There will be an intense coffee aroma in Milan on 30 September and 1 October 2015, when the Global Coffee Forum takes place. This is the first international meeting on coffee open to all coffee lovers, and is promoted by the International Coffee Organization (ICO), the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the Italian Coffee Committee, EXPO Milano and Fiera Milano Congressi, with contributions from Italy’s leading coffee companies, Illy and Lavazza.
The event, at which Host will also be involved as a partner, will bring together at the ‘Stella Polare’ Congress Centre at Rho Fiera Milano the most illustrious exponents of the industry, institutions, the scientific community and figures from the world of international culture, for two days of discussions on one of the world’s best-loved and most widely-consumed beverages.
All of this will be taking place just a stone’s throw from Expo Milano 2015 and its Coffee Cluster, and in conjunction with the International Coffee Council, gathering in Italy for the first time (28 September-2 October 2015).
The two-day Global Coffee Forum will address the subject of coffee from three main angles: pleasure, health and sustainability. The many speakers taking part will include Robério Silva, executive director of ICO; Andrea Illy, chairman of the ICO promotion and market development committee CEO of Illy; and Giuseppe Lavazza, vice president of Lavazza Group.
There will be other contributions from SCAA executive director Ric Rhinehart; Patrick Hoffer, who is president of the Coffee Promotion Consortium and Jeffrey Sachs, the director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University.
On 1 October the event will also coincide with another global moment: the first official “International Coffee Day” (ICD). Announced by the Global Coffee Forum itself, the ICO-backed day featuring initiatives around the world and inspired by values of culture, health and sustainability, will enjoy the benefit of collaboration with the leading concern Oxfam.
As international charity partner of ICD, the world’s leading confederation for rural development projects and the provision of humanitarian aid promotes a worldwide fundraising campaign. “Caffè Sospeso Against Poverty”: this so-called ‘suspended coffee’ campaign is based on the idea of donating the equivalent of a cup of coffee in support of Oxfam projects to help plantation workers.
More information on the Coffee Global Forum and its programme, and details of how to register for the event or get involved as a partner is available at www.globalcoffeeforum.com. The event will be followed live on the main social networks
