International Coffee Day (ICD)
ABOUT INTERNATIONAL COFFEE DAY
1 October is International Coffee Day. Celebrate with the 77 Member States of the ICO and dozens of coffee associations from around the world.
International Coffee Day is a celebration of the coffee sector’s diversity, quality and passion. It is an opportunity for coffee lovers to share their love of the beverage and support the millions of farmers whose livelihoods depend on the aromatic crop.
Many countries around the world celebrate their own national coffee days at various dates throughout the year. In March 2014, the Member States of the ICO agreed to organize International Coffee Day on 1 October to create a single day of celebration for coffee lovers around the world.
ICD 2024
On International Coffee Day 2024, the International Coffee Organization Invites the Coffee Sector to Embrace Collaboration for Collective Action with the Message: ‘Coffee, Your Daily Ritual, Our Shared Journey”
As the coffee year starts on 1st October; and with 2025 being designated by the United Nations General Assembly as the International Year of Cooperatives; the ICO has been inspired to make “Collaboration” the central theme for International Coffee Day 2024 (ICD2024).
Given that most of the 2025 campaign year will coincide with the coffee year, this theme will emphasize the importance of embracing collaboration for collective action and its role in achieving sustainable development in the global coffee sector. This annual event will serve as a reminder that our favourite brew is the result of extensive, often unseen collaboration among countless actors across the global coffee value chain, all working together to deliver that perfect cup each day.
To help share and spread the campaign message, under the slogan, “Coffee, your daily ritual, our shared jurney”, we are pleased to introduce the newly redesigned website, providing a comprehensive overview of this year’s campaign, dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of collaboration within the coffee sector and its potential to inspire collective action on a global scale.
The ICD2024 campaign offers to the public a broad range of assets, from videos, posters to postcards, available in various languages, that visually portray examples of collaboration, demonstrating how partnerships extend beyond what is commonly known or perceived. Your participation is key to making International Coffee Day a success. Use the hashtags #ICD2024 and/or #EmbraceCollaboration to join the conversation. And, of course, don’t forget to enjoy your favourite coffee brew!
Happy International Coffee Day!
ICD 2023
In 2023, the International Coffee Organization (ICO) launched the #CoffeePeople campaign in partnership with ILO (International Labour Organization), a collaborative effort aimed at promoting safer and healthier working conditions for coffee workers globally.
The campaign, officially launched on International Coffee Day (1 October 2023), was embraced by the International Coffee Organization (ICO), with its Council designating “Joining forces for a safer coffee supply chain” as the official theme of its 2023 promotional activities.
Key Messages
The campaign emphasized several key messages:
1. Every coffee worker deserves a safe and healthy workplace.
2. Work-related injuries and diseases in coffee production are preventable.
3. Safe working conditions are essential for decent work.
4. Recognizing gender perspectives is crucial, given that 70% of coffee labourers are women.
5. Collective action and social dialogue are necessary to find solutions.
Social Media Challenge
On September 27th, the Action launched a social media challenge for coffee workers. We asked coffee stakeholders: “What is the secret to great coffee?” On October 1st, thousands of people around the world posted on social media a selfie of themselves with a coffee cup and revealed the response: “The secret to great coffee is people! That’s why I dedicate this coffee to the workers who produce it, and I join the ILO’s Vision Zero Fund to protect their safety and health. Together, we can make a difference for #CoffeePeople”, challenging colleagues, friends and family to do the same
ICD 2022
Committed to coffee farmers’ prosperity, reducing the coffee industry’s impact on the environment and mitigating climate change
ICD 2022 celebrates all those working hard to make the three billion delicious coffee cups we enjoy every day around the world and stresses that transforming waste in the coffee sector into new products and alternative energy options creates important income and job opportunities and reduces production costs (read the brochure).
The coffee sector is a crucial anchor for development and a driver of prosperity and sustainability. Producing and drinking coffee helps to make the world a better place by generating jobs and income in over 60 coffee producing countries and for millions of people worldwide engaged with the coffee sector (not to mention happiness for millions of coffee lovers!).
Generating and sharing innovative and circular solutions for the global coffee value chain will foster economic, social and environmental sustainability from seed to cup, farmers to baristas and producers to conscious consumers, producers and retailers.
Transforming waste into new products and energy, generating new jobs and income opportunities “Recycling alone will not save us.” Circular economy is a “bigger idea” — a significant restructuring that forces us to rethink how we’ve done things since the rise of the first steam engine”, Ellen MacArthur Foundation CEO Andrew Morlet, 2020.
A circular coffee economy and solutions will help farmers, governments, businesses and consumers work together to create better jobs and income, reduce pollution and fight climate change.
Implementing sustainable circular models in the coffee sector and digitalizing key processes to reinvent and make the coffee value chain sustainable and resilient.
Coffee is both one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world and one of the most important internationally traded commodities.
- Let’s transform and reinvent the global coffee value chain to generate a fair and win-win economic transaction, particularly for coffee farmers;
- Let’s integrate the circular business model and solutions in the coffee sector, along with digital tools.
We must move away from the traditional coffee business model that has become increasingly unsustainable for coffee producers and the environment, with huge waste production, high energy consumption and limited to no usage of disposals, and head towards inclusive circular models that reward sustainability, transparency, quality and hard work.
ICD 2021
Supporting the Next Generation
The International Coffee Organization (ICO) is excited to announce the continuation of ‘Coffee’s Next Generation’ as the focus for the International Coffee Day 2021 (1st October).
The covid-19 pandemic is a global health crisis with extreme economic consequences that has also created an unprecedented situation in the coffee sector, negatively impacting both supply and demand in parallel for the first time. Even before covid-19, farmers were already struggling due to low coffee prices and global and environmental challenges and threats.
In light of the cumulative effects of the coffee price crisis and the covid-19 pandemic, not only is there a serious threat to the livelihoods of coffee farmers today but also a dramatic risk to the future of coffee tomorrow. An increasing number of young people in coffee-farming households are moving away from ‘the family business’ to other locations and jobs that they see as more progressive and lucrative for their future. Furthermore, many of the jobs often held by young people across the coffee value chain have recently been lost.
International Coffee Day is an occasion that is used to promote and celebrate coffee as our most beloved beverage. It is also an opportunity to promote sustainable coffee practices and to raise awareness for the plight of coffee growers.
This October 1st, the International Coffee Organization is launching ‘Coffee’s Next Generation’, a global initiative targeting talented and motivated young people and entrepreneurs in the coffee sector.
Investing in youth will generate both innovative and sustainable solutions for the coffee sector, contributing to build back a better, more equitable and prosperous coffee sector, enabling recovery from the covid-19 crisis and building a stronger future, positively impacting coffee communities around the world. It will also mitigate the lack of engagement of youth in coffee farming and other areas of the value chain.
To enable these young women and men to build a prosperous and sustainable future, this initiative intends to provide them with access to finance and knowledge, skills development, coaching and training as well as networking.
‘Coffee’s Next Generation’ is intended to engage ICO Members and all coffee stakeholders to work together with youth organizations, industry leaders and associations, international organizations, development and financial partners and coffee consumers, to invest in the youth and bring to life their innovative ideas and enthusiasm to benefit the whole coffee community and to recover from the pandemic building a more prosperous future.
We call on the global coffee community, to all the stakeholders and to the millions of coffee consumers and lovers to celebrate coffee and to contribute to building Coffee’s Next Generation, building a community for young people in coffee.
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