Cairns, Australia – The ICVB was recently featured at the International Conference on Child Labor and Child Exploitation as a model for Constructive Corporate Engagement addressing the worst forms of child labor in the cocoa sector. Government representatives, international experts, academia, and corporate representatives from around the world attended the conference focused on “exploring the challenges ahead in securing rights for children in the 21st century” hosted by Children’s Rights International (CRI). Read the entire story here.
ICVB Vision Statement
Verification is an essential step in
assessing labor conditions in cocoa-growing communities in West Africa. The ICVB
holds the strong conviction that accurate data will help guide strategic
planning and programming to effectively address potential areas of concern,
including child and forced adult labor. Properly verified data will ensure that
future remediation activities are more strategic, cost-effective, targeted and
synergistic. Our true stakeholders are the cocoa farmers and children and we
measure our success or failure by how well their lives improve, in part, due to
our work. Accurate data matters.
The ICVB Talks Process & Progress
Hear in their own words about
the work of ICVB members and their experience working in the cocoa sector, the
unique perspective that each Board member brings to the process and how cocoa
verification has the potential to inform meaningful, enduring change for cocoa
producing communities in Cte dIvoire and Ghana.
Isabelle Adam,
of the European Cocoa Association, Belgium, on the convening of the ICVB and the
relationship between certification and verification.
Jeff Morgan, of Mars Inc., USA, on ICVB funding and industrys role in the cocoa sector.
Diane Mull, of the International Initiative to End Child Labor, USA, on the goals of verification and the
verifier selection process.
Andrews Addoquaye Tagoe, of the
General Agriculture Workers Union of TUC, Ghana, on the ICVB structure and work
on the ground.
John Trew, of CARE USA, on the importance of multi-stakeholder partnership within the verification process.
Mme. Frema, Deputy Minister of Ghana's Ministry of Manpower, Youth, and Employment, on the importance of a
multi-stakeholder approach.
Additional board member interviews
will be coming in December, 2008!
Video production by C. Marihugh, www.crmarihugh.com