LONDON, UK – Viennese coffee roaster Julius Meinl is launching its annual Meet With A Poem initiative this World Coffee Day (1st October), with the hopes of providing an opportunity for people to disconnect from society’s static noise and reconnect with the important things in life – relationships with loved ones.
In today’s world, we’re more connected than ever, with continents and time zones bridged by instant messaging and by simple swipes and taps. But our dependence on technology can take its toll.
Waking up to a flurry of emails or a slew of missed calls, we no longer clock on and off. We churn out emails swiftly, but seldom take the time to communicate properly. Increasingly in relationships, meaningful dialogue, expressing emotions or even tricky conversations are neglected and things are left unsaid.
In response, Julius Meinl is hitting pause this World Coffee Day. The brand is partnering with cafes, restaurants and hotels in 17 countries to encourage people to meet up, and use poetry as a departure from the everyday.
It’s a chance to inject meaning and depth back into our relationships and say things that they haven’t had the chance to. It’s about finding the time to step away and unlock the headspace to say the unsaid things.
Discussing the campaign, Caleb Femi (PICTURE), the first young people’s laureate for London and Julius Meinl ambassador said:
“Poetry is the one of the purest forms of conversation there is. At its best, it allows me to communicate from an honest and safe place, a place that I am seldom afforded in the everyday rush of life. The reason why I started writing poetry was because I needed a space that allowed me to talk about things that scared me, that intrigued me, that amused me, things that made me vulnerable like telling the first girl I was in love with how I truly felt about her. The important things are usually the things left unsaid and poetry gives me the courage to say those important things before it is too late.”
Julius Meinl’s CEO, Marcel Löffler commented:
“Julius Meinl is not only a leader in the premium coffee market, but an advocate of poetry and a champion of a current-day café society. Through Meet With A Poem, we hope to bring these elements together.”
“Using poetry as an antidote to the everyday, we’re challenging ourselves to showcase the power poetry has to improve relationships, providing a platform to say things left unsaid – now it’s over to people across the globe to see what poetry can do for them!”
Operating in more than 70 countries worldwide, the brand is a representative for the Viennese coffeehouse culture, which has provided havens for patrons to socialise, to think, to read and to write – or to just watch the world go by with a cup of coffee in hand.
To find out how you can take part, visit www.meinlcoffee.com/poetry/campaigns/meet-with-a-poem-2017/, or watch the Meet With A Poem social experiment here: http://bit.ly/MWP2017_Video. Follow the social conversation using #MeetWithAPoem and #PoetryForChange.
