MILAN – Hanns R. Neumann Stiftung (HRNS) has made available online its miniseries of webinars on Innovation in Coffee Communities. “Recognizing that the global pandemic will continue to influence the lives of these families for months to come, we wanted to share our immediate response to this situation as well as the importance of long-term thinking” says HRNS.
“In mid-May we started a four-week miniseries on Innovation in Coffee Communities.
Over the course of these webinars, we examined each of the components of our Theory of Change, which include youth, climate, gender, farmer organizations and family business independently as well as connected and interdependent.”
Webinar 1
Sparking the creativity and entrepreneurial spirit of youth
Webinar 2
Exploring gender inclusion within farming families and organizations
Webinar 3
Building resiliency in the face of a changing climate
Webinar 4
Creating strong and thriving farmer organizations
The miniseries focused on the coffee producing communities involved with the Coffee Kids program in Honduras, Guatemala and Tanzania. “By bringing together different staff members from each region, our aim was to showcase panelists with a range of expertise, from field staff to country management to project coordinators”, says Joanna Furgiuele, Director of Partnerships and Strategic Initiatives at HRNS North America.
“Our team members have a diversity of backgrounds in all parts of the coffee sector, including 3rd and 4th generation coffee farmers, coffee exporters, and baristas.
We may be physically apart, but the truth is we’ve never been more globally connected than we are today! With access to different digital communications tools, we wanted to provide a space to bring people closer to the field even at a time of distancing. A wide group of attendees from across different segments of the coffee industry joined. With an average of 80 registrations per week from the private sector, nonprofit organizations, and research institutions, the attendees joined from 28 countries connected to exchange about the future of coffee and coffee communities.
We are so pleased that many of you took the time to learn and exchange with us and continue to do so by viewing the webinar recordings.”
All recordings of HRNS Webinars on Innovation in Coffee Communities are available at this link
COVID-19 is truly emphasizing the importance of working with a long-term vision, building strong community structures that prepare rural farming communities to be resilient. Using a holistic approach to address the many challenges faced by smallholder farming families, even before COVID-19, Hanns R. Neumann Stiftung continues to develop and implement tailor made programs to help these families prosper and for youth to become drivers of thriving communities in coffee regions.
