Jean Baptiste Appia is FLA’s Program Manager for Africa. Since joining FLA in 2015, Appia has served as a key member of FLA’s agriculture and innovation program, supporting labor rights and sustainable development activities in Côte d’Ivoire and other West African countries. As a recognized program manager, his work encompasses stakeholder engagement, IEA planning and coordination, project management, and capacity-building efforts with companies. Prior to that, he conducted independent external monitoring assessments for FLA from 2013-2015.
Passionate about sustainable development and human and labor rights for over a decade, Appia has pursued the advancement of labor rights monitoring, project management for economic empowerment in rural communities, and complex supply chain traceability in agriculture throughout his career. He speaks French and English fluently, as well as three local languages—Agni, Baoulé, and Malinké.
Appia holds a PhD in communication from the Alassane Ouattara of Bouaké (CIV) and a master’s degree in sustainable development from UNESCO Chair for Peace Research at University Felix Houphouët Boigny of Abidjan (CIV). He also holds a certificate in consultancy from the cabinet CCDE in Abidjan (CIV). He currently resides in Côte d’Ivoire with his family.
