from pupils and staff at Balerno high. Many of the schools, both in my constituency and Clare Adamson's, will promote fair trade by selling fair trade products in their tux shop or using fair trade products in their staff room. The pupils will learn about how global trade works and why fair trade is important and produce awareness-raising posters for the school and the local community. However, we can all help the fair trade movement not only by supporting local organisations during fair trade for tonight, but by stimulating demand, by asking for fair trade products in shops, cafes and restaurants. We can also spread the fair trade message among our family, friends and colleagues and, as a result, assist in a small way in supporting communities in developing countries. Edinburgh is a fair trade city and Scotland has been recognised as one of the first fair trade nations. That highlights the way that people of Scotland share a vision of being a good global citizen and are committed to playing our part in addressing poverty. I am aware that I may have inadvertently given the wrong number for the motion, which is, of course, 2864. I am with that. We move on to the first speaker in the open debate, which is Sharon Dowie, who joins us remotely. I will be followed by Colin Smith for up to four minutes, please, Ms Dowie. I thank Clare Adamson for bringing this to chamber and wish her a speedy recovery. Many of us will have seen the fair trade logo in shops, often in coffee, chocolate or bananas, for example, but I do not think that many of us really know what fair trade actually is, what it means and what role it can play in our future beyond recognising the fair trade sticker. That is why, for the past couple of weeks, I have been engaging in learning about fair trade businesses in Ayrshire, like the honey bee in the here in Ayr. As a small, independent cafe, they provide high-quality artisan coffee and made food, artwork and gifts. I have learned a lot about their sustainable supply chain and products. That helped me to put fair trade business into perspective. The owners explained that fair trade means workers' rights, fairer pay, safer working conditions and sustainability, while for shoppers it means quality and ethically produced products for a fair wage. To learn more about fair trade in Scotland, I have been communicating with the Scottish Fair Trade Forum to understand its approach, activities and how they are bringing together fair trade groups, businesses, NGOs, faith groups, universities, colleges and public sector organisations. Fair trade is not just about being nice chocolate, it is a culture that we need to develop across Scotland. Local authorities have an important role to play in promoting fair trade through the support of local organisations. Across south and east Ayrshire, those organisations include air fair trade partnership, south Ayrshire fair trade zone committee and east Ayrshire fair trade group. Because of their work, it is encouraging to see that south Ayrshire became a fair trade zone in March 2018, bringing together the work of the air press we can tune, and that east Ayrshire became a fair trade zone in October 2016. That is why today you can find many businesses across south and east Ayrshire that have committed to fair trade business practices. It would make a real difference if all MSPs encouraged their local authorities to get more involved in fair trade activities such as fair trade fortnight. Fair trade fortnight activities annually help in spreading the message about the importance of fairer and more sustainable trading practices. It also provides an opportunity to hear stories about workers from the developing world who grow food and clothing materials on mind-precious metals. Such initiatives can help us in achieving our sustainable development goals in fairer trade. Educating younger generations is a great start and gives us all a better chance in becoming more sustainable. Younger generations can utilise their skills and knowledge to shape a more compassionate and sustainable world. That is why I am pleased to see many south Ayrshire schools taking part in fair trade events. Kaila academy is a great example where the geography and RMA department won a prize for sustainability at the Scottish Fair Trade Awards in November. I urge all MSPs to encourage schools from their constituencies to get involved. Finally, MSPs, there is so much more that we can do. We can encourage our councils to do more for fair trade groups and campaigns. We can also sign the Fair Trade Pledge campaign by the Scottish Fair Trade Forum, which demonstrates our support for all actions that improve the livelihoods of workers who produce many of the products that we consume. I am proud that I signed the pledge in October, but as MSPs we should be leading by example, and that is why I urge my colleagues across the chamber to sign the pledge. We should also come together and push for more fair trade products in Parliament. I think that those steps would demonstrate our unity in achieving fair trade goals. As a fair trade nation, our efforts aim to embed fair trade values across all sectors of Scottish society. Whether that means looking for the fair trade mark on the products that we buy, attending one of many fair trade events, or simply donating to help to promote fair trade. I now call on Colin Smyth, who will be followed by Paul MacLennan, up to four minutes please. Thank you to Clare Adamson, who I wish a speedy recovery for tabling her motion for debate. It provides us all with an opportunity to highlight just how important fair trade is, as an able assistant Gordon MacDonald did, but also to say thank you to the Scottish Fair Trade Forum and everyone who is part of the fair trade journey here in Scotland. It is less than two weeks since fair trade Fortnite took place. The Parliament's cross-party group on fair trade, as well as being the chair of the Dumfries and Galloway regional fair trade steering group, I am pretty passionate about fair trade. It is the local groups, the businesses and the producers in our communities that make fair trade Fortnite happen. After the past two tough years for everyone when we have been separated from our friends and families, it was great to once and again get out on a boat and in person and take part in fair trade Fortnite events. I was lucky to attend a number of events in my region, including at the wonderful fair trade, Big Brew in the Dumfriesshire village of Dunskarae. A village, I have to say, that per head of population must have more fair traders than anywhere in the country. I saw at first hand at just how tirelessly local volunteers are working to promote fair trade, despite the challenges that we have all faced. I want to say a heartfelt thank you to every volunteer in every shop and every organisation and every school right across the country who are helping to deliver trade justice for so many vulnerable farmers and workers in developing countries that we can week out. In the work of parliamentarians, as the motion highlights, they are supported in our endeavours by the Scottish Fair Trade Forum under the leadership of chief executive, Martin Rhodes and chair of chair, Charles Sim and vice chair, Liz Manson, both of whom I am proud to say are South Scotland constituents of mine. Who along with the other vice chair, Rachel Farry, of the One World Shop here in Edinburgh, lead the forum. The forum does an invaluable job supplying information, knowledge, training and resources to local fair trade groups. They promote fair trade businesses here in Scotland, including supporting the partnership with producers during the pandemic. They also support producers worldwide, including having fair trade producer representatives from Malawi and Rwanda on their board. The work of the forum led to the step change in fair trade activity in Scotland that resulted in fair trade nation status being secured almost a decade ago. It remains vital as we take the next step on the fair trade journey. The fair trade principles of better prices of decent working conditions of local sustainability and fair terms of trade for workers have never been more important than they are now. Fair trade challenges the injustices and unfairness of conventionable trade. It is also at the heart of the fight against climate change, trade justice and climate justice working hand in hand. During fair trade fortnight, the forum arranged for producers from Ghana, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Malawi and Palestine to take part in online events, including our own cross-party group. I was struck during those events by the stories of the devastating impact of climate change on some of our most vulnerable developing countries. Farmers of crops such as tea, coffee and cocoa, who are already battling the impact of volatile market prices and rising production costs with little power in the multi-million pound supply chains that supply are now having more and more to deal with freak weather, extreme rainfall, prolonged dry seasons and the prevalence of plant disease in their crops. A fair trade forum that ensures that farmers and producers in the global south are paid a fair price for their goods really is a lifeline for those producers allowing farming to be more resilient and to reduce their own carbon footprint without worrying about affording medicine, food or children's education and housing. Is there more that we as individuals but also as Government can do to support fair trade? Of course there is. Just ask any fair trade group locally who have tried to get a fair trade sign at the entrance to their village but have been hit by bureaucracy or look at how much or how little, in fact, of the multi-billion pound public sector procurement budget is actually spent on fair trade goods and it is clear that there is an awful lot more that we can all do. That's why, Presiding Officer, we should be proud to be a fair trade nation but we should all back that fair trade pledge and commit today to redouble our efforts to support fair trade and by doing so, change the world for the better a little bit every day. Thank you very much indeed, Mr Smith. I now call on Paul MacLennan. We follow by Maggie Chapman for around four minutes, Mr MacLennan. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Can I thank Claire Adamson for bringing us forward this debate this afternoon and for Gordon MacDonald for standing in? At a time of global conflict, it reminds me of how interconnected our lives are in this world. The fallout in Ukraine will not only affect geopolitical matters but will lead to difficulties in food supply and in food security. Ukraine is one of the biggest exporters of grain in the world. Tectonic plates have shifted politically and economically in the past four weeks since the invasion. How we work together in the world not only at a time of conflict but that of climate change and droughts will impact on us all. The wording of the motion includes the wording that the fair trade pledge is there to ensure better prices, safe working conditions, local sustainability and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers. It understands that the pledge also includes the setting and buying of fair trade products from coffee and tea to flowers and gold, as we have heard, and encouraging consumers to look for the fair trade mark. Many of the products that we buy and use every day are grown or produced by people who are not paid a fair price for their work or produce over a long period of time. Workers and small-hold farmers are often working in poor and dangerous conditions and denied access to markets on a fair basis. Fair trade, as we know, is all about ensuring that workers and small-hold farmers are paid a fair price and campaigning for these producers to have the opportunity to participate in global markets without exploitation. Over the years, one of the successes of fair trade has been building a partnership between consumers and producers. Many of the staples that we find in our homes come from producers who were previously not paid fair prices for their work or product. That has perpetuated a cycle of poverty and has denied many families a dignified life. As MSPs, we all have a role in our own constituencies but also that of Scotland as a fair trade nation. Indeed, every one of us, prior to the election last May, were asked to sign the fair trade pledge. It is stated that, if I am elected in the next Parliament, I will take actions to promote Scotland's fair trade nation status, listen to the voices of producers in global supply chains, support access to build a fairer economy and tackle the climate emergencies. I also support measures to increase the public procurement of fair trade products. I know Colin Smyth has mentioned that and that is something that we need to work with our local councils on that. What can we do practically? We can join our fair trade groups and I am a part of a fair trade group in Dunbarren and that is going really well. There are a few other trade groups in East Lothian. Fair trade groups are at the heart of the fair trade movement. They organise, activate and lobby to raise awareness of the need for fair trade and bring about change at all levels. There are also groups that exist within communities, schools, colleges, universities, faith groups and, of course, workplaces. Many workplaces to work towards achieving fair trade status are achieved by our partner, the Fair Trade Foundation. Collectively, those groups make Scotland a fair trade nation and contribute to the international fair trade town's movement. We can also encourage our schools to teach fair trade. The fair trade school awards from the fair trade foundation take the school or nursery on our journey from awareness about fair trade through to embedding it into the life of school and local community. Going for those awards offers a great opportunity to consider global issues from a fair trade perspective. Teaching about fair trade fits within the curriculum and can support people to develop the knowledge, skills and attributes needed in their interconnected world. Of course, from business and fair trade, we can encourage businesses in their own constituencies to buy, sell and support fair trade. Ethical consumption is on their eyes in the UK and consumers expect more action than ever before from businesses to make their supply chains transparent, equitable and environmentally friendly. What was once a unique selling point is now industry standard. It is one of the great successes of the ethical consumer movement. Investing in fair trade can help businesses' effortless signal of commitment to sustainable, responsible and fairer standards in production. Fair trade, products that fulfil the ethical commitments to fairer wages, improves working conditions, community investment and environmentalism. I thank Clare Adam again for bringing forward his motion. Let's do what we can do to support fair trade in our own localities and in Scotland. I thank Clare Adam for lodging the motion and Gordon MacDonald for speaking to it in her absence. I wish Clare a speedy recovery. I offer my apologies to the chamber. I cannot stay for the whole debate, but I am grateful to be able to speak now. I thank the DPO for letting me leave early. Fair trade is not just good in itself as a system of standards for buying and selling specific commodities. It is also a model for how we can do trade better, both globally and locally, and how we can build fairer, healthier, more peaceful and sustainable relationships within Scotland and across the world. The climate crisis, the Covid pandemic, international arms and the conflicts that they exacerbate remind us that we are none of us islands, even those of us who live on them. We are linked together in global relationships of responsibility, complicity, shared history, future possibility and I believe and hope, solidarity and care. The fair trade movement offers us a way to acknowledge these relationships and to build them together. Fair trade is an urgent and effective remedy for particular instances of trade exploitation. Those networks of oppression which dominate international trade in sectors including the cotton, banana and chocolate industries. Fair trade supply chains represent a vital alternative to those horrors, but fair trade is also a hugely important framework for a wide range of goods and commodities not only the most egregiously exploitative. We have the opportunity in our positions of privilege to make sure that the decisions that we make and the decisions that we influence are aligned with fair trade principles and with fair trade practice. The community premium is at the heart of the fair trade system and what it tells us needs to be at the heart of how we look at our own economies. The premium is paid not to suppliers as individual farmers or businesses, but for the benefit of the communities that they belong to. It reminds us that we are not the atomised actors of traditional economic theory coldly calculating our maximised self-interest. We are communities, ecosystems, neighbourhoods intricately bound together in shared experience. Our economies, like the economies of co-production supported by the fair trade premium, are there to enable that shared endeavour, not the other way around. Communities in the majority world, the global south, are facing deeper and cooler challenges than ever before. Intensifying climate impacts, as we have heard already, the health and vaccine inequalities of Covid, fortress nations clanging the gates shut against refugees, land grabs to feed the rich and fix the net zero balance sheets. That is not a question of charity, it is a question of basic justice of fundamental human rights. The best of fair trade organisations know that. They do not just seek increased markets and better conditions for the suppliers that they deal with. They are looking for transformational change at every level. We in the Scottish Parliament, as well as in our fair trade towns and cities across the country, can be a part of making that happen. I am proud to have signed the fair trade pledge and to celebrate the work of the fair trade movement, not least in the continent of Africa where I was born and grew up. Significant benefits have been for many in the majority world. Fair trade needs need to go much further, much wider, much deeper. We need not only to challenge the worst, the most brutal and cynical forms of trade exploitation but also our everyday assumptions, our unthinking expectation that the majority world will be a giant supermarket shelf crammed with monoculture goodies to feed our pleasures. In a world where we, rightly, are looking to feed ourselves more locally and sustainably, we need to ensure that everyone can do the same. I look forward to the day when we need no fair trade pledges, no fair trade certificates, no fair trade labels, when fair trade is simply trade and the alternative is unthinkable. Thank you, Ms Chapman. I now call Ruth Maguire, who joins us remotely and will be followed by Sarah Boyack, for around four minutes. I would like to congratulate Clare Adamson for recognising fair trade pledge and bringing this important issue to the chamber and thank Gordon MacDonald for opening the debate. My constituency of Cunningham South sits within North Ayrshire. In 2014, through the hard work of the North Ayrshire Fair Trade Zone group, supported by the local authority, North Ayrshire was recognised as a fair trade zone. I am pleased to say that it has been awarded again this year for its eighth year running. I would like to take this moment to acknowledge the members of the North Ayrshire Fair Trade Zone group and recognise the hard work and determination of everyone involved in making this happen. When discussing fair trade, people automatically think about products such as coffee, bananas and chocolate, but it is not just about the products, it is about the people. Buying fair trade means rights for workers, safer working conditions and fairer pay, and a product for consumers who can pride themselves on buying high quality, ethically produced goods. However, despite efforts from groups such as the North Ayrshire Fair Trade Zone, there continues to be a vast number of products that are grown or made by workers who are not treated fairly. Those workers are often producing goods in dangerous conditions and are being denied the same access to markets as other producers. For example, we are a nation of chocolate lovers with the UK chocolate market being worth billions and demand growing yearly, but it leaves a bitter taste to learn that cocoa farmers in the Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana live in abject poverty, with the Fair Trade Foundation reporting farmers earning as little as £75 per day—the same amount as one bar of chocolate sold here. It is also reported that, as is often the case, women bear the greatest burden, having fewer rights than men, but not only working long hours in the cocoa field starting less than men, they expect to look after their children and manage extra tasks such as carrying water and household chores. In today's more informed and connected world, we cannot be ignorant to the truth. The Fair Trade Pledge, along with Fair Trade Fortnight, gives a stage for thousands of individuals, businesses and organisations across Scotland to come together and share the stories of the people who, like the cocoa farmers, work hard to produce goods that are exploited and underpaid, and to join together and reject those practices. I urge everyone to choose the world that we want and highlight the inequality and injustice that is felt by them. Education and awareness is a powerful tool, and it is important that, while we advocate for change, children develop their understanding of how fair trade benefits farmers and workers across the globe. Within my constituency, there are a number of schools that are registered as fair trade schools, secondary and primary pupils alike, striving to achieve awards, ranging from understanding how their school uses fair trade products to fully embedding fair trade into their daily school life and working to raise awareness of fair trade in their local community. I would like to express my gratitude to the teachers in those schools who played key roles in informing the next generation of the benefits of fair trade, normalising equality and making lives better. Buying fair trade is easy—there are over 6,000 fair trade products. I encourage everyone to look for the fair trade mark when shopping. Choosing fair trade means standing with others for fairness and equality, allowing farmers to tackle poverty and build resilience to the climate crisis that we face. Everyone can change the world for the better, but business is signing up to the fair trade pledge. Consumers are choosing to buy fair trade products and educating our children to do the same. I thank Clare Adamson for securing today's debate and Gordon MacDonald for standing in to kick off the discussion. I also want to thank the Scottish Fair Trade Forum for all their work. It is timely for us meeting so recently after fair trade fortnight to highlight the benefits of fair trade, but we also need an all-year round focus. Fair trade is crucial in ensuring that goods are produced ethically and it is a key tool that we as consumers have to know the price we pay delivers on our environment and fair work principles for producers and directly benefits to the communities that they live in. The Koraka Erpiana co-operative in Bolivia is a brilliant example of the benefits of fair trade for people and communities. Research shows that the co-operatives are in a stable financial situation, which has resulted in 60 per cent of its members being able to access electricity, 97 per cent recycling organic waste and an impressive 86 per cent believe that they are better off in the organisation than before, with 54 per cent seeing jobs created in their community. The delivery of high-quality sustainable products, easier access to credit for small holders, investment in community services such as food security and scholarships are only a few of the many benefits fair trade has both for consumers and producers worldwide. A couple of weeks ago at our cross-party group on fair trade it was inspiring to hear from producers the story of the sholey coffee in Rwanda, which started as a small association of 30 women and hasn't stopped growing ever since. We heard of the contribution of the Casantulla Cain growers association from Malawi that managed to convert largely unproductive land to sugarcane production, providing an income for 282 subsistence farmers and employment for nearly 800 permanent and seasonal field workers. Then we heard about the positive impact of fair trade in supporting producers and their communities in Palestine. However, as others said, the challenges posed by the pandemic have impacted, with producer organisations struggling to cope and affecting the livelihoods of their workers. Research shows that Covid-19 significantly affected the business viability of fair trade producers, with the majority reporting a decrease in production, lower fair trade sales and non-fair trade sales in 2020 versus 2019. A significant minority saw lower prices and number of buyers, and the Africa and Middle East region was the worst hit, with almost 70 per cent of the sample producer organisations there reporting a decline in production and sales. There is much more that we need to do. Fair trade has made a difference to the lives of more than 550,000 farmers and workers in nearly 60 countries. As the second country in the world to be named a fair trade nation, Scotland is ahead of the game, but there is so much more we need to do. It is not just us signing the pledge as individuals, it is looking at how we see ethical public sector procurement make the maximum difference it can make. It is looking at what we, as consumers, can do to support local fair trade shops. In Edinburgh, I am proud of the fact that we have been a fair trade city since 2004. We have fantastic shops that deal with the focus on Palestinian fair trade crafts. The one-world shop brings fantastic, sustainable and fairly traded goods from across the world. We have access to fair trade products in Oxfam shops on our high streets, with products from over 70 countries across the world. As Gordon MacDonald said, co-operative and scot-mid shops in our high streets across Scotland. At our recent fair trade cross-party group, we are also focusing on the fact that we can all buy fair trade goods online wherever we live in Scotland. There is much more that we can do. Let us hope that today's message is a positive one. It is a call to action for all of us that we can all buy our fair trade goods, and I encourage everyone to go online, check out their local shops and support communities across the world. They need our trade, and they need our investment, and it is transformative. I wish to pass on my thanks to Claire Adamson and wish her well and hope she has a speedy recovery for putting forward this motion, but also to my colleague Gordon MacDonald for stepping in so well. I also want to thank colleagues across the chamber who shared their stories from their constituencies as Gordon MacDonald set out so well, highlighting the levels of support that there are for the fair trade movement in communities up and down the country. Just reflecting on some of the contributions that we have heard today, Gordon MacDonald is absolutely right to congratulate the Balerno fair trade movement and the schools in his constituency, and those he mentioned in Humane's and Morningside in the Claire Adamson's constituency, those schools that I previously represented when I was in the House of Commons. Sharon Dowie also raised the fair trade forum, which I will come to, and rightly congratulated Honeybee in the area that she represents. Colin Smyth, I want to pay tribute to for his work in both in Parliament and in his area for promoting and prioritising fair trade, and also to echo his thanks for those campaigning in schools and communities to promote fair trade. Paul McLennan reminded us why that is also important, given the horrific events that we are seeing in Ukraine. The known cost of that, the human cost of that, is not just isolated to Ukraine, it spreads much wider and so much. As we look to ensure food supply around the world, we must do so with fairness and producers in mind. Maggie Chapman reminded us all of our collective and individual responsibilities. This is not about charity but justice and rights, which is absolutely right. Ruth Maguire, like her, congratulated her North Ayrshire fair trade group, and she reminded us of the work that we still have to do to expand products available so that we can see better treatment, for instance, for the cocoa farmers that she spoke of in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana. Sarah Boyack highlighted to us a very real example of the benefits that Bolivia, Rwanda and Malawi of how fair trade delivers those real benefits for people, and she is right that we have more to do. In my own Ayrdran Shocks constituency, Ayrdran became a fair trade town in 2015, and North Lanarkshire Council achieved the status in 2020. Many organisations such as Shocks Health and Living Centre and St Andrews Hospice sell fair trade goods. People are absolutely right to draw on those experiences and thank them for the work that they are doing, but, as Sarah Boyack and others have said, they will have more work to do there. 2023 marks 10 years since Scotland achieved fair trade nation status. That was an accolade of which we were rightly proud back in 2013 and which we continue to take pride in as we prepare to renew our commitment to fair trade for a second time. Next year, an expert panel will decide if we can continue to call ourselves a fair trade nation. What does being a fair trade nation mean? How does it help the 700 million people around the world who still exist on less than two dollars a day, the 63 million children who still do not have access to education or the 55 percent of people living in rural areas who do not have access to soap and water? Being a fair trade nation means that in everything that we as a country do, we do it with the principles of fairness, social justice and gender equity at the forefront of our minds. As a Government, those same principles are at the heart of our policies, and Gordon MacDonald set out perfectly the impact that that has with people around the world. Policies such as our commitment to ensure that more of our funding goes directly to our partner countries, shifting the balance of power and supporting people in Malawi, Rwanda and Zambia to build more resilient and equal communities. At COP26, we committed to increasing our climate justice fund to £36 million across this Parliament, providing additional support for the world's poorest and most vulnerable communities. From April 22, we will start to increase our international development fund by 50 per cent to £15 million per year, with the first increase up to £11.5 million next month. In doing so, our programme will continue to recognise the needs of communities in our partner countries impacted by Covid, and we will carry on with our efforts of the last two years to provide support as they build back from the pandemic. We also remain committed to responding to the global crisis through our £1 million a year humanitarian emergency fund, which, over the last two years, has been activated for Lebanon, Indonesia, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Afghanistan and, most recently, Burkina Faso. However, our funding is only one part of our contribution and support for the global south. Our approach on policy coherence for sustainable development makes clear that our wider policies within Government itself and how people in Scotland embrace active global citizenship is also a huge part of Scotland's global impact and contribution. Our buying choices, our commitment to fair trade is a key part of that. Being successful in our bid to renew our fair trade nation status will be in no small part of the efforts of the Scottish Fair Trade Forum. Core funded from the international development fund since 2007, the forum has worked tirelessly to build support for the fair trade movement across all sections of Scottish society. From their engagement with fair trade groups from the borders to the islands to the annual fair trade awards, which recognises the achievements of individuals, community groups and businesses to the work that they do in schools, helping teachers to educate the next generation about being good global citizens, the forum has been driving forward change. I have to say that the work with schools was a thread through this debate. My oldest two children island, Finlay, has been learning about fair trade in their school, and it is so important because they have not just become advocates, quite frankly, they are evangelists for us, ensuring that we are buying fair trade goods when we are out getting the messages. I am proud of all that has been achieved since we became a fair trade nation, but it is vital that we keep up the momentum. That is why I am pleased to announce that, in addition to the £1.7 million that the Scottish Government has already provided to build our capacity, another £324,000 over the next two financial years to the Scottish Fair Trade Forum to take forward our fair trade nation work. In addition, I have also signed, like many others of my fellow MSPs, the Scottish Fair Trade Forum's pledge, and in doing so I am committing to take action to promote Scotland's fair trade nation status. When global catastrophes occur, whether there have been natural disasters such as the recent devastation caused by storm Anna in Malawi or acts of aggression such as the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, we feel compelled to act. However, pictures of the daily struggles of fair trade farmers and producers rarely make the headlines. The new challenges they face day after day simply to put food on the table is the harsh reality for millions of people. Sometimes it can feel like there is little we can do to change that, but the simple fact is that there is something we can do. We can make a huge difference just by choosing products that carry the fair trade mark next time we shop. The fair trade premium ensures that farmers and producers can feed their families, build homes by medicine and send their children to school. Those are basic human needs, things that many of us take for granted, but for some they are luxuries that remain out of reach. Together we can change that. Time and again the people of Scotland demonstrate that we are a caring nation, whether it be close to home or in the furthest corners of the world. Whenever there is a cry, we will do all we can to help. I thank Claire Adamson at Government Donald and colleagues for their leadership in that today. Thank you very much indeed. That concludes the debate and I suspend this meeting of Parliament until 2.30.


Look at a bust through those strength plateaus, do some isometrics. There's a lot of benefits to isometric training. Here are a few. Increased muscle mass, increased strength gains, low impact training, great for rehab and very low risk. You can immediately start working on isometrics by holding a position and squeezing and contracting your muscles for about five to 15 seconds max. Making sure to breathe in between and recruit as many muscle fibers as possible.


Well then welcome to the translation of the talk digital education at school From the 34th case communication Congress in Leipzig. We are pink dispatcher and catty and This is all about Making of things We have a lot of fun doing that and we want to share this with the younger people as well and And This talk is supposed to tell you how this is possible And someone gives an example of of what you can do with people or children in fifth grade And we want to give a big hand to katya bach who's holding this talk. Thank you Okay Hello and welcome to my talk My name is katya and I want to tell you something about digital education at school And how do you imagine the typical coder the Standard coder basically Well, yeah, like this, right? She's female 11 years old She has a polish on her fingernails and if you actually think about it You come to the question Can kids for example if you're old kids can they actually code? And I want to give you a few examples the first one Is of wonder workshop It's a special robot. It's it's about the robot Maybe some of you know that it's a block based programming language The first block is start The second one is Forward 100 and really fast The third block says stop and the fourth block says hi And the question is can kids do this? Can they code? And so you can see yes, of course they can You can see all these small kids and these are the robots we were talking about and they can do it without any problem There's no grown-up With them and they're just doing it and the second example It's from a It's the informatic beaver information technology beaver and it's all about puzzles And this task is for kids from third grade on And the task is you have Two vents one one is closed Water can't get through and one is open Where the water can flow through We have two parts of water and three flowers So which flower gets the water? Yeah, the middle one and the question is Can these Can these tasks can can kids solve them? And this is no problem at all These are kids in fourth grade and they solve these puzzles And they have headphones on So they can concentrate on the on the task And everyone can do them on their own And it's no problem. They can do that So well the next example is a robot It's coded using c plus c plus plus and there's a small application with one task and Bob threes said led i1 white So This tells the one the i1 to to be said to white So the question is if i write one one line of code to To to do this with the i2 as well and can kids do that So can they program with text based? And would that be fun for them? That was also the question and with these with this question Um, there was a model project in Aachen Where seven schools took part and uh, it's fifth and sixth grade 14 teachers and 223 pupils And They had to be motivated and to be positive about the project and their first task was to To solder to solder the hardware they were supposed to program So you can see this is a really small board of small robot and they sold it for the first time And here you can see a typical class situation They had 13 tht parts And they They joined in two people for one project, which was quite good Because it took out the stress And if you're soldering this one is soldering and the other one can put put parts in and Check if it's on the right spot and on the right side and everything And that worked out pretty well So here here you can see a different class in a different school And they did the same two are working together And what did they have to do they had to sold uh, um five resistors Uh an led and a phototransistor for To to to program a special project There's two jump jumpers and one battery holder and an And a and a plug that was basically everything they needed And that and doing that in in teams of two they used about one hour There's a different class They did this in a computer in the computer lab Some are faster and And some some took the next hours as well, but in general they usually just took like one Two two hours to school lessons basically and my biggest fear was there was enough for them And that they are happy with it already and they were really happy with the project and even the teacher was really happy And kids are really really honest about it And there was like okay I'd never programmed and I don't really need that But the target was to to have them program stuff And uh, that doesn't really that didn't really happen because they were really interested in in programming So here Wooden tables in the in the working lab and uh And the pupils who finished earlier They talked to the teacher and and they had they got an additional laptop computer So they could look at it and they they didn't really know about How it worked and what programming was Or how they should work But they were very curious and really wanted to do it themselves And really learn how it works and how it's done. That was very that was great And of course after that they they really worked in the in the computer lab as well afterwards And here's a classroom situation And in the end about six to eight Uh double lessons they were programming and what surprised me with this group Was that that all of them really wanted to sit alone at the computer And the the teacher had to had to open a second computer lab because everybody wanted to do it on their own I found that Thought that was quite quite interesting that they were motivated like that And so how do you and you imagine They're they're small pupils and what did they do really what exactly have they done and that I wanted to show you So you can imagine have get a better picture of of what they did and Exactly this is They used an a learning environment a learning platform And these two that there was that we saw on the photograph And here's the very first introduction And in this sixth sixth part And they already learned that there is a setup function Where Where stuff is executed only once that's in there And now they are learning and they They shall They shall make one I Turn on and off regularly just blinking and And they are learning about the loop function And So things are executed over and over again so that it blinks Turns on and off Again and again And they learn about the delay function the delay 500. It's the instruction that That the control of the robot waits 500 milliseconds And we can take a look at that so the program does the following It's set led I1 so I1 the first eye is Turned on and white then it waits and then it turns off again and waits again and I can Show you And this has to be compiled And then And then it should be Okay, and here you can see That a little blinking light there And the task was To try different values and that's exactly the point where the two girls Who discussed about that who just discussed that and I walked over to them And I already had the the prejudice that What are they talking about? Are they really talking about the program? I I really couldn't imagine that And and they asked me what what do you think better? What do you think is better delay 50 or delay 500? And I thought Well, what what do I What's better Who knows it it all depends what I want to do and I thought they didn't really understand it And the other one of them then said delay 50 is is much too hectic. It's much too fast The blinking and the other said delay 500. You fall asleep. That's too slow And I thought and I realized that they understood exactly what was going on. They they really knew what they were doing And so small number of milliseconds wait a little bit And fast blinking 500 milliseconds wait for a longer time and slower blinking And I was really really surprised that they Could do that could do it like that and then and I said so maybe Maybe try 200 And I didn't help them and they they did that on their own And compiled it and tried it and Loaded it again And I didn't didn't need to help them. They they did that on their own in fifth grade. I thought that was that was good And it goes on Because it's for school There's always in the end of a chapter. There's a small quiz so that that I know in the end And we can do one of the quiz can do one one quiz here. So what does the what is the instruction delay 1000 do? So Possibility a is the controller works 1000 milliseconds faster or be the controller waits for 1000 milliseconds So well, it's your turn now And I'll do it and the second question is what happens if all instructions If you remove all instructions from the loop function and put them into the setup function So I remove all of this And And move it to to the setup function. So a nothing changes or b I one remains on all the time Or c I one Lights once and is then off Okay. Well, let's see Oh, okay. Apparently that was correct Yeah so And now can go into the second one And it's a little more exciting now And they should do it Should have the eyes blink Alternately in yellow So if one turns on the other turns off And this is the program here, which we had in the previous part That's already done And we can we can load that And works Now They needed to program for themselves. So I one turned on in yellow And now Bob three set led And then I two Off And then wait And then turn I one off. It's already there and I two turn on So There we get the blinking effect Bob three set led Okay, like this. Let's try that Let's do it in orange So you can imagine like imagine like this they get a small task and had to try that And okay. Yeah, it works good And the cut out see immediately if it worked or not and what they really liked And I can show you There you can select different colors For example, let's let's try a different color Let's try cyan And the other maybe purple Let's just see and Okay. Yeah, so that's the way they could do it And now change the program code so that it blinks faster. Well, maybe I can do that as well Yeah, okay. Okay So you can play around with it And the people should should learn Learn about delay about the loop function and Really mastered a little bit and the next task is that it blinks a bit slower again And we don't do that now, but we can look at this at another interesting quiz here What happens if In this program in line four You introduce a delay to thousand in line four insert that a The blinking doesn't start because the compiler waits be The program doesn't compile because it doesn't make any sense Or see the blinking starts after two thousand milliseconds Or d after Every execution of the loop function it waits for two thousand milliseconds Okay So who votes for a Okay b b anyone c c And d All right, let's let's try that then Yeah, okay There was Loud cheers and it's okay Okay So the question is what do boys program And boys are not about not interested in delays and boys are not interested in delay 500 Boys are interested in delay five million. Yeah, that's right So what do you think They type this in they compile it And transfer it to the device and the rest of the hour. Well, yeah They are waiting That was a bit mean actually it's not like this. I can show you something There's more steps We would start with the intro too And this application was really great for the kids it is it is true or false About three is supposed to be the finder of the truth And the kids learn to use if else tasks And it's a it's a completely new structure for them And there are stuff that's asked for Well, they don't know about this yet so They are supposed to solve this and to try them out If this condition is true then the robot is supposed to be has green eyes And if not the eyes were supposed to be red Oh, yes, it's lights lights up green and the tasks are like for example If this If we set this to one Equals equals three. Let's see what it does Where the kids are asking where this robot knows this from And you can explain explain it and you get some kind of little click moments. They're trying stuff out, of course What's Times two thousand So what do you think happens in this case? Let's see So they are trying stuff out And they can can try different different stuff from the same cluster They can just try it and and do whatever they want to do So there's examples what you can try but they usually get this idea from themselves What they want to try for themselves So I I won't do this now And there's also a few questions that are asked and that have to be answered. I want to show you something else That most kids like They have to have to to make to make a police car blink And they are supposed to use knowledge they already have And it's supposed to light certain LEDs to make it a little more spectacular And the second part of the of the application You have different loops special loops So it's supposed to to perform pattern pattern one five times And to flash flash the eyes light the eyes red and to set white LEDs Well it performs this five times and there's a different pattern. It's just like flashing I can transfer this to my bob As you can see So it first makes the one pattern and then the other Kids like about this and what motivates them is that they can do them do it themselves You can see it here. It's always the same same functions For example the delay and they learned about this and I learned this and they are thinking, okay, I can use this To and they can tell the teacher or the or the parent see this is what I did and I can change the colors They're really proud of what they did They're really proud of showing it off With their own knowledge and their own skills So on this model project We had so many kids participating And that's the this evil prejudice that Coding and stuff is only only for for for kids interested in mathematics and physics And we asked kids and we wanted to know about this So do you really like mathematics at school? And it's really More or less even evenly And the other question was How they like the bob project They have they have two hours of of soldering And and 12 hours of of programming And this is what what it turned out to be So this is this is really cool in my opinion Well, it was really fun to to do this with the kids Yeah, so no matter how big or small Coding Coding is something you first have to think about And then you type it And then it works And the conclusion is yeah kids can do that They can code Of course, they can and if you have the right concept they they they have fun doing it Thank you for listening in and Have a great day Oh, yeah, thank you Katja. It's a nice talk Really really interesting And also interesting how to see Kids eyes glowing We have the opportunity to take some questions with four microphones in this hall And there's already cues Behind the microphones and we start with microphone one Hi, hi Katja Katja. Thank you for this talk and for your work at schools I really think it's amazing and it's important to do that My question is How can we you know, I'm not a teacher or something I'm really interested in this How can we Push all these things forward as a community. Can we go to schools? Do we have to be teacher to do this? So I think the schools are really interested in that and you really That would be in the afternoon probably so in North Rhine Westphalia, for example, there's something called etg It's it's ITG inform a computer science Basic education and they do the whole spectrum And they're probably interested in that if someone Someone comes along and says I do it. Yeah, I could could imagine that would work I would talk to the teachers or to the schools and if you know about someone just talk to them And ask them where if they if they need someone to to do to do things Well, let's see about the signal angel questions from the internet are not available. So next question here I have a question about the whole circumstances. For example, the sounds compiling and stuff like that Are they really helpful Can can do kids work work with it more frequently and they are happy or is it like oh, it's cute and kids work with it More easily and have more fun yeah What I what I've seen is that the kids like it and the teacher who has a a class of 30 pupils Uh Maybe he'll distribute headphones or says or mute it. Please. Yeah, that's that's what I found. Yeah Okay, microphone two please Hi, thanks for this talk and thanks for this project Were there any reactions from teachers from from from ministries of of education? Is it better than excel or html programming? Um No, not yet, but it this is a relatively new project. It's it's only there since October last year and the model project has has just finished But maybe maybe that will come but but but excel is important too Okay microphone one please I have a I have a pretty serious question you measured the success of this project And is there a problem with the evaluation even if you have applause in the room? theory is We want to Push kids forward to to be coders, but does it actually work out are there any experiences besides all these trivial applications It's it's really the case that if you do it with 30 kids you you probably won't have 30 computer science students And at university but but we tried it like this and I would say maybe from the out of the 30 pupils maybe 10 Are really very interested in that and and I found that that's a that's a pretty good pretty good ratio One question from the internet the internet wants to know How how durable are these robots? How long do they survive? Well Really they they shouldn't really be dropped on the floor. Maybe they fall down and I don't really know I saw at once that that someone during soldering Did with the tweezers picked off the eye and it had to be repaired and Well, but most of them really really worked and they shouldn't really fall to the floor Yeah Microphone for please Thank you for my side. I have two short questions Can you tell us something about the robot in the tool chain and the programming Our structure? Why can we get this and what is it and the second one is it's more practical and a question The biggest problem in my opinion is That the Pre-requisites are really high if you have 30 kids in a class There's a tech technological freak and someone who never has sold it And some some aren't done after after the first lessons So how do you handle this especially When you also have the teacher and some other people Maybe I answer the second question first For me it was Surprising to see that it is as you say some of them Really Will already started programming Or are very advanced in their programming tasks and the others are just beginning and I Really talked to the teachers And they know about that and classes are always In homogeneous And there are always these differences and one teacher for example told me that he he thinks it's it's great that Even those who are slow They just they still just do something and maybe and for an entire half year They just do blinking lights and changing the colors But but he said if if he gave them a A sheet of math they don't do anything So it was a surprising that the teacher was actually satisfied with that And they know about the the differences They they have experience with that and Of course you have to You have to take it as it is and some Program at the very beginning others have started programming a game with the robot So if I understand you correctly you can't really change it and it's it will always be this like this Yeah, that's that's how I saw it with if you do it with 30 kids in this class then So if you have a certain Working group there's a selection A pre-selection but in the classroom It's that's just how it is And what was the first question So can you tell us something about the robot? Well, can you tell me something about the robot? Okay, you can find it find it on the net. It's bob three Just look for it. It's the little circuit board And and this lesson is here. You can you can find that And time is up even if there are many questions And maybe Katja is available afterward. Okay. We are today We are here with eight computers and the robots in the chaos west We have our assembly if someone wants to try that, please Please come by and try it for yourselves chaos west


I'm Chief Warrant Officer Foster and I would like in this film to show you a reenactment of how I made use of the polygraph during the investigation of a crime a few months ago. The incident involved an allegation that someone had broken into the PX and stolen 14 watches. I found no fingerprints at the scene which could be connected with a crime but my investigation did reveal that one of the stolen watches was in the possession of PFC Armstrong Echo Company. It was identified by trade name and serial number. Well as I told you before last Sunday I just happened into Dugan's bar and grill for just a minute or so and I was having a beer a small beer and this guy that had come in pulled my sleeve and asked me if I'd like to buy a good watch cheap. He had the watch right in my eyes when I turned around. Well when I was looking at the watch he was offering to sell it to me for just a fraction.  He wanted ten dollars for it but all I had was five but he grabbed it and he left in a hurry to catch his bus. Now I realized that that he pulled the rush act on me so that I couldn't identify him. He was right but I do know one thing he was a civilian not a soldier. Well all right Armstrong I guess that's enough for today. Yes I know him Danny Armstrong sweet guy. When was the last time you saw him in here. Sunday night. About what time. Eight nine o'clock. You recall how ladies stayed. I think around ten. Was he sitting alone. When I served him he was alone. Do you recall if at any time in the evening you saw him talking with anyone. No I hadn't noticed I was very busy. Well thanks very much. Well bye bye. So it appeared he was at Dugans during and after the time the watches were stolen but I could find no one who had seen a civilian talking to him with or without a watch. We checked his company. Negative. Was there a civilian. If not why did Armstrong claim there was. If so what bus took him where. If he took a bus. At this point I began to consider use of the polygraph. But I had to interview him once again. This second interview brought no more results than the first major trip please. Major Foster here. I just completed my second interview with Armstrong. Well not much more than I got the first time. I'd like to try the polygraph. My CEO Major Tripp set up a conference with the authorizing representative Colonel warrants and our polygraph examiner chief warrant officer Davis. I briefed the colonel with the facts and circumstances of the investigation to date. In view of the evidence presented I will authorize the use of the polygraph in this case. Any questions. No sir. Thank you. Thank you sir. Because a polygraph examiner must understand every fact and piece of evidence connected with the investigation. I gave Davis the examiner a detailed briefing so he could be prepared the next morning should Armstrong elect to take a polygraph examination. I also called Armstrong CEO and requested that he see that Armstrong get a good night's rest and direct Armstrong to report to our office at 0900 the next day. Bear in mind that the polygraph is not a substitute for a thorough investigation. It is an investigation aid. The polygraph may when necessary be used in any case where the punishment may be death or confinement of one year or more. And where there is reason to believe that the person to be examined has knowledge of or was involved in the matter under investigation. Only polygraph examiners who satisfy stringent prerequisites are certified to conduct polygraph examinations. The subject is introduced to the examiner. He is greeted in a friendly but businesslike manner. The examiner then reads to the subject article 31 of the uniform code of military justice. The examiner also explains the article fully advising him of all his rights including that of consulting with legal counsel and then informs him that he is suspected of housebreaking and larceny. The examiner then asks Armstrong if he is willing to take a polygraph examination and it is made clear to him that a refusal on his part will in no way be interpreted as a sign of guilt. After asking a few questions about the polygraph Armstrong consents to its use. The examiner explains the circumstances under which the polygraph will be used and whether the examination will be monitored by listening and or viewing devices. Armstrong learned that he need not answer any questions against his will. That the examination is voluntary and he may terminate it at any time. The suspect agreed to the examination and signed the statement of consent. Davis and I signed the form as examiner and witness. I left at this point. The departure of the investigator ensures that the examiner will have the privacy he needs. The subject's attention must be concentrated on the questions he is asked. The polygraph may have a psychological influence on a subject. To many it is an unknown quantity and as such may be feared. To ensure against anything which might distract or disturb the subject privacy is essential. The examiner wishes to establish rapport between the subject and himself and to alleviate any tension or anxiety which the subject may feel. The pretest interview should put the subject's mind at ease and this is done best in private. Above all the examiner must scrupulously avoid using the polygraph as a psychological prop to influence the subject and he must not attempt to make a psychiatric or physical diagnosis of the subject. A polygraph examination must be limited to the areas directly relevant to the investigation.  Now I've advised you fully and carefully of your rights. Do you have any questions about that? No sir. Good. Now the purpose of this examination is to determine just how truthful you've been to investigate a foster. Now you've told him repeatedly that you bought the stolen watch from a man unknown to you in a downtown bar. Sir I'm not worried about the examination because it's bound to prove there is no way I could have stolen the watch. Why do you say why do you say no way Danny? Well I was with a buddy of mine, Private Sammy Smith and we were at Dugan's bar during the very time you people say the watch was stolen. We didn't go near the PX. When we finish this test we can go over and look up Sammy and Company D. He'll tell you the same thing. Private Sammy Smith, D Company. He was with you at the time the watch was stolen. Danny the name Smith is new to me. Did you at any time mention Private Smith to investigate a foster? No sir I didn't. Will you see Sammy's had some bad breaks. If you want to call him that well I sort of resent it. I mean why don't you guys pick on somebody else instead of picking on him all the time. Well I thought I figured that Sammy would probably be blamed again so I wanted to set the record straight right now. Okay Danny. We'll look up Private Smith later. For now returning to you I need some information about you for my records. Armstrong, Daniel, middle initial, Edward E. Examiner Davis here is seeking to establish rapport with the subject to help him control his nervous tension. Usually when a man starts talking about his favorite topic himself his other concerns will assume a lesser importance to him. The rule is get him to talk and let him talk. A tense, resentful, overwrought subject will bring about unwarranted responses. All right Danny where do you come from? Won't let Grove, Missouri. Have you lived there all your life? Yeah. Well uh tell me a little about it. Well it's just a place where I grew up. Mom and dad still live there. Davis leads him conversationally through his background and history. Gradually PFC Armstrong tells him all about his education level. He left Walnut Grove after two years of high school, worked in a supermarket for a while, was promoted rapidly from package boy to storeroom assistant and then depart time cashier. No, he never was arrested. Never even picked up before. I just sort of drifted around till I joined up. When I finish my hitch I'm going to go back and get that high school diploma. Nowadays you need it if you want to mount anything.  Well it's fine Danny. I wish everybody had your cooperative attitude. Well now the time has come to uh work out together the questions I'll ask you in the polygraph examination. Then we'll review all of the questions. We'll dry run them several times if we have to. Now you understand I won't ask you any question that we haven't reviewed. Yeah I'm glad to hear that. I thought that's how it worked that you suddenly shot out a question at the guy and threw him off base. No no you have my word about that Danny. There'll be no surprise questions. Only the questions that we've agreed on. Thank you sir. Okay. I'm going to ask you some questions that I've written down as we've talked. Let's assume that the polygraph is now attached to you and the actual examination is taking place. Now Danny I want you to answer each question with a yes or no. No more. Yes. Now if you should object to the form of any question or if it isn't clear to you you interrupt. If we're to proceed certain questions must be asked of you but I want you to understand and agree to the way each one is written. Yes sir. Well good Danny. Let's start with the first question. Did you steal that watch. I told you I didn't. Danny please I asked you answer each question yes or no. Sorry I forgot sir. Okay. Did you steal that watch. No. Did you steal that watch from the post exchange. No. Did you buy that watch from an unknown person in Dugan's bar. Yes. Do you intend to answer truthfully each question regarding the stolen watch. Yes. Is your last name Armstrong. Yes. Were you born in the state of Missouri. Yes. Were you born in the month of May. Yes. Do you sometimes watch television. Yes. Are you sometimes called Danny. Yes. Well it's fine Danny. Now I'm going to rearrange the order with which I'll ask you the questions. I'll be exactly the same questions but don't be surprised if I asked them to you in a different order. By the way do you think you'll have any problems with any of the questions. No not if they're the same. I shouldn't have any problems. Well I'll be exactly the same you have my word on that. All right Danny let's start the testing. Would you remove your jacket please. I'll take it. Now would you sit in this chair please. That's it just relax. Now lean slightly forward and raise your arm. Examiner Davis will switch order of the examination questions for a good psychological reason. In the dry run he asked the relevant the most fearful question first. In the actual test his gentle first question will allow the subject to dissipate his initial uneasiness and thus be in a more receptive condition for the balance of the test. The gentle neutral questions that will also be asked during the test will allow reactions to the relevant questions to dissipate. The neutral questions will relax the subject but the subject will know that the relevant questions are coming. OK Danny. Now when a question is asked the three components that are attached to your body immediately convey your reactions to those three pens over there. They write down your reaction on that moving chart. That chart language may not be intelligible to you but it has a definite meaning to me. Let me explain these three things to you. Now they're all harmless there is no pain connected with the wearing of any of these components like this tubing around your chest. We call that the pneumograph. It merely measures your breathing pattern. These plates on your fingers galvanometer they record changes in the electrical resistance in your body. That is changes that take place on the surface of your skin. And last but not least a cardio spigmagraph. Don't let that long name get you down. It records changes in your pulse rate and blood pressure when a question is asked. All right Danny you ready for the examination. Yes I am. Now Danny remember. A yes or no answer to each question and please keep your feet flat on the floor. Look straight ahead and try not to move. However don't suppress any necessary movements. Is your last name Armstrong. Yes. Do you intend to answer truthfully each question regarding the stolen watch. Yes. Do you sometimes watch television. Yes. Using a pen the examiner writes on the edge of the chart the number of each question as it is asked later he will be able to study the responses to each question he asked. Were you born in the month of May. Yes. Did you steal that wrist watch. No. Were you born in the state of Missouri. Yes. Did you steal that watch from the post exchange. No. Are you sometimes called Danny. Yes. Did you buy that watch from an unknown person in Dugan's bar. Yes. Usually two or three charts are made. One chart is never enough for an examiner to base an opinion of attempted deception or of no attempt at deception. And what does the chart show to the examiner a skilled eye. It definitely shows in the suspect's answer to the question did you steal that watch that Armstrong was truthful in his denial. While the answer to the question did you purchase that watch from an unknown person in Dugan's bar shows Davis just as definitely that Armstrong was deceptive in answering the question. But now how to talk Armstrong into honesty and truthfulness.  Well Danny I know now how truthful you've been mean the examination is over. With this phase of it is over. And with your complete cooperation no further testing of you will be necessary. What do you mean with my complete cooperation I've given you that so maybe maybe the machine is wrong. There's nothing wrong with the instrument very I can now state that you yourself did not steal that watch. However I must also state that you were not being truthful when you said you bought the watch from an unknown person in the bar. You're wrong sir honestly are. That is I mean the machine is wrong. Give me another test. There's no need for it.  Then I'd like to respect you too. Somehow I feel that lying is not a part of your personality.  Now you yourself wouldn't do that and yet I'm not the type to get another man in trouble. Come on Danny you're not a school boy. A school boy protecting a pal who batted a ball through a window. Look I know it's a difficult decision to make. But all of us have to abandon some of our childhood values when we grow up. Now you don't intend I hope you don't intend to go through life protecting crooks and weaklings who lean on you get you into trouble. This get me into trouble. That's not my decision to make and wouldn't want my folks to hear about it. I can assure you I won't be telling your parents but Danny bear in mind your folks I'm sure have striven to make you a straightforward honest person. Now all I'm asking for is just a little bit of that honesty. I didn't want that lousy watch anyway. Tell me the whole story Danny. Got that watch from Sammy Smith. As soon as the examiner informed me about Sammy Smith as the investigator in the case I dispatched military policemen immediately to the company where they apprehended Smith and found 12 of the 14 stolen watches in his footlocker. Smith was taken into custody and later confessed with the recovery of the stolen watches and written statements obtained from Smith and Armstrong. This investigation was successfully completed. I had been confronted with a subject who was stubbornly replying to interrogation with lies as to how the stolen watch came into his possession. This was clearly a place in my investigation where the polygraph could help through its use. We established that the watch came into the possession of the subject from the actual thief who was named apprehended and later confessed. Remember the polygraph is no substitute for a thorough investigation. It is a valuable aid to all investigators when properly utilized.


Yes, my name is James Castro. I'm the CEO of St. Peter St. Joseph children's home here in San Antonio And I'm going to start off tell telling you a few minutes about who we are and how we came to be Because it's relevant in the context of how we care for these unaccompanied children St. PJ's was founded by the Sisters of Charity of Incarnate Word way back in 1869 when the city of San Antonio was still growing up The city still didn't have a hospital or infirmary and so the sisters arrived here in 1869 to set up an infirmary The sisters immediately as they had their hospital and unfortunately when people passed away that had children The sisters took in the children and that's how they got into the orphanage business And so they had this four-story building downtown San Antonio and two of the floors quickly became the orphanage caring for kids It was in 1874 that the sisters opened St. Joseph's orphanage for girls And then it was in 1890 that they opened an orphanage for boys They were operating that way for a number of years and then unfortunately tragedy hit the sisters and in 1912 The boys orphanage burned down and so that obviously was a big a big tragedy for our city That's when the Catholic Church stepped in and the bishop at the time said you know what sisters Let's get you out of downtown and all the growth and all the hustle and bustle We've got some property across the street. Well, I shouldn't say there wasn't a street We got some property next to Mission Concepcion. So in 1912 The sisters moved the boys orphanage to our current property over there on Mission Road It was in the late 20s that the sisters also then got enough money to build the girls orphanage And so we've been collectively operating as an orphanage on that property Since that time since 1913 Then what happened is the states all across the country Started regulating and licensing orphanages what also happened started changing too is like these two are that just spoke before me is our State our countries started looking at how to care for children differently than just property and that was a good thing obviously for kids and so St. PJ's made it made a Transition from caring from orphan children to abused and neglected children in the late 60s early 70s and that's when St. PJ's children's home also made a transition from being under the operations of the sisters of charity To its own separate 501 C3 not for profit. And so we've been have our own board of governors that Overseas somebody like myself the CEO yet We are still connected to the Catholic Church the San Antonio arch diocese the arch diocese owns the land We're St. PJ's is that yet? We have a separate operation. So how it is for St. PJ's is we've got the arch Diocese which we have the arch Bishop and St. PJ's is one of the social service agencies that falls under them And so let me tell you what we do today They're at St. PJ's we have a hundred and forty beds on our campus Our campus is still about 20 acres today. We have approximately about a hundred and 60,000 square feet of space in our 12 buildings and those hundred and forty children those hundred and forty beds are for newborns All the way up to 18 years old We have at St. PJ's done. I think a heck of a job. We have a great history for caring for children food Shelter clothing Education those kind of things we we've always done a good job of that I think what really distinguishes St. PJ's today And I think why we're a great fit for serving and caring for these unaccompanied children is who we've become in the last Couple of years my background prior to coming to St. PJ's I'm a licensed marriage and family therapist a graduate of St. Mary's University and prior to coming to St. PJ's I worked in the mental health system Substance abuse mental retardation for an organization here in town called the Center for Healthcare Services So that organization cares for Those children and adults who have the most severe issues in mental health substance abuse mental retardation So as the director of children's operations One third of the kids that we cared for over there were primarily referrals from the child protective services system Another third came from our Baird County juvenile probation system and then another third came from our independent school districts All right, so I got I got a lot of experience working in that forum Working with children with severe trauma issues as well as working with their families So I brought that history over to St. PJ's who already had a robust counseling center as part of our campus Providing counseling services for our kids yet I saw that we could do more because one of the things that I got exposed to in the whole child welfare system And I know you're all gonna shake your head on this when I when I kind of put this out there But no surprise kids who have suffered trauma of abuse and neglect be it here in the US are coming from other parts of The world guess what kids who suffered abuse and neglect make up the highest Percentage of our homeless population Any surprise no kids who've been abused and neglected make up the highest Percentage of people that are in jail that are in prison Kids who've been abused and neglected make up the highest percentage of prostitution 90% 90% of all confirmed Murderers were abused as children Okay Other statistics that you're all familiar with Who makes up the highest percentages of our teen pregnancy? Abused and neglected kids. Who do you think possibly makes up the highest percentage of our school dropouts? abused and neglected kids So here at st. PJ's we have become Singly focused not only on food and shelter and clothing which we do very well, but how do you heal? Children of abuse and neglect how do you break the cycle because you've also probably no surprise The highest percentage of people who abuse and neglected and neglect their children is who? People who've been abused and neglected So there at st. PJ's we're working hard to heal kids So we've we've developed a process of how we do that with using state-of-the-art Information best practices on not only integrating things such as therapy which we do all of our children all of the immigrant children When they come to st. PJ's within 24 hours, they're seeing a clinician within 24 hours, okay? All of the children also have a case manager that they see within 24 hours One of the things that we did there at st. PJ's is where the children are kept in the dorms on our campus Is our therapists and our case managers their offices are in the dorm? All right, they're not in the administration building So they have access to the children the children have access to these professional individuals at any time any moment Yes, they still have structured, you know counseling of times and they have group appointments Which is all good yet they have access to the people who can help them the best and the most at any given time So that's really really important now I say that we do that for the unaccompanied children, but guess what we were already doing that for the children We care for from cps. So my point is on that issue. It's part of the norm how we care for children So these children right away God-willing are already on the road to healing on the road to hope and that's one of the things that I believe Assist our legal folks Tremendously because if you have a child that is less afraid less stressed right starting to have hope Hopefully they're more open to open up and tell their story and talk about the things that they've been through So what else does st. PJ's do there for caring for these kids? Well right away We have we have teachers part of our staff and their certified teachers and we have teachers aides And so the children Monday through Friday are in a like a classroom like environment from nine to three and We have them in different Classrooms based upon their gender and their age and then we evaluate we assess we ask questions to find out What kind of education what level have they had or had not and then our teachers make up individual plans to work with that child Now it was as it was shared by Jonathan the children that are with us aren't there with us for very long Maybe three to four weeks. So what do we do in three to four weeks? Well, right away? We obviously start teaching them English How to speak it and how to write it? We also start teaching them math. Can they you know, how are they with numbers? They need to know that stuff to be able to survive then we also start teaching them about America We teach them about Texas history We also start exposing them to a little bit of science and of course we have recreation throughout the day, too That's part of what they get and let me bring that piece to why that's important to healing Okay, when we're talking about healing a child, you're talking about emotions You're talking about the psychology of the child But guess what you're also talking about the physical well-being of the child too And so all of our children through HHS also get to see a medical doctor all of our children see a doctor also within 24 hours and we make available to them all of the care that they Need as well through our partnerships with medical doctors and with hospitals here in San Antonio So they get all that medical care to whatever is needed some of the stories Where you hear that children are coming across with all kind of ailments Since Saints PJs has been serving these children in May 2013 We got brought up as you saw on the numbers this morning. That's when we got started in May 2013 We've served just under two thousand children. Okay, in that short period of time The biggest issue that we've had to deal with and this is just our experience There's other organizations such as Baptist Child and Family Services Southwest Keys Another international education services who serve hundreds of kids at a time We have 82 beds on our campus and we're licensed also for 24 foster families. All right So the children that we have served the biggest medical issue that we've had to deal with chicken pox Okay, chicken pox. So there are other facilities that maybe deal with other issues Alright, but percentage-wise of the two thousand little under two thousand kids that we've had to deal with That's the major issue. Now when it comes to the psychological Issues of the child or the children that are from been a part of gangs or or cartels or some of those stories I can tell you had same PJs of the just under two thousand kids that we've served, okay We've had three incidents Where we had to be concerned of and where those children needed to go to a more secure safer environment And let me put that in context same PJs is not a lockdown facility Okay, it is it is we are of our 20-acre campus. Yes We have we have a fence all the way around us But we're not a locked facility 12-foot high fences bob wire around them where you have to have all these security clearances to come on our campus All right, and so that means yes when the federal field specialists with health and human services Truly identify a child who may be at risk because they they truly are maybe a risk to our population or others They are they are cared for in other settings But the majority of kids the majority of kids just from our experience. They don't fall into any of those kind of situations Okay, so let me bring it back to the thing about healing. How do you heal children? How do you how do you begin that as parents? How do you do that? Well, we all know the the the regular part of taking that child to a doctor when you take a child to a doctor You're counting on that specialist obviously figure out what the problem is and then they give you a plan of care Prescription of care to begin the healing of a child as we all know It's much more complicated when you're dealing with the emotional and psychological parts of a child But guess what the good news is we are starting to bring science into how we also care for children Because when you talk about emotions and in the psychology and the cognitive part of who we are as people Well, where does all that rest? Well, that all rests in the brain, right? And so we know today which parts of the brain are responsible for what type of functioning We also know today what part of the brain is developing at what age and we also know what typical Typical behavior looks like versus non-typical behavior And so we're able to work with these kids in the short period of time and put them in a great setting a great Environment that begins the healing right away our therapist our case managers are skilled and they're trained and not touching Some of those trigger points that you may think of in traditional mental health because we know we're going to have these kids For a short period of time and actually you may be doing more injustice if you start opening up some of those wounds and boom They're gone two weeks later going to a sponsor going to a family who has access to zero resources So what I would like to say in regards to what st. PJ's does is our legislators and HHS Looks at what more can we do for these kids that we ask that question How do we heal the children during the time that we have them? What kind of supports do they need? What kind of resources do they need? How do we bring the expertise of understanding human development and how? traumatic experiences Impacts the lifelong Implications of a person how does America how does our system bring the supports necessary so we can help these kids Since I know we had these children for a short period of time guess what I believe I believe truly that the children will remember Their experience at st. PJ's for the rest of their life That's a good thing because eventually they are going to forget the name of st. PJ's But they're going to remember their first experience here in America, and that's a good thing if the children stay with us Or should they go back? It's a good thing. They had a good experience in America when they were cared for when they first got here So that's what I would like to share with you all this morning And I thank you very much if if you want to know more about st. PJ's and actually we have a website Just go look up st. PJ home And you will find us and and I look forward to meeting you or talking to you more at some other time. Thank you


I'm Catalina Rubla, I am the Executive Director of Multi-Arts, besides I am a musician too, so what I do is create this program and run this program that is for children in the arts and as the name says, Multi-Arts is all the arts from dancing to music, theater, writing, mind, everything that you think is arts will go. So Multi-Arts was founded 18 years ago, I have two sisters and all in my family we are artists so they came one summer they came to visit and I was directing a program, I have been directing programs in music and chamber music and then I thought well why don't that you are here, why don't we do a program for the children. All the projects are like wonderful, like what to choose, everything is so exciting. If I can choose from one of them is the theater this year was so amazing, the kids create a whole story, give all these stories and there was a day one they came together and said how about if we do this and someone happened to do and all this story and all the kids giving all this story and the teacher went and wrote down the story the same day, the same night, next day come and with the script written and oh I want to add this and it was it was amazing was so so beautiful all the arts is an expression of your soul you know when something comes from the spirit and you know how you really connect with the people who are listening so it has to be an honest, honest it's not like I'm going to do this just to get this but it's an honest connection with who you are and teach kids and teach people discipline, perseverance, persistence and knowing that you have to work and practice and practice to be able to create something that is beautiful, that is expressive and that really can move the lives of other people.