2021 Partnership Meeting
The 2021 Partnership Meeting was held online on November 17-18 under the theme ‘Overcoming Challenges Together’.
The Partnership Meeting is the leading global conference on cocoa sustainability. It seeks transformative change in the cocoa supply chain through policy dialogue, joint learning, and knowledge sharing.
Attendees and speakers included high-level government officials, donors and multilateral organizations, top executives from cocoa and chocolate companies (such as WCF members and the Board of Directors), civil society organizations, subject matter experts, and cocoa producers.
Watch 2021 highlights:
Thank you to our sponsors:
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Register below for the 2021 Partnership Meeting.
Our 2021 Partnership Meeting theme is ‘Overcoming Challenges Together’.
This era of disruption reminds us that we are all linked, across borders, from cocoa farmers to chocolate consumer, and that our collective destiny is based on the well-being of all.
We are all interconnected, more than ever.
This is why we must work together toward a thriving and sustainable cocoa sector, where farmers prosper, communities are empowered, and the planet is healthy.
This agenda is tentative and subject to change. All times are in GMT.
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3pm GMT WINCC preview event - 'Women empowerment - to Overcome Challenges Together’
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13.00 Opening Plenary
- Overcoming Challenges Together – Martin Short
- Platinum Sponsor Address – Amber Johnson
- COP26: What Does It Means for Cocoa? – Justin Adams
- Ending Child Labor: Why aren’t we there yet? What next? – Aarti Kapoor
- Overcoming Child Labor in Cocoa Together in Côte d’Ivoire – Adama Kamara
- Overcoming Child Labor in Cocoa Together – Kim Frankovich and Pablo Perversi
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Can All Cocoa Farmers Earn a Living Income?
Alex Assanvo, Antonie Fountain, Anna Laven, Cathy Pieters, Yuca Waarts
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Leadership Voices
Musdhalifah Machmud, Victor Raul Maita Fisancho, Jairo Vanegas and Carmen Vargas
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15.45 Breakout Sessions
- Investors for Cocoa Sustainability
- Cocoa & Forests Initiative State of Play
- Understanding Child Labor Severity
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17.15 Meet Up sessions
Wendy Arenas, Caroline Lubbers, Harold Poelma, Martin Short, and Assamoi Yapo
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17.35 Breakout Sessions
- Empowering women in cocoa: Progress and Next Steps
- Corporate Carbon Commitments and Cocoa Sustainability
- Investing in Quality, Flavor and Value to Fight Farmer Poverty
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13.00 Opening Plenary
- Gold Sponsor Address – Christine McGrath
- Overcoming the Challenge of Living Income Together – Alex Assanvo
- The Mechanism of the Living Income Differential – Yves Brahima Koné
- Overcoming Challenges Together in Ghana – Joseph Boahen Aidoo
- Overcoming the Challenge of Supply Management Together – Michel Arrion
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13.45 European Union Due Diligence: A New Era for Cocoa Sustainability?
Opening Remarks by Koen Doens and Heidi Hautala
Panel: Isabelle Adam, Julia Christian, Abou Dosso, Regis Meritan, Harriet Sena Siaw-Boateng, Francis West
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15.10 It's All About Traceability
Testimony by Mends Kwabena Assan
Panel with Emmanuel Benjamin Walker, Stéphanie Kadio, Emmanuel Opoku, Chris Vincent, and Olivier Zwolsman
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15.50 Conclusion
Martin Short
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16.10 Breakout Sessions
- Resilience by Working Together: Farmer Organization Case Study
- Breakthroughs in Satellite Imagery for a Healthy Planet
- What a Cocoa Virus is Teaching us about Sustainability
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17.40 Breakout Sessions
- Beyond Finance: How Savings Groups Empower Communities
- How Land Tenure Can Save Forests In Cocoa Communities
- Brazil’s Cocoa Recovery: Overcoming Challenges for a Sustainable Comeback
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19.00 End
2020 Partnership Meeting
The 2020 WCF Partnership Meeting focused on the theme “Scaling Impact in Disruptive Times” online. Learn more. Download the 2020 Partnership Meeting Summary Report.
2019 Partnership Meeting
The 2019 WCF Partnership Meeting explored “Drivers of Change” in Berlin, Germany. Learn more. Download the 2019 Partnership Meeting Summary Report.
2018 Partnership Meeting
The 2018 WCF Partnership Meeting explored “The New Frontiers of Cocoa Sustainability” in São Paulo, Brazil. Learn more.
2017 Partnership Meeting
The 2017 WCF Partnership Meeting discussed the theme “Accelerating Sustainability through Technology and Innovation” to move forward the sustainability agenda for the cocoa sector in Washington, D.C.
2016 Partnership Meeting
The 2016 WCF Partnership Meeting was focused around “People, Planet, Profit in a Changing World” and was held in partnership with le Conseil du Café-Cacao in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
2015 Partnership Meeting
The 2015 WCF Partnership Meeting took place in Washington, D.C. around the theme “Proud of our Past, Focused on our Future”.
2014 Partnership Meeting
The 2014 WCF Partnership Meeting took place in Copenhagen, Denmark with the theme of,“Connecting Sustainability, Standards and Certification”.
2013 Partnership Meetings
The 2013 WCF Partnership Meetings took place in Washington, D.C., with the theme of, “Meeting Tomorrow’s Demand: Productivity, Quality, and Farmers’ Livelihood” and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
2012 Partnership Meetings
The 2012 Partnership Meetings took place in Washington, D.C. and Zurich, Switzerland with the theme of, “Innovations in Cocoa Sustainability: People, Planet, Profit”.
2011 Partnership Meetings
The 2011 Partnership Meetings took place in San Francisco, USA with the theme, “Celebrating the Diversity of Cocoa Origins”, and Accra, Ghana with the theme of, “People, Planet, Profit: Envisioning the Future of Cocoa in Africa”.
2010 Partnership Meetings
The 2010 Partnership Meetings took place in Utrecht, Netherlands and Washington, D.C. with the theme, “Marking a Decade of Cocoa Sustainability”.
2009 Partnership Meetings
The 2009 Partnership Meetings took place in Washington, D.C. with the theme, “The Smallholder Cocoa Farmer in a Globalized World”, and Brussels, Belgium with the theme of, “Building the Capacity for a Sustainable Cocoa Sector”.
2008 Partnership Meetings
The 2008 Partnership Meetings took place in Guayaquil, Ecuador with the theme, “Lessons from Latin America – Invigorating the Cocoa Sector”, and Hamburg, Germany with the theme of, “Strategies and Practical Measures for Transforming the Cocoa Sector”.
2007 Partnership Meetings
The 2007 WCF Partnership Meetings took place in Amsterdam, Netherlands and Washington, D.C., with the theme of, “Sustainable Cocoa Farming: Building Tomorrow’s Best Practices Today”.
2006 Partnership Meetings
The 2006 Partnership Meetings took place in Brussels, Belgium with the theme, “Achieving and Measuring Sustainable Success at the Farm Level”, and Washington, D.C.
2005 Partnership Meetings
The 2005 Partnership Meetings took place in Brussels, Belgium and Washington, D.C. with the theme, “Challenges & Opportunities for Cocoa in Economic Development and Prosperity”.
2004 Partnership Meetings
The 2004 Partnership Meetings took place in Brussels, Belgium and Washington, D.C.
Download Materials
- 2020 Partnership Meeting Summary
- 2019 Partnership Meeting Summary
- 2018 Partnership Meeting Summary (English)
- 2018 Sumário Executivo do Partnership Meeting (Português)
- 2017 Partnership Meeting Summary
- 2016 Partnership Meeting Summary
- 2015 Partnership Meeting Summary
- 2014 Partnership Meeting Summary
- 2012 Partnership Meeting Washington, D.C. Day 1 Summary
- 2012 Partnership Meeting Washington, D.C. Day 2 Summary