posted 30 November 2005 11:54            

First Meeting - Monday 22nd August 2005, 18:00 hrs
Royal Dublin Society Congress Centre - Dublin, Ireland

Agenda of the meeting

1) Adoption of the agenda
2) Adoption of the minutes and report on the resolutions of the General Assembly held in Ljubljana, Slovenia, on the occasion of the 38th International Apicultural Congress in 2003
3) Report of the Executive Council for the period 2003-2005
4) Report on the accounts and approval of the financial report for 2003 and 2004
5) Approval of the budget for the period 2006-2007
6) Apimondia working plan for the period 2006-2007
7) Plan of the symposia and other international meetings for the period 2006-2007
8) Admission of new members
9) Proposal for the loss of membership for non-paying Associations
10) Discussion and voting of the proposed amendments of the Apimondia Statutes
11) Election of two members of the Executive Council:
Vice-President (resigning: Dr. E. Schieferstein, Germany)
Secretary-General (incumbent: Mr. R. Jannoni-Sebastianini, Italy)
12) Election of four Presidents of the Standing Commissions:
Beekeeping for Rural Development (incumbent: Dr. N. Bradbear, United Kingdom)
Pollination and Bee Flora (incumbent: Dr. M. Sommeijer, Netherlands)
Beekeeping Economy (incumbent: Dr. D.Q. Tam, Vietnam)
Bee Biology (resigning: Prof. R. Crewe, South Africa)
13) Presentation of congress bids for the 41st edition of the Apimondia International Apicultural Congress in 2009
14) Any other business

The appointed delegates and deputies of the following Apimondia membership base are present: Socieded Argentina de Apicultores, Federación Argentina de Cooperativas Apícolas (Argentina), Australian Honey Bee Industry Council (Australia), Österreichischer Imkerbund (Austria), Fédération des apiculteurs belges, Koninklijke Vlaamse Imkersbond (Belgium), Confederação Brasileira de Apicultura (Brazil), Natsionalyen Branshovi Pcelarski Soyuz (Bulgaria), Federación Red Nacional Apícola (Chile), Apicultural Science Association of China (China), Cesky Svaz Vcelaru (Czechia), Dänmarks Biavlerförening (Denmark), Suomen Mehiläishoitajain Liitto (Finland), Union Nationale de l'Apiculture Française, Association européenne d'apitherapie (France), Deutscher Imkerbund (Germany), Omospondia Melissokomikon Sillogon Ellados, Epistimoniko Kentro Melissotherapeias (Greece), Federation of Irish Beekeepers' Associations (Ireland), Federazione Apicoltori Italiani (Italy), Lietuvos Bitininku Sajunga (Lithuania), Fédération des unions d'apiculteurs du Grand Duché de Luxembourg (Luxemburg), Unión Nacional de Apicultores (Mexico), Stichting Bedrijfsraad voor de Bijenhouderij in Nederland (Netherlands), Norges Birøkterlag (Norway), Asociatia Crescatorilor de Albine din Romania (Romania), Rossiski Nacionalna Soyuz Pcelovodov (Russia), Cebelarska Zveza Slovenije (Slovenia), South African Bee Industry Organisation (South Africa), Asociación Provincial de Apicultores de Granada, Asociación de Apicultores Sierra-Norte de la Comunidad de Madrid (Spain), Sveriges Biodlares Riksförbund (Sweden), Fédération des sociétés suisses d'apiculture (Switzerland), Türkiye Ari Yetistiricileri Merkez Birligi (Turkey), The Uganda National Apiculture Development Organisation (Uganda), Spilka Pasicnikiv Ukraini (Ukraine), Council of National Beekeeping Associations in the U.K., Honey International Packers Association (United Kingdom), American Apitherapy Society (United States), Hoi Nuoi Ong Viet Nam (Vietnam).

The Secretary-General checks the credentials and ascertains the presence of 40 representatives out of 66 Member Associations (40 Associations with right to vote) for a total of 101 votes out of 159. The constitution of the Assembly being considered valid, the President of Apimondia undertakes the presidency of the Assembly and the Secretary-General acts as secretary of the meeting, which is therefore declared officially open.

1. The agenda of the meeting is approved unanimously.

2. The report of the Apimondia General Assembly sessions held in Ljubljana, Slovenia, on 25th and 28th August 2003 is cleared.

3. The President and Secretary-General give an account of the activities carried out over the period 2004-2005 which have also been reported in the previous minutes of the meetings and report of the Executive Council.
During the said period three meetings of the Executive Council and of the FIITEA Managing Committee have been held (1 in Rome, and 2 in Dublin) as well as 2 internal workshops held in Rome (November 2003 - May 2004) which focussed on the mission, activities and future of Apimondia. Inspection visits were carried out in all six venues which submitted the bids to host the 2009 Apimondia Congress. Numerous events, as reflected in the Executive Council members' reports, were attended by Executive Council members in order to promote the initiatives of the Federation and as a result there was a remarkable increase in the number of associations which expressed their intention to join Apimondia.
All members of the Executive Council worked jointly with the Irish Organising Committee to plan and implement the 40th Apimondia Congress as well as with the Australian counterpart for the organisation of the 41st edition.
The Standing Commissions organised, together with some Member Associations, various International Symposia under the aegis of Apimondia: "Tropical Beekeeping: Research and Development for Pollination and Conservation" (San José, Costa Rica - February 2004), "2nd Symposium on Prevention of Residues in Honey - Changes in Beekeeping Practice" (Celle, Germany - April 2004), "1st World Symposium on Beekeepers' Co-operativism and Associativity" (Mendoza, Argentina - September 2004), "1st Symposium on Issues concerning Developing Countries' International Trade in Honey" (Hanoi, Vietnam - November 2004), "Diagnosis on Bee Diseases" (Dublin, Ireland - August 2005), "Honey Trade Workshop" (Dublin, Ireland - August 2005) as well as "Training Courses on Apitherapy" in Cuba and feasibility studies on future apitherapy projects in Cuba and Burkina Faso. Also the Apimondia website is expanding and being regularly updated with news and reports on the Federation's initiatives.

4. The Secretary-General illustrates the accounts and financial report of Apimondia for the period 2003-2004 and gives a brief explanation of the main issues contained in it, pointing out the negative impact of the US$/Euro ratio that led to considerable loss on exchange, the usual difference in the figures between the years in which the International Congress is held and the ones in between, the overall stability of the general operating expenses, the substantial reduction of the outstanding debts.
The accounts and financial report, certified by an external auditor, are unanimously approved by the Assembly.

5. The Secretary-General presents the proposed budgets for the biennium 2006-2007, outlining that the figures reported are based on a conservative forecast of the activities to be undertaken.
The General Assembly reviews and approves unanimously both budgets.

6. The President and Secretary-General illustrate the working plan for the next two years which focuses primarily on the organisation of the 41st Apimondia Congress (Melbourne, Australia - September 2007), the FAO Workshop on Transdisciplinary Issues for Rural Development in Eastern Europe (Titignano, Italy - September 2005), the Apimondia Internal Workshop on Congress Organisation Issues (Rome, Italy - May 2006) as well as other international meetings to be organised in close collaboration with the Standing Commissions.

7. The Executive Council reports on the international symposia and meetings organised under the aegis of Apimondia that will take place in the coming biennium: "4th Caribbean Beekeeping Congress" (Trinidad and Tobago - November 2005), "Symposium on Reforestation and Beekeeping with Indigenous Bees" (El Salvador - December 2005), organisation and management of some sessions on diagnosis and on foraging behaviour within EurBee 2006 (Czechia - September 2006), "Treatment of Viruses and Bacteria with Natural Products" (Belgium - September/October 2006), follow-up on "Honey Trade Issues and Residues in Honey" (Asia, 2006).

8. The Secretary-General reports on the steady increase in the number of Associations that apply for membership to Apimondia and mentions the new Associations that have applied in the last biennium as Full Members: Natsionalyen Branshovi Pcelarski Soyuz (Bulgaria), Union nationale des apiculteurs du Burkina Faso (Burkina Faso), Association pour le développement de l'apiculture au Congo (Congo D.R.), Agricultural Producers' Association (Nigeria), Federação Nacional dos Apicultores de Portugal (Portugal), Asociación Provincial de Apicultores de Granada (Spain), Asociación de Apicultores Sierra-Norte de la Comunidad de Madrid (Spain), Türkiye Ari Yetistiricileri Merkez Birligi (Turkey), Uludag Aricilik Dernegi (Turkey), Samarkandskaya Oblastnaya Assotsiatsiya Asalchilar (Uzbekistan).
Furthermore, other applications had been filed by the European Federation of Honey Packers and Distributors (Germany), Goldmart Commercials Ltd. (Ghana), Epistimoniko Kentro Melissotherapeias (Greece), Al-Owaid Honey Centre for Apitherapy (Kuwait), Honey International Packers Association (United Kingdom) and Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Apícolas (Venezuela) as Associate Members.
Finally Messrs. Al-Qalawi (Jordan), Schaer (Switzerland), Igor Danylevsky (Ukraine), Flottum (USA) and Pepe (USA) have enrolled as Individual Members.
The Assembly unanimously endorses the above-mentioned Associations and individuals as members of Apimondia.

9. The Secretary-General reports that, for the present biennium, the following member Associations: Agricultural Bank (Libya), Beekeepers' Co-operative League (Libya) and Polski Zwiazek Pszczelarski (Poland) did not settle their membership fees for four years in a row. Therefore the General Secretariat will request the aforesaid Associations to pay the accrued debts within 6 months in order to clear their administrative position.

10. In compliance with the provisions of the Federation's Statutes, the proposed amendments to the Statutes and By-laws were circulated to the Member Associations two months prior to the Congress in order to enable them to evaluate the provisions contained therein and give their comments and inputs.
The President takes the floor to illustrate the changes that are being proposed, namely the amendment of the following articles of the Statutes:
15) Art. 3: rewording of the objectives of the Federation,
16) Art. 18: the addition of two paragraphs so that, in case the Secretary-General or other members of the Executive Council are not able to fulfil their duties, the President can take over their responsibility,
17) Art. 20: the renaming of the former Standing Commission on Bee Pathology into "Standing Commission on Bee Health",
and those of the By-laws:
18) the rewording of the mission of Apimondia,
19) the change of the currency for the membership fees from the US$ to the Euro,
20) the appointment of an Editor for the official digital version of Apiacta.
The amendments to the Statutes as well as those to the By-laws are unanimously approved.

Moreover, the proposal submitted by the Federación Red Nacional Apícola (Chile), Socieded Argentina de Apicultores (Argentina), Federación Argentina de Cooperativas Apícolas (Argentina) and Sociedad Apícola Uruguaya (Uruguay) to establish a Permanent Working Group on "Associativism, production and local and environmental development" within the Standing Commission on Beekeeping for Rural Development and the proposal submitted by the Honey International Packers Association (United Kingdom) and the International Honey Commission to establish a Permanent Working Group on "Honey Quality" within the Standing Commission on Beekeeping Technology and Equipment are both approved by the Assembly.

11. The renewal of the Federation's management positions leads to the following results:
21) following a first voting concerning the three candidates Mr. P. McCabe (Ireland), Mr. L. Martinez (Argentina) and Mr. L. Bodnarchuk (Ukraine) for the position of Vice-President, Messrs. Martinez and Bodnarchuk undergo a second ballot which results in the election of Mr. L. Martinez with 57 votes;
22) Mr. R. Jannoni-Sebastianini (Italy) is re-appointed Secretary-General by acclamation.

12. The positions of the Presidents of the Apimondia Standing Commissions due to expire are assigned as follows:
23) Dr. N. Bradbear (UK) for Beekeeping for Rural Development is re-appointed by acclamation;
24) Dr. M. Sommeijer (Netherlands) for Pollination and Bee Flora is re-appointed by acclamation;
25) Dr. D.Q. Tam (Vietnam) for Beekeeping Economy is re-appointed by acclamation;
26) Prof. K. Crailsheim (Austria) for Bee Biology is appointed by acclamation.
The Executive Council takes the opportunity to thank Prof. O. Van Laere for his contribution towards Apimondia as acting President of the Standing Commission on Bee Biology as well as Prof. R. Crewe and Dr. E. Schieferstein for the work done for Apimondia and wishes to keep close contacts with them for the future activities of the Federation.

Following these elections, the Apimondia Executive Council composition for the next biennium is as follows:
- President A.S. Jørgensen (Denmark)
- Vice-President L. Martinez (Argentina)
- Secretary-General R. Jannoni-Sebastianini (Italy)
Presidents of Standing Commissions:
- Apitherapy T. Cherbuliez (USA)
- Bee Biology K. Crailsheim (Austria)
- Beekeeping Economy D.Q. Tam (Vietnam)
- Pollination and Bee Flora M. Sommeijer (Netherlands)
- Beekeeping for Rural Development N. Bradbear (United Kingdom)
- Bee Health W. Ritter (Germany)
- Beekeeping Technology and Equipment G. Ratia (France)

13. Upon the invitation by the President and following a draw for the order of presentation, the representatives of the Asociación Provincial de Apicultores de Granada (Spain), the Oesterreichischer Imkerbund (Austria), the Union nationale de l'apiculture française (France), the Asociación de Apicultores Sierra-Norte de la Comunidad de Madrid (Spain), the Socieded Argentina de Apicultores/Federación Argentina de Cooperativas Apícolas (Argentina) and the Natsionalyen Branshovi Pcelarski Soyuz (Bulgaria) present their bid for hosting the 41st Apimondia International Apicultural Congress, respectively in Granada, Vienna, Montpellier, Madrid, Mendoza and Sofia.

Having cleared all the issues of the meeting, the President declares the General Assembly officially closed at 22:10.

__________________________

Second Meeting - Thursday, 25th August 2005, 18:00 hrs
Royal Dublin Society Congress Centre - Dublin, Ireland

Agenda of the meeting

1. Report on the first meeting of the General Assembly
2. Report on the resolutions and overview of the 39th International Apicultural Congress
3. Nomination of the new Honorary Members of Apimondia
4. Appointment of the venue for the 41st Apimondia International Apicultural Congress in 2009
5. Address by the President of the 39th International Apicultural Congress
6. Formal closing of the 39th International Apicultural Congress

The appointed delegates and deputies of the following Apimondia membership base are present: Shoqata e Bletarëve Të Shquipërisë (Albania), Socieded Argentina de Apicultores, Federación Argentina de Cooperativas Apícolas (Argentina), Australian Honey Bee Industry Council (Australia), Österreichischer Imkerbund (Austria), Fédération des apiculteurs belges, Koninklijke Vlaamse Imkersbond (Belgium), Confederação Brasileira de Apicultura (Brazil), Natsionalyen Branshovi Pcelarski Soyuz (Bulgaria), Federación Red Nacional Apícola (Chile), Apicultural Science Association of China (China), Hrvatski Pcelarski Savez (Croatia), Sociedad Cubana de Apicultores (Cuba), Cesky Svaz Vcelaru (Czechia), Dänmarks Biavlerförening (Denmark), Suomen Mehiläishoitajain Liitto (Finland), Union nationale de l'apiculture française, Association européenne d'apitherapie (France), Deutscher Imkerbund (Germany), Omospondia Melissokomikon Sillogon Ellados, Epistimoniko Kentro Melissotherapeias (Greece), Országos Magyar Méhészeti Egyesület (Hungary), Federation of Irish Beekeepers' Associations (Ireland), Federazione Apicoltori Italiani (Italy), Japan Beekeeping Association (Japan), Lietuvos Bitininku Sajunga (Lithuania), Fédération des unions d'apiculteurs du Grand Duché de Luxembourg (Luxemburg), Unión Nacional de Apicultores (Mexico), Stichhting Bedrijfsraad voor de Bijenhouderij in Nederland (Netherlands), Norges Birøkterlag (Norway), Asociatia Crescatorilor de Albine din Romania (Romania), Rossiski Nacionalna Soyuz Pcelovodov (Russia), Savez Pcelarskih Organizacija Srbije (Serbia and Montenegro), Slovensky Zvaz Vcelarov (Slovakia), Cebelarska Zveza Slovenije (Slovenia), South African Bee Industry Organisation (South Africa), Asociación Provincial de Apicultores de Granada (Spain), Sveriges Biodlares Riksförbund (Sweden), Fédération des sociétés suisses d'apiculture (Switzerland), Türkiye Ari Yetistiricileri Merkez Birligi (Turkey), Spilka Pasicnikiv Ukraini (Ukraine), Council of National Beekeeping Associations in the U.K. (United Kingdom), American Apitherapy Society (United States), Hoi Nuoi Ong Viet Nam (Vietnam).

Having checked the credentials and ascertained the presence of 44 representatives out of 66 Member Associations (43 Associations with right to vote) for a total of 115 votes out of 159, the President of Apimondia verifies the required minimum quorum for the validity of the Assembly and declares the meeting officially open.

The President gives the floor to the Secretary-General to address point 1 of the agenda.

1. The Secretary-General reports on the first meeting of the General Assembly, pointing out the activities carried out and the International Symposia held under the aegis of Apimondia in the biennium 2004-2005, the clearance of the federation's accounts for 2003-2004, the approval of the budget for the biennium 2006-2007, the adoption of the new amendments to the Apimondia Statutes, the creation of two new Working Groups, the new members that have joined the Federation as well as the plan of the future activities to be implemented by the Federation. Finally, as a result of the elections held during the first meeting, he illustrates the new composition of the Executive Council of Apimondia.

2. The President reads the resolutions and overview of the 39th Apimondia Congress which had been prepared in collaboration with the Presidents of the Standing Commissions.

3. The President presents the list of the Honorary Members proposed for nomination on account of their dedicated support given to Apimondia:
- Mr. P. McCabe (Ireland)
- Dr. E. Schieferstein (Germany)
The delegates of the Member Associations unanimously endorse the nominations.

4. Following a brief presentation of the 6 proposed venues, on the second round of secret ballot the venue of the 41st Apimondia Congress is assigned to the Union nationale de l'apiculture française (France) by 63 votes against 45 votes cast for Argentina. The 41st edition of the Apimondia Congress will therefore take place in Montpellier (France) in September 2009.

5. The President of Apimondia takes the floor to deliver the congress closing speech and thanks the local Organising Committee as well as all the volunteers who had helped towards the successful organisation of the Congress.

6. Mr. McCabe, President of the 389h Apimondia Congress, is invited to hand over the Apimondia flag to Mr. S. Fewster in representation of the Australian Congress Organising Committee to symbolically link the two Congresses.

With the transfer of the Apimondia flag, the 39th Apimondia Congress is declared officially closed.

Rome, 19th September 2005

Asger Søgård Jørgensen
Apimondia President