Invitations
Dear participants,In Slovenia, there are four beekeepers for every thousand inhabitants, including a number of excellent experts, organisers, researchers, writers and lecturers. Together they make up a mosaic, a treasure trove of knowledge.
In Slovenia, we have the Carniolan bee, calles also the Grey Bee. It is known worldwide, being the second most widespread species of honey bee.
Our beekeepers are sociable, good-natured people, always ready to help each other. They usually do not keep their knowledge to themselves, but share it worldwide happily and generously. There are two important apiarists in Slovenia who have won fame throughout the world: Peter Pavel Glavar, who was the first to teach apiculture and write about it in the Slovene language, and Anton Janša, who took Slovenian beekeeping knowledge to Vienna and became the first royally appointed teacher of apiculture.
Slovenian apiculture is profoundly developed. All bee-keepers and other people hope to create good conditions for the co-existence of farmers, livestock farmers, foresters and bee-keepers, because the future of bee-keeping throughout the world is closely linked to the future of all our lives.
The bee has been around at least ten times longer than humans. It has survived through many periods in the history of the Earth; we must therefore give it a chance to survive through the present as well.
Welcome to Slovenia,
Dr. Danilo Türk
President of the Republic of Slovenia
Dear participants of the international Apimedica & Apiquality Forum,
At the mention of the word honey, many of us first think of its positive characteristics and effects on health. The findings of ancient philosophers and civilisations stressed its applicability in human nutrition and for alleviating a variety of illnesses.
Honey has an important role in the nutrition of modern men, as it contains numerous protective substances that can often help us overcome stressful situations in everyday life. As Slovenia is a country with a long-standing tradition in beekeeping and honey production, our future should see us even more strongly stressing its positive effects on health and its position in the balanced diet of our people. I have to say that the Slovenian Beekeepers Association is doing a great job in this respect; allow me to use this opportunity to thank them and express my hope that they continue with this unique and responsible mission in the future.
Please allow me to wish a successful meeting for the organisers and all the participants an enjoyable stay in Slovenia – a country of natural beauties and numerous opportunities to improve your health.
Welcome to Slovenia.
Borut Miklavčič
Minister of Health of the Republic of Slovenia
Good science and high quality standards are crucial for the development of apicultural products for use in modern medicine. This is the background for organising the International 2010 Apimedica & Apiquality Forum.Slovenia has been chosen for this event because it is a country with a long tradition and active research and development programmes in this field. But Slovenia has much more to offer to visitors: beautiful landscapes, great hospitality and skilled organisers. This conference has been planned so that you will be able to experience a highly scientific programme as well as enjoying the wonders of Slovenia.
All over the world, there is an increasing need for developing new bioactive products for the treatment of diseases. The tolerance of bacteria to antibiotics is a major threat to human health and to the possibility for curing many diseases. The use of natural substances derived from bee products is becoming an important research area in many universities in their search for new solutions using old knowledge.
The Forum aims to indicate the health benefits of bee products by demonstrating their properties and their actual and potential uses in modern medicine, as well as discussing the steps needing to be taken by beekeepers to produce bee products to be used for pharmaceutical purposes.
The conference, organised by Apimondia and the Slovenian Beekeepers’ Association, will combine practical experience and knowledge with “state of the art” research, thus fulfilling the aims of Apimondia to bring science and practice together, exchange information and create links.
August 2009
Asger Søgaard Jørgensen
Former President of Apimondia
Dear colleagues and friends,On behalf of the Slovenian Beekeepers Association, I am proud to invite you to the 3rd International Forum on Apitherapy and the 2nd International Forum on Apiquality, to be held in Slovenia from 28 September to 3 October 2010.
The contract on the organisation of the Apiquality and Apitherapy Forum in 2010 in Slovenia is an important recognition for the Slovenian Beekeepers Association for its present work and organisation from the International Federation of Beekeepers' Associations Apimondia.
In light of our experiences from 2003 when Ljubljana organised the Apimondia 2003 congress hosting more than 190 exhibitors and over 3,000 participants from all over the world, the members of the organising committee have set high goals for the organisation of this Forum as well.
We would like to actively include all the Slovenian beekeepers in the organisation and will not only give foreign visitors information on professional work and the API-EXPO exhibition but also an opportunity to get to know Slovenia as a country of apiculture tourism, enabling genuine contact with Slovenian beekeepers and with nature.
You are invited to visit Slovenia, as we believe that the 2010 Forum will be something different due to the close connections and excellent organisation of Slovenian beekeepers, and also due to the Slovenian hospitality and professional attitude.
We want the Forum to become a festival of apiculture and international promotion for apiculture as a healthy way of life!
Boštjan Noč
President of the Slovenian Beekeepers Association