Bougainville Copper Limited (BCL) is proud to have once again supported the 2018 Bougainville Chocolate Festival which showcased the strength and potential of the agriculture sector in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville.
This year the company supported events that included sponsoring prizes for the Schools Quiz competition as well as sponsoring live, outside radio broadcasts by New Dawn FM and NBC’s Radio Bougainville. This included NBC’s coverage of the final day of the festival when award-winners were announced. BCL also assisted with catering for the festival’s corporate night.
Five schools from North Bougainville participated in the School Quiz and the winners were Hantoa, Sohano and Lonahan primary schools.
BCL sponsored the prizes for first, second and third placings while the live broadcasts made it possible for many Bougainvilleans to feel part of the festival by hearing events as they happened live.
In thanking BCL for its support, NBC’s director of provincial radio Bougainville Ms Waliagai Olewale said the outside broadcast boosted the morale of staff and kept the public informed about important events “that bring together and unite the people of Bougainville in celebration”.
BCL also held a community information stall at the festival to bring people up to date with BCL’s activities, including its community support initiatives such as the long-running Bougainville Copper Foundation scholarship program.
BCL chairman Sir Mel Togolo commended the ABG and the festival committee for again Bougainville’s calendar.
“Bougainville cocoa is internationally-renowned for its quality in the making of chocolate and the festival is a wonderful way of promoting its further potential. The event is getting stronger each year and it was great to see this year’s festival attract the largest number of entries to date with 130 cocoa samples submitted for judging,” he said.
“As a company we recognise the importance of promoting Bougainville’s key strengths and the cocoa industry is clearly one of these. We are committed to doing what we can to support growth in other sectors that are critical to Bougainville’s future economic prospects.”
Mr Togolo said he believed that with continued support from government and private sector partners, Bougainville’s primary industries such as agriculture would have bright futures, which would bring great economic benefits, including all-important employment opportunities.