Eurochocolate opens a window on cocoa production and on the fair trade of chocolate.
The International Summit in The Hearth of Chocolate speaks out for producers and consumers through its cooperation with ICCO and Fairtrade Italia

In Perugia, the Etruscan Choco Hotel offers its Equo&Eco Suite: book a right stay, and some of the city’s best restaurants have prepared Fair Trade menus

Here it is, richer than ever, the yearly appointment with Eurochocolate World, the special session of Eurochocolate (Perugia, 16-25 October 2009), entirely dedicated to cocoa producer States and to the world of fair-trade production, consumption and trade.

Eurochocolate World is sponsored by ICCO (International Cocoa Organization) and by Fairtrade Italia together, for this year, with Ryanair that brings Perugia closer to the great European cities thanks to its low cost flights to and from London (Stansted) and Barcelona (Girona).

The country Guest of Honour of Eurochocolate World 2009 this year is Indonesia, present in Perugia with a delegation headed by the Ambassador to Italy H.E. Mohamad Oemar, with cultural and folkloristic initiatives for the large public of the kermesse. Inside the Rocca Paolina an area shall be dedicated to the exhibition of photographs, sounds and hand-made local artifacts that will take us on an ideal, uncommon tour of the cocoa industry in Indonesia, while the historical centre of Perugia will host, during the weekend, fascinating Indonesian dances. Dedicated seminars, Round Tables and b2b meetings will be held with the trade operators of Indonesia, the world’s third ranking cocoa producer after the Ivory Coast and Ghana. The Rocca Paolina will also stage the International Gallery for the hosting of the delegations from Brazil, Ivory Coast, Ecuador and Peru, featuring the display, among other things, of ancient methods for preparing chocolate and of traditional rites linked to the gathering of cocoa seeds.

The main item on the agenda at Eurochocolate World 2009, in the wake of last year’s success, is once again In the Hearth of Chocolate: new challenges for the chocolate market in the current economic scenario, the International Summit that on Wednesday, October 21st, will see the gathering in the prestigious Sala dei Notari of Palazzo dei Priori, headquarters to the Municipality of Perugia, of the delegations from the various cocoa and chocolate producer States, of consumers, of the organizations involved in various ways in the chocolate industry and of chocolate lovers, with the intent of creating a space for debate among different subjects and for the exchange of experiences, so as to identify new synergies and strategies capable of adequately meeting the requirements of the current market. The Summit, based on the four key themes: Ethics (Heart), Environment (Earth), Creativity (Art) and Information (Hear) – forming the logo HEARTH - is therefore aimed at highlighting the fact that it is impossible to speak of cocoa and of chocolate without considering the social responsibility of the businesses that participate in various ways in its production chain as well as the sustainable development of producer States and the protection of their natural environments. Chairman of the meeting shall be Hagen Streichert, Senior Adviser to the German Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection and member of ICCO.

Two of the most important new entries in this sixth edition of Eurochocolate World are also two initiatives that directly concern the city of Perugia. The first is the Etruscan ChocoHotel, Italy’s first chocolate-flavored hotel that, in homage to Eurochocolate World, becomes a Fair Trade Hotel with the offer Equo&Eco Suite: Fai il Soggiorno Giusto (Equo&Eco Suite: book a right stay). From October 16th to the 25th, one suite of the Hotel shall be furnished with furnishing accessories coming from the fair trade market certified by Fairtrade Italia and B-Trade eco-compatible, as a step forward in the creation of responsible and sustainable tourism.

The second is another initiative organized in cooperation with Fairtrade Italia, whereby some of the city’s best restaurants shall serve, for the entire duration of Eurochocolate, Menu Equosolidali (Fair Trade Menus), with and without cocoa, prepared exclusively with fair trade certified products.

The voyage of cocoa seeds from the plantation to the chocolate bar is once again the theme of the educational workshops of the Equoscuola (Fair Trade at School) event and of Nanauà per le vie del cacao (Nanuà walks the cocoa routes), for the younger visitors, with the aim of introducing them to the basic principles of fair trade and to the meaning of consumer awareness. Finally, once again there will be Viaggiare con Gusto (Flavorful Travels), the international section offering tastings of various kinds of chocolate from all over the world, and Equochocolate, the exhibition and sales area for strictly fair-trade certified chocolate.

Eurochocolate World is thus bent on becoming the most effective tool for international dialogue and exchange regarding the fair trade production and sale of chocolate, giving voice and visibility to the sector’s issues with a view to furthering its economic and social development.