MILAN – Participate and the International Women’s Coffee Alliance are teaming up to create an online community to connect and empower women in the coffee industry.
The International Women’s Coffee Alliance (IWCA), founded in 2003 when women from Central America and the United States came together and discovered the opportunity to support, encourage and empower one another, has chapters in 25 countries across the globe.
All chapters are self-organized, self-governed and united by the IWCA mission to achieve sustainable livelihoods by encouraging and recognizing the participation of women in all aspects of the coffee industry. As of May 2020, an estimated 80%+ of IWCA members are coffee producers. The IWCA is a global network focused on empowerment through leadership development, strategic partnership and amplified market visibility.
The IWCA and Participate are partnering to further strengthen the relationship between chapters through a Community of Practice (CoP). The CoP will provide a collective space for women from around the world to collaborate, learn from one another and share resources. IWCA community members will use discussion forums to collaborate and share experiences on topics such as marketing, building partnerships and technology resources.
“It has been well documented that women in coffee face significant barriers to sustainable livelihoods. It’s the call to action that all IWCA Chapters share. As we refocused our strategic priorities in light of COVID-19, we realized we urgently needed a forum for members to access the wealth of expertise and experience that exists within our network,” said Executive Director Kellem Emanuele. “Participate’s user-friendly focus on building community learning is the perfect match.”
“We’re grateful that our work at Participate provides us the opportunity to partner with organizations that embody our core values of working together for the greater good and creating meaningful solutions,” said CEO Mark Otter. “And the IWCA embodies these values and so much more. We’re thrilled to launch a partnership focused on empowering women all around the world and creating equitable spaces for collaboration.”
Together, Participate and the IWCA are building an online community to connect and amplify the tremendous expertise and experience that exists with the IWCA global network, to ultimately accelerate achieving the IWCA mission.
About Participate:
Participate designs and hosts online learning communities to connect adult learners within organizations or school districts around a shared practice. We guide users through sustainable learning experiences that provide personalized learning pathways based on learner needs. By making learning collaborative and transparent, communities promote the spread of best practices and develop professional skills so that all learners feel supported in their professional development journeys. To learn more about designing a Community of Practice, click here.
About the International Women’s Coffee Alliance:
The International Women’s Coffee Alliance (IWCA) is US-based 501c3 nonprofit organization that supports a global network of organizations united by the mission to empower women in the international coffee community to achieve meaningful and sustainable lives; and to encourage and recognize the participation of women in all aspects of the coffee industry.
As of May 2020 we include 25 countries and connect the entire coffee supply chain. Together, we achieve empowerment through leadership development, partnership, and amplified market visibility. To learn more about the IWCA, click here.
