$52 Million Investment in Education in Côte d’Ivoire Announced as Clinton Global Initiative Commitment to Action
Marrakech, Morocco (May 6, 2015) – Today, at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Middle East & Africa meeting, in partnership with the cocoa industry strategy CocoaAction, coordinated by the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF), the Jacobs Foundation launched TRECC (Transforming Education in Cocoa Communities), a seven-year Commitment to Action to enhance education, empower women, and help protect children in Côte d’Ivoire’s cocoa-growing communities. TRECC will work alongside CocoaAction to accelerate sustainability by reaching cocoa farmers with much needed productivity and community development support.
TRECC will transform education in Côte d’Ivoire through efforts focused on six interlinked action areas, including research, capacity building, matching grants, impact investing, engagement with other donors, and policy strengthening. According to the Education Policy and Data Center, 62 percent of youth ages 15-24 have not completed primary school in the West African nation.
“The World Cocoa Foundation is delighted to collaborate with the Jacobs Foundation through CocoaAction to directly benefit the education of 200,000 children in cocoa-growing communities in Côte d’Ivoire,” said Barry Parkin, chairman, World Cocoa Foundation, and chief sustainability officer and health & wellness officer, Mars, Incorporated.
WCF’s CocoaAction strategy, launched in May 2014, brings the world’s leading cocoa and chocolate companies together to accelerate sustainability and improve the livelihoods of cocoa farmers. CocoaAction develops meaningful partnerships between governments, cocoa farmers, and the cocoa industry to boost productivity and strengthen community development in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana – the leading cocoa producing countries in the world. CocoaAction intends to train and deliver improved planting material and fertilizer to 300,000 cocoa farmers and empower communities through education, child labor monitoring, and women’s empowerment. CocoaAction is measured against adherence to six key performance indicators, and the industry’s progress is publically reported on a regular basis.
“Our experience has taught us that education for a country’s poorest can only be successful if the necessary conditions are in place within the family, at work, and in society. It is also important to note that sustainable development cannot be achieved without education. We have therefore decided to take our activities in Africa to the next level with the TRECC program, in an effort to promote sustainable social and economic change in the region,” explains Lavinia Jacobs, chair of the Jacobs Foundation.
“Access to a quality education is a key component to growing the capacity of both individuals and communities. TRECC is an unprecedented commitment to improve education in Côte d’Ivoire, and WCF is optimistic that additional partners will follow Jacobs Foundation’s lead to ensure cocoa sustainability through CocoaAction,” said Bill Guyton, president, World Cocoa Foundation.
To learn more about TRECC, please visit www.jacobsfoundation.org. To learn more about CocoaAction, visit www.worldcocoafoundation.org/cocoaaction.
About WCF:
The World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) is an international membership organization that promotes sustainability in the cocoa sector. WCF provides cocoa farmers with the support they need to grow more quality cocoa and socially and economically strengthen their communities. WCF’s members include cocoa and chocolate manufacturers, processors, supply chain managers, and other companies worldwide, representing more than 80 percent of the global cocoa market. WCF’s programs benefit farmers and their communities in cocoa-growing regions of Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Americas. For more information, visit www.worldcocoafoundation.org or follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
About Jacobs Foundation:
The Jacobs Foundation is active worldwide in promoting child and youth development. It was founded in Zurich, Switzerland, by entrepreneur Klaus J. Jacobs in 1989. The Jacobs Foundation allocates a budget of approximately 40 million Swiss francs per year to fund research projects, intervention programs, and scientific institutions. It is committed to scientific excellence and evidence-based research. www.jacobsfoundation.org
About the Clinton Global Initiative:
Established in 2005 by President Bill Clinton, the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), an initiative of the Clinton Foundation, convenes global leaders to create and implement solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges. CGI Annual Meetings have brought together more than 190 heads of state, 20 Nobel Prize laureates, and hundreds of leading CEOs, heads of foundations and NGOs, major philanthropists, and members of the media. To date, members of the CGI community have made nearly 3,200 Commitments to Action, which have improved the lives of over 430 million people in more than 180 countries.
In addition to the Annual Meeting, CGI convenes CGI America, a meeting focused on collaborative solutions to economic recovery in the United States; and CGI University (CGI U), which brings together undergraduate and graduate students to address pressing challenges in their community or around the world. This year, CGI will also convene CGI Middle East & Africa, which will bring together leaders across sectors to take action on pressing social, economic, and environmental challenges. For more information, visit clintonglobalinitiative.org and follow us on Twitter @ClintonGlobal and Facebook at facebook.com/clintonglobalinitiative.
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