APIMONDIA
This meeting promises to be an excellent source of beekeeping
information and means to make international contacts--in fact we believe
it to be perhaps the best beekeeping meeting ever held!
The press release focuses on ApiExpo'99, the trade show
that accompanies the scientific program of the meeting. On behalf of the
Apimondia'99 Organizing Committee, I hope that you will pass this message
on to others who may want to receive it. There have been two previous press
releases (October 1997 and May 1998). If you have not received these but
would like them, please send me anE-mail message to that effect:
GOTIS@evbhort.uoguelph.ca
Some of you will receive this information by regular mail in another week. I would appreciate it if you would advise me if E-mail is your preferred means of receiving information. Also, if you know of people who may not be receiving this information, then please pass on the E-mail address and I can add it to the distribution list. You will see that the message below appears in 4 versions; in alfabetical order:
ENGLISH
ApiExpo'99 Will Actively Complement Apimondia Congress The ApiExpo trade show accompanying Apimondia'99 will be every bit as exciting as the other aspects of this huge international congress, planned for the Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre from September 12-18, 1999. Under the glistening white sails of the west coast's premier convention facility are over 6,000 square metres (60,000 square feet) of exhibit space, with wonderful natural light provided through translucent ceilings up to 150 feet high, all in the same grand facility as the convention sessions, lounge and food courts. Roomy, carpeted and fully air-conditioned, the trade show area will provide convention participants, whether exhibitors or registrants, with comfortable access to the best the beekeeping world has to offer. "We have incorporated other elements of Apimondia, especially the posters for research projects, right onto the ApiExpo floor," says trade show coordinator Paul van Westendorp. "By having this seamless connection between the scientific program and the trade show, all in one envelope, in such incomparable facilities, we have made ApiExpo a deliberately active and integrated part of the Congress." >From educational displays by such groups as the International Bee Research Association and the US National Honey Board, to equipment, publications, pharmaceuticals, beverages, cosmetics and anything else concerning the bee industry, exhibitors are vying for position. Already, organizers are fielding requests for larger booth space from early registrants. "We've deliberately kept our exhibitor rates low enough to encourage anyone in commercial beekeeping to display their wares," van Westendorp says. "Everyone should get involved." One of the first to express interest in becoming a major sponsor was Willie Baumgartner of Medivet Pharmaceuticals, High River, Alberta, Canada. "I've been to the last two Apimondia congresses, in Switzerland and Belgium," he explains, "and I was very impressed. For me, it is vitally important to have access to researchers and beekeepers, off-shore as well as on, and there is no better place than Apimondia. The Canadian meeting looks like it will be spectacular. I am thrilled to be involved!" Paul Belisle, President and General Manager of Bee Maid Honey of Manitoba and Alberta, expresses his feelings about the meeting this way. "Our directors are very excited about both Apimondia'99 and the ApiExpo. We feel that we can represent our organization to the world beekeeping industry through ApiExpo. This gives us the opportunity to meet face to face with current and potential customers." Another major sponsor, Tim Dadant of Dadant and Sons, Hamilton, Illinois, concurs. This will be his first Apimondia congress, an experience he looks forward to after hearing his father speak of others he attended. "Everyone is looking forward to having Apimondia back in North America," he says. "This is our own marketplace, but we have always been interested in the international one too. And I am looking forward to coming to Vancouver for the first time. I understand it is a beautiful city." Check the website regularly for updated information about the congress:
apimondia 99
For ApiExpo exhibitor information, contact
Paul van Westendorp,
BC Ministry of Agriculture & Food,
Abbotsford Agriculture Centre,
1767 Angus Campbell Rd.,
Abbotsford, British Columbia,
Canada, V3G 2M3;
phone: 604-556-3129;
Fax: 604-556-3030;
E-mail:
Paul.vanWestendorp@gems8.gov.bc.ca
For information regarding Congress registration, contact
Venue West Conference Services,
#645 - 375 Water St.,
Vancouver, BC, Canada V6B 5C6;
fax: 604-681-2503;
E-mail:
congress@venuewest.com
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Resolutions of the 36th Apimondia
Congress
VANCOUVER - CANADA
At the closing of the works of its 36th Congress held in Vancouver, September 1999, Apimondia decided:
-To establish the strategies for surviving in the 21st century bee business.
-To strengthen contacts with UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) to improve the natural environment.
-To work closer with the international organisations, FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations) and WTO (World Trade Organisation of the United Nations), for honey norms and codes of practice in honey trade in the Codex Alimentarius.
-To improve the methods of control of secondary diseases associated with the spread of varroa.
-To monitor the risk of spreading bee diseases connected with the trade of live bees and bee products also to keep under control the outbreak of new diseases.
-To improve integration of bee researchers and state veterinary services in order to address the increasing problems related to world-wide bee movement.
-To urge national authorities to encourage bee researchers to contribute to a necessary revision of the OIE (Office of International Epizootics) standards for bee diseases.
-To monitor the current trends of new crops, new varieties and new agronomic systems towards the implementation of new pollination strategies.
-To investigate the emerging opportunities offered by new pollinators and their economic benefits.
-To create on the Apimondia website a comprehensive database to cover areas such as beekeeping legislation, beekeeping equipment suppliers and beehive construction plans.
-To create on Internet an international early warning network on bee pathologies and intoxications.
-To strengthen the establishment of apitherapy as a science.
-To address the theme "Beekeeping for poverty" at the next Apimondia congress focusing on how to achieve sustainable beekeeping in Africa and effective extension in beekeeping.