Official Newsletter of the WANA Seed Network
No. 36, January 2009
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Announcements of meetings, seminars, workshops and training courses appear in this section. Please send us announcements for national, regional, or international workshops, seminars and training courses organized in your country for inclusion in the next issue.
Conferences
ISTA Annual Meeting 2009, Zurich, Switzerland, 15-18 June 2009. ISTA is pleased to announce that the registration for the ISTA Annual Meeting 2009 to be held from 15-18 June 2009 in Glattbrugg (Zurich), Switzerland is now open. The reduced fee for early registrations will apply until 15 April 2009. For registration please visit the website (www.seedtest.org/AM2009). For more information contact: Dr. Michael Muschick, Secretary General, ISTA, Zurichstrasse 50, 8303 Bassersdorf, Switzerland; E-mail: ista.office@ista.ch; www.seedtest.org
ISF 2009 World Seed Congress, 25-27 May 2009, Antalya, Turkey. The congress is organized under the auspices of the ISF and hosted by the Turkish Seed Industry Association. Antalya located in the Mediterranean cost in western Turkey is a city known for its seed production of horticultural crops. For more information and registration please contact: ISF, Chemin du Reposoir 7, 1260 Nyon Switzerland; E-mail: isf@worldseed.org. Further information is available from Turkish Seed Industry Association, Mithapasa Caddesi Fazilet Apt. No 50/4, Yenisehir, Ankra, Turkey; E-mail: turkted@turkted.org.tr.
Second World Seed Conference 2009, 8-10 September 2009, FAO, Rome. The conference under the theme 'Responding to the Challenges of Changing world-the role of new plant varieties and high quality seed in agriculture is jointly organized by FAO, OECD, UPOV, ISF and ISTA. This event is aimed at a cross section of the seed industry from policy makers and senior managers of government agencies to professionals such as plant breeders, seed specialists, researchers to farmers' associations and consumer organizations. It also include breeding companies, breeders' associations, certification agencies, seed producers, seed trade associations, technology companies, academic institutions, and international breeding and seed research centers. The conference will be held over three days, organized into two events: Expert Forum, 8-9 September 2009 and Policy forum, 10 September 2009.
The aim of the Expert Forum is to provide information and facilitate discussion on means of encouraging the development of new plant varieties and the production and distribution of high quality seed. The Policy Forum will review the conclusions of the Expert Forum on means to provide an enabling environment that encourages the development of new varieties and facilitates the production and distribution of high quality seed.
The expert forum will be in English only whereas the policy forum will have simultaneous translation in Arabic, Chinese, English, French and Spanish. Further information on the conference can be obtained at: http://www. worldseedconference.org.
Courses
Wageningen International Courses 2009. Wageningen University and Research offers continuing education through postgraduate courses, training sessions, and refresher courses. The courses vary from general interest to highly specialized levels, offering the chance to learn about current developments. Many institutions including Wageningen International organize short courses. For more information on courses organized by WI follow this link.
ISTA Vigour Workshop, Mashhad, Iran 18-21 April 2009: The International Seed Testing Association (ISTA) will hold a Seed Vigour Workshop at the Department of Crop Science, University of Ferdowsi, Mashhad, Iran from 18-21 April 2009. The workshop will offer an introduction to the concept of seed vigour and seed vigour testing. It will be made up largely of lectures with some practical experience in vigour tests. The lecturers will be Dr Alison Powell (Chair, ISTA Vigour Committee, University of Aberdeen, UK), Dr Stan Matthews (University of Aberdeen, UK) and Dr Mohammad Khajeh Hosseini (University of Ferdowsi). The workshop will be conducted in English. Further details of the workshop and registration can be obtained from the website of ISTA.
International Training Program on Contemporary Approaches in Genetic Resources Conservation and Use, Wageningen, The Netherlands, 6 April to 1 May 2009. Wageningen International and the Centre for Genetic Resources, the Netherlands in cooperation with Bioversity International and GFU for Underutilized Species are organizing a four-week training program on genetic resources conservation and use. The training program is designed for project coordinators, managers, trainers, program leaders and other professionals who aim to promote the conservation and use of genetic resources for agriculture from a policy, research, education or development perspective. The program consists of four two-week modules, organized in parallel sessions:
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Genetic resource policies and conservation strategies, 6-17 April |
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Adaptive genetic resources management, 6- 17 April |
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Enhancing agro-biodiversity use: markets and chains, 20 April-1 May |
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Integrated approaches in crop improvement and seed supply, 20 April-1 May |
The program is part of the annual course portfolio of Wageningen International. With the Global Plan of Action on Animal Genetic Resources having come into force in 2007, the training program will address plant as well as animal genetic resources. The latter will be specifically addressed in module 3 from a conservation perspective, and in module 4 from
a sustainable use perspective. To this end, program modules addressing plant and animal issues specifically will be run in parallel. Also the module on integrated approaches in crop improvement and seed supply is new. Please find more details on the program and application form at Wageningen International. For more information contact: Karèn Verhoosel Wageningen International Program for Capacity Development and Institutional Change, P.O. Box 88, 6700 AB Wageningen, The Netherlands Tel: +31-317-486860; Fax: +31-317 486801; E-mail: karen.verhoosel@wur.nl
Introduction to the UPOV System of Plant Variety Protection (DL_205), 4 May to 7 June 2009. UPOV invites interested applicants to its distance-learning program which will be run in English, French, German and Spanish. There are three categories of participants:
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Government officials of members of the Union nominated by the relevant representative to the UPOV Council (No fee); |
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Officials of observer states/ intergovernmental organizations nominated by the relevant representative to the UPOV Council (one non-fee paying per state/intergovernmental organization and CHF1,000 per additional student) |
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Others (fee: CHF, 1000) |
Preregistration of participants in categories 1 and 2 must be accompanied by a notification from the representative to the UPOV council of the UPOV member or observer as appropriate, formally nominating the participant. More detailed information concerning the course content and on-line pre-registration is available on the UPOV website: http://upov.int/en/about/training.htm