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SUMMARY

Mrs. Jennifer Cérès (born Jennifer Flora CURCIO) is a citizen of the Republic of Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), a government official, a social entrepreneur, and a television personality, known professionally and publicly as Jennifer Cérès.

Mrs. Jennifer Cérès is currently the youngest ever appointed or serving government Advisor, member of the Social, Economic, Cultural, and Environmental Council of the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire (French: CESEC, Conseil Economique Social, Environnemental, et Culturel).

Mrs. Jennifer Cérès is founder and president of the nonprofit AVA (French: Agence pour la Valorisation de l’Agriculture en Cote d’Ivoire) and of the communication agency, Mercure Communication.

She is also the creator, writer, executive producer, and star presenter of the television documentary film, Brave Farmer (French: Emission Brave Paysan), which holds the record of both independent and public productions in Ivory Coast, as the longest aired television program in the country’s history. This acclaimed Brave Farmer television documentary film has been on air nonstop since it was first launched in 2008.

Mrs. Jennifer Cérès is also the creator and presiding hostess of the National Farmers Appreciation Days (French, Journées Nationales pour la Valorisation de l’Agriculture en Cote d’Ivoire, JNVA).

Mrs. Jennifer Cérès is de facto the official Ambassador of Agriculture in Ivory Coast, with a particular focus on the youth, women, and farmer’s empowerment; as a result, she usually wears several hats and works closely with a multitude of private and public sector organizations as well as farmers at the grassroots level, with the objective to find effective solutions to the agricultural sector in her country.

Mrs. Jennifer Cérès is well-liked and widely popular in her home country. She is recognized as a pioneer in Cote d’Ivoire, because of her unyielding and decades-long advocacy efforts for the defense of the interests of the rural populations. She has accordingly accumulated considerable titles, distinctions, and honors, both nationally and internationally:

-         The recipient of the 2018 ATIGS Women Economic Empowerment Award, Washington, DC.

-         A 2 times winner (2014 in Cote D’Ivoire and 2017 in Morocco) and recipient of the PADEL's Super Gold Prize, as the best leader and advocate of the agricultural sector. This award was presented to her by the Pan African Award of Leaders (French: PADEL, Prix Panafricain des Leaders). The PADEL organization recognizes achievements by African leaders who add value to the continent as a result of their management excellence and competency and whose actions positively inspire young African girls and boys;

-         The 2016 recipient of the medal of honor, Knight of the Ivorian National Order of Merit, for personal merit and services rendered to the nation;

-         A 2014 Presidential appointed Member of the national Economic, Social, Environmental and Cultural Council of Cote-d’Ivoire (French: Conseil Economique Social, Environnemental, et Culturel de la Cote d’Ivoire, CESEC);

-         A 2009 recipient of the Medal of Honor of the City of Jerusalem, Israel, from the Mayor of Jerusalem, for her advocacy on behalf of Ivorian farmers and rural societies.

Early Life

Born on July 7, 1982 in the city of Bouaflé, located in the central part of the country of Cote d’Ivoire, Mrs. Jennifer Cérès is the biracial daughter of a White Italian father and Black Ivorian mother. Mrs. Jennifer Cérès grew up in her native Cote d'Ivoire, where she attended her primary, elementary, and secondary school. She later studied at the Institute of the Sciences and Techniques of Communication (French: Institut des Sciences et Techniques de la Communication, ISTC), where she got a master’s degree in Journalism, with a major in communications and television production. She then pursued additional postgraduate education and specialized training in different European countries, as well as in Israel and South Korea.

Personal Life

Mrs. Jennifer CURCIO currently and primarily lives in the town of Cocody Riviera in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire. Her journalistic, advocacy, entrepreneurial, and governmental obligations however require her to travel intensively across the world; therefore, she usually spends a lot of personal time outside of her home country, including in France, Italy, the Netherlands, and in the United States where her family and she maintain a secondary residence in the metro Washington, DC area. She is married and is the loving mother of two teenage daughters, Samira (14) and Audrey (18), who is a Law student.

Career

Mrs. Jennifer Cérès is a trained journalist and television producer. Since the beginning of her career, she has been a social entrepreneur, a business owner, a television producer, a television executive director, a television anchor, a business consultant, a social and civic engagement leader, an independent political candidate to the Parliament of the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire, an international organization senior executive, a diplomat, and a President appointed Advisor or senior government official of the Republic of Cote-d’Ivoire. Mrs. Jennifer Cérès is currently the youngest ever appointed or serving government Advisor, member of the Social, Economic, Cultural, and Environmental Council of the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire (French: CESEC, Conseil Economique Social, Environnemental, et Culturel).

AVA | L’Agence pour la Valorisation de l’Agriculture en Côte d’Ivoire

By the time Mrs. Jennifer Cérès was born in Cote d’Ivoire, her country had already become the world’s greatest producer and exporter of cocoa crops since 1978. They had attained a world market share of about 35%, with an agricultural sector that accounted for 28% of the country’s GDP and employed more than half of the country’s working population.

With that legacy in mind, Mrs. Jennifer Cérès quickly and easily understood the fundamental need to celebrate the bravery of her country’s farmers; a proposition that was in fact already held by Cote-d’Ivoire’s founding father himself, the late President Félix Houphouët Boigny. At a very early age, she knew in her heart that she would become a social entrepreneur and lifelong advocate for all the farmers of her country that she affectionately sees as members of her extended family.

Following her international studies and return home to Cote-d’Ivoire, in 2008 Mrs. Jennifer Cérès launched her nonprofit organization, AVA | The Agency for the Farmers’ Recognition in Cote d’Ivoire (French: AVA | Agence pour la Valorisation de l’Agriculture en Cote d’Ivoire), legally registered, as a farmers’ union.

In the mind of Mrs. Jennifer Cérès, the predominant mission of the Agency was advocacy and communication and clear expression of her deep commitment to social justice and to the social and economic empowerment of farmers, including the women and the youth in rural areas. In her view, the means to achieve the important objective of the Agency are threefold:

1.      Communication: Mrs. Jennifer Cérès is a trained journalist and communication professional. As a result, communicating was the foremost avenue through which she intended to achieve her advocacy and social justice, and economic empowerment objectives. AVA strives primarily to communicate the agricultural sector’s and the rural society’s unfiltered realities to the general public and to the social and political leaders with hopes to effectively inform their eventual economic, social, environmental, technological, and political agenda and decisions.

2.      Promotion: AVA has committed to the marketing of the agricultural sector, as a means to achieve higher consideration for the professionals in the agricultural sector, hopefully resulting in turn in social justice and social and economic empowerment for the farmers. AVA was to plan regular actions to promote and to show the public, the relevance of the agricultural sector, in general, and especially of the profession of farmer in a world’s leading agricultural economy.

3.      Development: A focus on the development aspect was equally retained from the Agency’s inception, as a means to achieve social justice and social and economic empowerment for the farmers. Personal and professional development is a goal at the core of any human undertaking. Aware of this reality, AVA opted to advocate effectively for and to support the continued social growth and personal development and empowerment of the farmers, including the women and the youth, as worthy individuals and as relevant professional members of the Ivorian society.

Mrs. Jennifer Cérès has designed different solutions for the Ivorian farmers and in spite of recurrent hardship, adversity, and past failures, she has remained relentless, just as she has increasingly made positive strides: With AVA, her nonprofit organization, she has signed hundreds of partnership agreements; secured support, assistance, or donations from national public and private agencies, including the National Assembly, but also with foreign governments, including from the People’s Republic of China, and international organizations, such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Bank Group, etc.

Her work ethic and continuous efforts fueled by the love of her country have afforded great results to millions of farmers across Cote d’Ivoire…more than 150 local farmer associations received free medical treatment from her partners, turnkey commercial farms were donated to many rural women groups; she has distributed farming products and equipment, such as spraying pumps; she has conducted many advocacy meetings with public officials at the national level for improvement or construction of needed rural roads…She has continued indeed to fight for farmers to be provided a social status and recognition comparable to that of their counterparts in developed countries in Europe, North America, and in some Asian countries.

In the process of advocating on behalf of farmers to get financing, for public-private partnerships, for the creation of microfinance institutions, for education and better youth training opportunities in the agricultural sector, for better social safety nets, for the mechanization of the agricultural sector Mrs. Jennifer Cérès travels and negotiates nonstop...

In sum, Mrs. Jennifer Cérès, the founder and President, successfully launched her nonprofit organization, AVA in 2008 and has since been advocating for better work and life conditions for farmers, the youth, and especially women in the rural areas across sub-Saharan Africa. Her nonprofit AVA is not supported by public funding, in spite of the public interest work and focus of AVA’s mission. The nonprofit organization’s required annual budget is rather obtained as a result of her personal financial donations.

JNVA | Journées Nationales pour la Valorisation de l’Agriculture en Côte d’Ivoire (2009-Present)

A year after the creation of her nonprofit organization, Mrs. Jennifer Cérès conceived the idea of hosting a three- to four-day annual event to express overdue appreciation to the country's farmers. In 2009, she immediately initiated her National Farmers Appreciation Days (French: Journées Nationales pour la Valorisation des Agriculteurs, JNVA), which have since become a tradition and which she has hosted consistently once a year in a different agricultural location throughout the country for the past 10 years. The primary goal of the National Farmers Appreciation Days has been to honor farmers for their hard work and concurrently for their overall support of the Ivorian national economy.

For each one of her National Farmer’s Appreciation Days (NFAD), there has been a specific agricultural theme selected, which in turn has been formally debated by all stakeholders throughout the duration of the three to four days event:

“Food Security and the Challenges resulting from the Use of Illegal Chemical Pesticides” 7th Edition of the NFAD, in Korhogo, 2017;

“African Agricultural Sector faced with the Dual Challenges of the Environment and Sustainable Development” 6th Edition of the NFAD in San Pedro, 2016;

“For the Financing of Agricultural Activities in Ivory Coast, what are the Strategies?” 5th Edition of the NFAD in Daoukro, 2015;

“Population Accelerated Growth and the Challenges of Food Security in Ivory Coast” 4th Edition of the NFAD in Bondoukou, 2014;

“Implementation of Scientific Research Findings in the Agricultural and Cow Farming Sectors in Ivory Coast” 3th Edition of the NFAD in Yamoussoukro, 2013;

“How to Best Take Advantage of our Agricultural Potential for Food Security across Africa?” 2nd Edition of the NFAD in Ferkessedougou, 2012;

“For the Growth of the Ivorian Agricultural Sector, what are the Tools, what is the Strategy in this Global Context?” 1st Edition of the NFAD in Abidjan, 2009.

Mercure Communication (2009-Present)

Mrs. Jennifer Cérès is also the founder and CEO of Mercure Communication (2009), a communication and TV production agency, offering its local and international clientele, mass communication and marketing management services. She is often contracted by organizations for the creation and implementation of their marketing campaigns.

In addition to external customers, Mercure Communication also oversees all communication campaigns and activities related to the National Farmers Appreciation Days as well as all communication aspects regarding the production and broadcasting of the television documentary films, Brave Farmer.

Emission Brave Paysan (2004-Present)

Mrs. Jennifer Cérès simultaneously developed, executive-produced, and has been the star presenter of a widely popular agricultural-sector-focused television documentary film, Brave Farmer (French: Emission Brave Paysan) with a particular focus on advocacy for farmers, youth and women empowerment, health, education, and ultimately social justice, and social and economic development.

For the past 10 years, every other Sunday at 2:30 pm local time, her said television documentary film, “Brave Farmer” has been aired bi-weekly on RTI 1, the first public channel of Cote d’Ivoire’s national television station (RTI 1: RadioTelevision Ivoirienne), with no interruption, every other Sunday starting at 2:30 pm.

Mrs. Jennifer Cérès’ 'independent television documentary film, Brave Farmer,'' holds the national record, as the longest televised production ever aired in Cote d'Ivoire. She has since produced over 324 television documentary films.'''

What’s more, as impressive as it may sound, the referenced television documentary film, Brave Farmer, has never received public sponsorship funding or any financial allocation from the Ivorian government.

For her self-funded TV documentary film, over the past 10 years, Mrs. Jennifer Cérès has made direct financial investment of over 1.2 Billion CFA Francs (about 1.7 million Euros) to finance the production of more than 324 documentary TV film productions of the TV documentary film, “Brave Farmer”, including over a decade of monthly broadcasting fee payments to the national TV station.

For her TV documentary film, Mrs. Jennifer Cérès travels tirelessly, nationwide, in rural areas around the country, and overseas to various international agricultural events, always shedding light on the day-to-day realities and proudly broadcasting a specialized education to viewers in Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) and in foreign countries. Her documentaries have touched on many topics of interests, including a general education on her sub-Saharan African country’s history and geography, animal and food crops farming, export crops farming Ivorian rural society’s lifestyle, and at times, social realities in the agricultural sector in other countries.

She has discussed and covered issues of food security, youth and women empowerment, and the need for strategic management of natural resources, global food systems, supply chains and distribution channels (including food distribution and retailing), emerging technologies, the need for the development of a competitive farm workforce (…), all to the enjoyment of the 23 million Ivorians, many of whom today call her with affection: “Mother”

As a result of her decades-long advocacy efforts and journalism, Mrs. Jennifer Cérès has become a celebrated national and international agribusiness leader and grassroots champion, deeply loved and well-respected for her vision, her sustained perseverance, and her successes over many years.

A visionary and self-taught young leader, Mrs. Jennifer Cérès has greatly been succeeded in using her documentary TV films as a platform, to offer a voice and a social status to millions of farmers and blue-collar workers. She has also given an opportunity to hundreds of her fellow countrymen and countrywomen, by employing them for her different business needs or by recommending them for training or employment to public and private sector organizations, both nationally and internationally.

Thanks to her powerful documentary film productions and advocacy actions, Mrs. Jennifer Cérès has established herself as the legitimate Advocate and Ambassador of the farmers, representative of about two-thirds of the active workforce in Cote-d’Ivoire.

Remarkably, her documentary television film Brave Farmer has become such a part of the national media culture that she has hosted several famous farmers in guest appearances to her documentary films, such as the former head of state of the Republic of Cote-d’Ivoire, H.E. Mr. Henri Konan BEDIE who had never allowed any TV cameras on his farms before the 2015 documentary film taping and public broadcast on RTI 1, the first national television station; the incumbent President of the National Assembly and former Prime Minister, Mr. Guillaume Kigbafori SORO, known until then to be unwilling to accept any of such personal interviews to the local press, for the taping of the 2012 TV documentary film at his private farm and broadcasting on RTI 1, the first national television station, the incumbent cabinet Minister of Fisheries and Animal Resources, Mr. Kobenan Kouassi ADJOUMANI, who was not publicly known to be a farmer prior to the 2014 documentary film taping and broadcasting, or finally the acclaimed Ivorian singer Ismael Isaac, who was not believed to be as much a musician as a farmer, and several dignitaries, including foreign Ambassadors to Cote d'Ivoire, such as the former Ambassador of South Africa to Cote d'Ivoire, H.E. Mr. Dayanand Naidoo, hosted at the National Farmers Appreciation Days in Korhogo, in 2017, etc.

Candidate to the Parliamentary Elections

In 2011 the local Women Farmers of Food Crops Association (WFFCA) in the Haut-Sassandra region (Daloa) reached out to Mrs. Jennifer Cérès and implored her to consider running as their candidate in the 2011 parliamentary elections and represent their region. While deeply flattered and highly honored, Mrs. Jennifer Cérès initially hesitated and even turned down their warm calls and invitations, given her background activism solely in the civil society arena and no political party affiliation and no previous political experience. The WFFCA however did not abdicate nor accept her initial rejection of their offer as a final response; they persisted and mounted an impressive local campaign to enlist her candidacy as their representative to the parliamentary elections.

Mrs. Jennifer Cérès was unofficially contacted by leading political personalities from across the political spectrum, who offered their swift support if she decided to enter the race. Their only demand was to keep their identity, personal endorsement, and support of her campaign confidential.

Amazed by the widespread support from the local population and especially by the women association’s strong advocacy and convictions, Mrs. Jennifer Cérès ultimately conceded to their sustained invitation and wide commitment arguments that they would actively canvass, raise funds, support, and promote her candidacy.

A political newcomer, Mrs. Jennifer Cérès launched her campaign as an independent candidate for the 101 Gboguhe et Zahibo district. She competed against Mr. Aboubacar Zie Konate, a candidate representing the ruling RDR political party of President Alassane D. OUATTARA, Mr. Julien Ayme Le Grohouan Tape of the Democratic Party of Cote d’Ivoire – African Democratic Rally (PDCI-RDA) of former head of state, H.E. Mr. President Henri Konan Bédié and of founding father, the late President Félix Houphouet Boigny, and 4 other candidates, including 3 other independent candidates.

Mrs. Jennifer Cérès had a high name recognition resulting from her years of grassroots work, youth, and media celebrity status. She commanded a deep following and experienced a successful campaign, which was widely popular beyond her expectations. She was deeply supported by local farmers and local leaders alike, just as promised. Mrs. Jennifer Cérès was contacted to sponsor, finance, preside, or chair a variety of social events, all of which she did happily. In response the population could not and did not contain their excitement and full support of her candidacy. Everything was set for a clear win.

Unfortunately, her experience and popularity as a leading grassroots advocate, her media status, her personal attributes as a young biracial woman, her television profession, and her professional approach to campaigning quickly became a problem for her opponents who deliberately resorted to illegal tactics to guarantee their wanted electoral victory.

The campaign and local elections were marred by gross and widespread voter’s intimidation, use of brutal force against the local women and leaders. Local leaders who widely supported Mrs. Jennifer Cérès were threatened and on many occasions physically abused. Villages were burned down; local farms and properties were destroyed in an effort to intimidate voters. Her supporters were victims of widespread and unpunished physical violence. There were massive voter’s registration frauds, vote buying, ballot-box stuffing, death threats, and many other blatant irregularities.

When the results were finally communicated by the Independent Elections Commission (CEI), the ruling RDR candidate had officially received 31.79% of the votes, followed by the PDCI-RDA candidate with 24.20%. With all the support, Mrs. Jennifer Cérès was officially announced to be third with 20.35% of the votes.

The results deeply angered the local population. The local leaders, the local women associations, and her campaign, following up on their high dissatisfaction, approached and provided her with pertinent documents and other proof of all the blatant fraud and irregularities that transpired. Based on the real results from the tallies conducted at the exit polls by representatives of all the candidates, she had won and was in fact the true victor of the race and elected representative of the population, in spite of all the violence, threats, and intimidation perpetrated against the population, they had expressed their votes for her. Her opponents were merely left to use all their political capital to ensure that she would not be declared the official winner by the Independent Elections Commission. When she contacted the Independent Electoral Commission, members of the CEI confided that they could no longer do anything; she would have to file her grievances with the Supreme Court.

Even as she was shocked and appalled by what the local population and she had experienced and witnessed during and after the campaign, Mrs. Jennifer Cérès eventually refused to file an electoral fraud claim with the Supreme Court, favoring peace, stability, and mainly the security and welfare of the local population that had overwhelmingly supported her candidacy over any legal proceedings.

CESEC | Conseil Economique, Social, Environnemental, et Culturel de la Cote d’Ivoire

Mrs. Jennifer Cérès is a presidential appointed Member of the national Economic, Social, Environmental, and Cultural Council of the Republic of Cote d'Ivoire (CESEC), a national public institution that advises the President of the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire, the heads of Cabinet Ministries, and the President of the National Assembly, on all Economic, Social, Environmental, and Cultural matters.

On October 27, 2014, H.E. Mr. President Alassane D. OUATTARA, the incumbent President of the Republic of Cote-d’Ivoire officially recognized Mrs. Jennifer Cérès’ years of social leadership and economic and political impact in the country with an official appointment. At barely 30 years old at the time of her appointment, she became and continues to be the youngest ever serving member of that national governmental Council.

Upon her arrival to the Council in 2014, Mrs. Jennifer Cérès launched the CESEC’s Women’s Social Action Initiative, which has a double annual objective for Women on Mother’s Day and for Orphans and Disabled children at Christmas.

Every year since her appointment as member of the Council, she oversees the planning and chairs the fundraising events for the annual Christmas Tree Celebration event and then leads the selection process for a local school whose orphans or disabled students will receive donations and Christmas gifts from the CESEC’s Women’s Social Action Initiative.

Following a reorganization of the CESEC and appointment of new members in 2016, the new Economic, Social, Environmental, and Cultural Council’s President, former cabinet minister of the Economy and Finance, Mr. Charles Koffi DIBY appointed Mrs. CURCIO as the Council’s Liaison with the International Organization of La Francophonie.

Other leadership roles and engagements

Mrs. Jennifer Cérès decades-long grassroots level’s expertise and firsthand experience with the sub-Saharan African political, economic, social, and cultural realities are sought after by various international organizations, including the World Bank, on behalf of which she has had to conduct young leader's training. She has been part of several organization's boards. She has also been elected or appointed in many leadership positions, including as World President of the International CoCoa Farmers Organization (ICCFO) in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, as President of the FarmGate Foundation in Amsterdam, the Netherlands and as Ambassador of the World Association for Orphans in Geneva, Switzerland, or the 2018 Africa Trade and Investment Global Summit (ATIGS) in the United States. etc.

Advisory services to the Embassy of Cote d’Ivoire to the United States

A close and respected confidential advisor to several government and private sector’s leaders in Cote d’Ivoire and across the world, as a result of her many past and present government and civil sector leadership roles, including her television producer’s status, her decade-long grassroots level experience, and her membership in the Economic, Social, Cultural, and Environmental Council of Cote d’Ivoire,  Mrs. Jennifer Cérès is often called upon for formal and informal assistance.

Unsurprisingly, she recently was invited by H.E. Mr. Mamadou HAIDARA, the Ambassador of Cote d’Ivoire to the United States, to provide agriculture development advisory assistance to the Embassy of Cote d’Ivoire. Mrs. Jennifer Cérès has therefore been working closely with the Embassy of Cote d’Ivoire to the United States to support her government’s efforts to speed up effective opportunities for local transformation of their export crops and as a result the overall industrialization of their national economy.

For the success of those objectives, she travels back and forth and regularly meets and interacts with representatives of the World Bank Group, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and private sector businesses both in the United States and in Cote d'Ivoire, as she is pushing for financing opportunities and various other international support of local farmers in Cote d’Ivoire.

Titles, Distinctions & Honors

Mrs. Jennifer Cérès has been recognized as a pioneer in the area of social entrepreneurship in Cote d’Ivoire. For the past decade, she successfully married her journalistic and television production talent with her passion for agriculture and advocacy for farmers. She has inspired and uplifted millions of young men and women across her home country, across sub-Saharan Africa, and beyond. For all her commitment, dedication, and hard work, she has usually been recognized with prizes, awards, honors, and distinctions, both nationally and internationally:

Mrs. Jennifer Cérès is the recipient of the 2018 ATIGS Women Economic Empowerment Award, Washington, DC.

Mrs. Jennifer Cérès is a 2 times winner (2014 in Cote D’Ivoire and 2017 in Morocco) and recipient of the PADEL's Super Gold Prize, as the best leader and advocate of the agricultural sector. This award was presented to her by the Pan African Award of Leaders (French: PADEL, Prix Panafricain des Leaders). The PADEL organization recognizes achievements by African leaders who add value to the continent, as a result of their management excellence and competency and whose actions positively inspire young African girls and boys;

Mrs. Jennifer Cérès is the 2016 recipient of the medal of honor, Knight of the Ivorian National Order of Merit, for personal merit and services rendered to the nation.

The award was given to her by the Great Chancellor of the Ivorian National Order, Mrs. Henriette Dagri DIABATE, on behalf of the President of the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire, H.E. Mr. President Alassane D. OUATTARA.

Mrs. Jennifer Cérès is a 2014 presidential appointed Member of the national Economic, Social, Environmental and Cultural Council of Cote-d’Ivoire (French: Conseil Economique Social, Environnemental, et Culturel de la Cote d’Ivoire, CESEC);

Mrs. Jennifer Cérès is a 2009 recipient of the Medal of Honor of the City of Jerusalem, Israel, from the Mayor of Jerusalem, for her advocacy on behalf of Ivorian farmers and rural societies.

A few selected photos of Mrs. Jennifer Cérès