Tony's Chocolonely announces partnership with Surf Ghana, a creative collective that enables the Ghanian Youth to play, create and innovate

Amsterdam, 12 August 2021 – Tony’s Chocolonely, the chocolate-making impact company on a mission to create a fairer chocolate industry, announces a new partnership with Surf Ghana, a creative collective that uses the power of sports and art as a driver for positive change. Tony’s will support Surf Ghana’s latest initiative: building the first fully functional skate park in Ghana. Freedom Skate Park in Accra will offer dedicated coaching programs and a connected co-working space to enable young Ghanaians to access job opportunities and develop creative solutions for social change.

“Tony’s and Surf Ghana share the belief that the freedom to play should be a human right,” says Thecla Schaeffer, Tony’s Chocolonely Chief Marketing Officer. “All kids should have the opportunity to play, explore, learn and grow –creatively, physically and mentally. This is what will enable tomorrow’s changemakers to drive the changes they want to see. We’re very excited about this new partnership and can’twait for the creativity and fun Freedom Skate Park will ignite.”

Sandy Alibo, Founder of Surf Ghana, explains: “We believe in the collective as a youth-led organization to influence social change and empower young creatives in Ghana. Today, we are delighted to celebrate International Youth Day and officially announce our partnership with Tony’s Chocolonely to build our future skate park. Tony’s is crazy about chocolate, Surf Ghana is crazy about skateboarding, but we are both serious when it comes to people. Every day we celebrate our community, and we encourage sustainable entrepreneurship. We also believe in innovation, diversity and positivism to influence social change.”

The construction of Freedom Skate Park in Accra is expected to start by the end of 2021 and is planned to open in 2022. The different design elements were found by members of the collective. The park will include a moldable art space, a community-planted green area and a co-working hub. Built with contemporary and ancient techniques, thepark is imagined to be a bustling space and a new urban site for the whole of Ghana: inspired globally –created locally.

“At Tony’s we believe in a simple truth: life is better when we all have it better,” explains Diara Lô, Tony’s Content Producer. “Our sweet solution to the problems in the cocoa industry is our chocolate bar. But a fair society isn’t built by a fair cocoa industry alone, we need more sweet solutions than just ours. Surf Ghana is a fantastic initiative to raise the bar and drive positivechange. Change starts with play –so let’s play and create a fairer world together!”

NOTES TO EDITORS

Photo Credits: Harmonie Bataka / Daniel Sowah

About Tony’s Chocolonely:
Tony’s Chocolonely is a B-Corp, Fairtrade-certified chocolate-maker that puts social impact before profit —going beyond certifications to make chocolate 100% slave-free. Not just their own chocolate, but all chocolate worldwide.

The company was founded in 2005 by three journalists from the Dutch TV show ‘Keuringsdienst van Waarde’ after they discovered that the world’s largest chocolate manufacturers were buying cocoa from plantations that used illegal child labor and modern slavery.

Since then, Tony’s Chocolonely has dedicated its efforts to raising awareness of and eliminating inequality in the chocolate industry. Tony’s Chocolonely leads by example, building direct long-term relationships with cocoa farmers in Ghana and Ivory Coast, paying them a higher price and working together to solve the underlying causes of modern slavery.

Tony’s Chocolonely wants to inspire the industry as a whole to make 100% slave-free the norm in chocolate. The brand has grown to become the market leader in the Netherlands and its bars are now available almost worldwide, with offices in the Netherlands, USA, UK, Germany and Austria.

About Surf Ghana:
Surf Ghana collective is a social platform founded in 2016 by Sandy Alibo and registered as a non-profit and non-governmental organization. The collective aims to use the practice of board sports as a driver for education, social inclusion, and empowermentfor the youth –curating events, and sports experiences provided by specialized instructors. With a total of 25 active members, the collective contributes to action sports with instructors, documentary filmmakers, photographers, carpenters, stylists, designers, writers, producers, beatmakers and artists. The collective will lead a safe sports and educational program at the future skate park.

Website:
tonyschocolonely.com
surfghana.org
freedomskatepark.org

For more information:
press@tonyschocolonely.com