Next Apimondia Congresses
2019 - Montreal - Canada
2021 - Ufa - Russia

Call for papers - Apimondia Symposium "Role of Bees in Food Production" - Addis Ababa - Ethiopia

I am pleased and honoured to have been elected as President of Apimondia and I would like to express a special word of thanks to all members who participated in the 40^th Apimondia in Daejong, South Korea.

Since 1999 I have been working with and for Apimondia and I am anxious to continue the excellent work carried out by my two predecessors, Asger Søgaard Jørgensen and Gilles Ratia. At our 38^th Congress in Buenos Aires in Argentina in 2011, I was elected as President of the European Commission and I pledged then to strengthen the Apimondia family within Europe, I now extend that pledge to the world.

I believe I have an historic opportunity to build a new and harmonious dialogue between us all. Apimondia is a global organisation and this means that problems can be complex and interrelated. This necessitates a comprehensive approach where no one is excluded. I look forward to helping develop multi- level partnerships between our scientists and beekeepers. We must explore innovative ways to enable the dissemination of information for the benefit of all, which will help us achieve sustainable results.

Honey adulteration, GMO’s, CCD and pesticides are some of the issues that need to be addressed urgently. However, we must recognise that there are a variety of opinions in the beekeeping community so our challenge is to find a way forward together. Some members of Apimondia feel that there has not been enough direction given to these issues resulting in a feeling of powerlessness. To achieve success our leading principles need to be dialogue, inclusion and cooperation. Partnerships need to be based on shared responsibilities and on mutual respect between players.

I look forward to working with all our partners to creating a stronger Apimondia.

Philip McCabe

President