For its 2020 edition, the declared theme is “Sustainable Consumer” and the aim of sustainable consumption is to increase resource efficiency and fair trade while helping to reduce poverty and enable everyone to enjoy a good quality of living with access to food, water, energy, medicine and more. This year’s theme is in line with the National Sustainable Development Goal (NSDP) priority under Economy pillar 1. An economy based on equitable Sustainable growth under Policy Object ECO 1.9 which says “Promote financial literacy and consumer empowerment”.
The program was designed to facilitate the delivery of basic knowledge and advice about consumers’ rights, and the procedures or mechanism in place that consumers can and should use whenever they feel their rights as a consumer is not being respected. This was in a strive to promote a safe environment, fair treatment and transparency when dealing with consumer rights.
TRBR has been taking lead on this event since 2015 to help promote the rights and interests of the general consumers within the country. This year, a task force was set up consisting of various institutions including the Reserve Bank of Vanuatu ( RBV) , the Utility Regulatory Authority ( URA) , the Vanuatu Bureau of Standard (VBS), the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OGCIO), and the Crime Prevention Unit under the Vanuatu Police Force. The role of the task force was to plan this event in a way that would empower the consumers by providing them with the necessary information they need to understand their rights and responsibilities as well as promoting sustainable consumer behaviours.
This year’s event was hosted in Luganville town for the first time, to give a fair opportunity to the people in the northern part of the country to have access the World Consumer Rights Day programme and its benefits.
There were over 400 people present throughout the day at the Luganville Unity Park including students from several secondary schools in Sanma Province and members of the public.