Committed to action
Committed to action
We are publishing here a summary of the closing remarks of Antoine de Saint-Affrique (originally published in the newsroom of CHOCOVISION):
“If it can be done, why is it not done yet?”
Antoine de Saint-Affrique was impressed by the honesty of the speakers and panelists at CHOCOVISION 2018: "It was a first for some of them, and it takes some character for a farmer to stand up to his Minister, or for a millennial to stand up to her CEO."
Antoine perceived the conference as extraordinary rich and concluded: “We all share that passion for transforming an industry.” And: “We all have the same goal. We all want cocoa and chocolate to still exist not only in five years but also in 30 or 50 years from now. We want our grandchildren to enjoy the same pleasures as we did with a cocoa drink, a chocolate snack or a praline.” So we need to work together to achieve true, lasting sustainability. However, sometimes late at night or early in the morning, Antoine asks himself: “What are we missing? Are we moving fast enough? As examples at this year’s conference showed, it can be done on small scale. So why is it not done across the industry yet?”
Antoine is impatient because he knows: “We can fix unsustainable business models and we have to fix them. And by the way, we are the last generation that can do so. After us, it will be too late.” This is why we should not hand our problems down to the next generation: “I know we are all committed to impact. I know we are planting trees under the shade of which we might not sit, but which we owe to the next generation.”
Despite his stubborn optimism and all the positive things that happened at the conference, Antoine has one big regret looking back at this year’s CHOCOVISION: “We did not tackle women’s rights. So we will certainly get back to that at CHOCOVISION 2020.”
Three distinct sessions, intriguing speakers, and stimulating discussions
Launched in 2012, CHOCOVISION has established itself as an important industry forum that offers an intimate setting for open discussion and networking among decision makers and influencers, thanks to the limited number of delegates.
In three distinct sessions, CHOCOVISION 2018 looked at how technology is spurring innovation in the cocoa and chocolate sector, explored how all stakeholders involved can ensure a sustainable chocolate future and highlighted the role of business as a change agent.
