Guidelines for making a bid for the 2013 Apimondia Congress

Apimondia, the International Federation of Beekeepers’ Associations, arranges its biannual Congresses in co-operation with a Local Organising Committee that is specific to each Congress.

The organisation of the congress is managed according to the “Letter of Agreement” template that is in the process of being finalised and posted on the Apimondia website.

The Local Organising Committee should include representatives from the national beekeepers’ associations, the scientific world and the beekeeping industry.

The applying Beekeepers’ Association or Organisation for the 2013 Apimondia Congress must have been member of Apimondia for at least 2 years and participated in the General Assembly of the congress previous to the submission of the application.

The Congress should provide the Local Organisers as well as Apimondia with a profit to facilitate the future activities of the organisations. Any profit will be shared according to the inputs from each of the parties according to the “Letter of Agreement”. The registration fees must include a 15% share for Apimondia, which represents the participants’ annual membership to Apimondia.

The Executive Council of Apimondia is responsible for the Congress preparations and will rely on the collaboration of the official Apimondia Corporate Professional Congress Organiser (PCO). The “Letter of Agreement” is meant to spell out the responsibilities and duties of Apimondia and the Local Organising Committee before the organisation of the Congress.

A site inspection carried out by representatives from Apimondia and paid for by the bidding member Association to the proposed Congress venue, hotels and surrounding area, prior to the official presentation to the General Assembly is required, as well as meetings with the Local Organising Committee, scientific and beekeeping representatives and government officials. The “Letter of Agreement” will be discussed during this inspection.

The following points are to provide guidance to potential Local Organising Committees:

	The main goal of the Congress is to provide a meeting point for everyone involved in the beekeeping world: beekeepers, scientists, honey traders, development workers, and those who work in the equipment industries.
	A well-arranged scientific programme must take high priority.
	Opportunities for meeting local beekeepers are important as well as social events and tourist attractions.
	APIEXPO, the APIMONDIA exhibition is organised to run in conjunction with the Congress.
	Flexibility is important in the preparations. An APIMONDIA Congress can attract between 1000 and 4000 participants, even more if you include daily visitors.
	It is important, that a full integration between the APIMONDIA database and the Congress database is guaranteed.

Recent and planned Congresses:

	2001 Durban, South Africa,
	Recent and planned Congresses:
	2001 Durban, South Africa,
	2003 Ljubljana, Slovenia
	2005 Dublin, Ireland.
	2007 Melbourne, Australia
	2009 Montpellier, France

APIMONDIA recommends that the congress 2011 shall be in continent other than Europe

The venue for 2011 shall be chosen at the congress in Melbourne 2007

The application:

4½ years prior to the expected date of the Congress a comprehensive application to host the Congress must be forwarded together with the “Letter of Agreement” duly filled out to the Apimondia General Secretariat in Rome with a copy to the President.

Apimondia alternates the geographical destination of the Congresses, usually between Europe and other continents. As the 2011 Congress is in South America, Europe is recommended as the venue for the 2013 Apimondia Congress.

For the 2013 Apimondia Congress the application must be received in Rome by 15 April 2009 ready for the Executive Council meeting in late April - beginning May and should include the following information:

Proposed dates and venue of the Congress:

Apimondia prefers to hold Congresses on dates within the period mid September to mid October,

	A presentation of the Local Organising Committee, with a short CV of each member,
	Potential for making the Congress a success,
	Reasons for choosing the proposed venue for hosting the Apimondia Congress,
	Details of paid assistance (if any) that will be available,
	A description of the proposed Congress site

Number and size of halls and meeting rooms, exhibition area, other facilities and additional programme options available (during the Congress four to five sessions need to run simultaneously, each with 20-500 participants),

The ApiExpo needs to accommodate at least 100 stands,
Information on the facilities for hosting the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, each with an estimated attendance of 1,000-3,000 participants,

Accommodation
It is preferable to have some accommodation within walking distance of the Congress site. A good price range and quality of hotels is required. Options for “low budget” visitors, for example youth hostels, should be foreseen,

Free accommodation for Apimondia official representatives must be included in the congress budget,

Travel to and from the Congress site
Indications on how the Congress site can be reached by international travellers arriving by plane, train or car,
Free air tickets for Apimondia official representatives and the Local Organising Committee must be included in the congress budget or provided by the proposed official Airline for official travels connected with the Congress preparations and participation. Availability of reduced air fare rates for participants should be considered.

The scientific programme
The scientific programme for the Congress will be drawn up by the Standing Commissions of Apimondia in co-operation with the Local Scientific Committee. Any special scientific reasons to host the Congress at this specific venue should be mentioned.

Excursions and partners’ programme
Apimondia Congresses are a major holiday for many beekeepers and their families. Visits to beekeepers and sites interesting for beekeepers as well as tourist attractions in the area are important factors

Preliminary budget
Congress fees are a sensitive issue for Apimondia members. It would be helpful if a realistic target for the fee can be given. Congress fee should be designed to be attractive and affordable.

Realistic ideas about sponsorships or other possibilities (using existing resources at attractive fees) should be mentioned here.

Indications as to the local government support to the Congress must be provided. Any written guarantees of specified support from the government or local community, companies, businesses or beekeeping associations should be included.

Invitation letters from the Mayor or other officials offering to host a reception or social event may also be attached.

Visas
Taking into consideration that beekeepers from all over the world participate in an Apimondia Congress, a guarantee from the Government that visa applications for participating in the Congress will be facilitated should be provided.

Bid summary
A summary with all the details described in the above paragraphs - maximum 20 pages in length - should also be sent to the Apimondia General Secretariat for distribution to the Executive Council members (20 copies are required).

The election process
At the meeting in May 2009, the Executive Council of Apimondia will make a screening of all the bids for the 43rd Apimondia Congress received by the set deadline (15 April 2009). In case more than 5 bids are received, the Executive Council may proceed to make a shortlist of up to 5 bids to be presented at the General Assembly during the 41st Apimondia Congress. The Secretary-General will inform all bidders on the outcome of the screening by 15 May 2009.

Following confirmation of acceptance of the application, each bidder should send the bid summary also to the Apimondia member associations at least two months prior to the Congress in 2009 (80 copies are required).

At the beginning of the 2009 Congress the Apimondia Management Board will arrange individual meetings with the representatives of each bidding Association to discuss in detail the content of the Letter of Agreement and finalise it in order to sign it at the end of said meeting.

The Letter of Agreement specifies the responsibilities of each party involved and the deadlines by which the different activities should be completed.

A tentative work plan is also attached to the above-mentioned Letter of Agreement and a copy is included herebelow in these guidelines for reference.

During the 2009 Congress there will be two sessions of the General Assembly. At the end of the first session and following the order of presentation established by draw during the Opening Ceremony of the Congress, each applicant will have the opportunity to make a presentation of 10 minutes (i.e. a speech, a slide presentation and a video projection) in a dedicated public session open to the voting delegates as well as all the Congress participants. The Executive Council will give its recommendation to the General Assembly on the basis of the bid presentation, the inspection visit undertaken and the other background information provided. At the end of all presentations, a social event may be foreseen for further promotion of all bids.

The applicants will also have the opportunity to promote their venues throughout the 2009 Congress, possibly by taking a stand in ApiExpo and making presentations, offering receptions and staging entertainment events during the Congress, which must be open to all voting delegates as well as the Congress participants.

At the second session of the General Assembly (within the Congress closing ceremony), each applicant will be granted two minutes to make a final presentation. After this, the voting delegates will cast their votes. In the case of an equal vote, the President of Apimondia will decide. Two rounds of ballots may be foreseen in case no clear majority is reached with the first ballot cast.

Apimondia has the policy that only very small gifts to voting delegates to promote the venue are allowed.

After the election
Shortly after the election of the venue, Apimondia representatives (President and Secretary-General) must meet with the Local Organising Committee. This will be an operational meeting.

To facilitate the co-operation between Apimondia and the 2013 Congress Organising Committee, 1 or 2 representatives of the Local Organising Committee will be invited to participate in the annual Executive Council meetings after the election until their Congress comes to stage. Apimondia provides accommodation, but not transport to the meetings.

The main promotion for the Congress will start at the Congress in 2011 (September 2011 in Buenos Aires, Argentina) where the 2013 Congress Organisers will be provided with a free stand at the ApiExpo. The first circular should be ready for distribution at this time. Throughout the Congress, there will be a possibility to meet with scientists and the Standing Commissions of Apimondia to develop the programme.

There will be an opportunity to address the audience at the 2011 Congress Closing Ceremony to promote the next Congress during which there will be a possibility to organise special promotion activities.

Work plan
Action/document Period (tentative)

1. Submission of bids 15 April 2009

2. Screening and assessment by the Executive Council May 2009

3. Site inspection and general review of Letter of Agreement May-June 2009

4. Signing of final Letter of Agreement by noon 16 September 2009

5. Election of congress venue 19 September 2009

6. Preliminary Meeting of 43rd Congress Organising Committee 19-20 September 2009

7. Preliminary contacts with congress sponsors as from October 2009

8. Development of congress detailed programme April 2010

9. Development of congress detailed budget April 2010

10. Submission of congress first circular in draft April 2011

11. Review and approval of congress first circular by Executive Council May 2011

12. Editing, review and printing of congress first circular August 2011

13. Congress promotion as from congress in Buenos Aires September 2011

14. Development and update of congress website September 2011 and ongoing

15. Revision and integration of mailing databases November 2011

16. Mailing of congress first circular November 2011

17. Definition of terms for opening of congress bank account(s) December 2011

18. Registrations of requests for second circular early 2012

19. Submission of congress second circular in draft early April 2012

20. Submission of congress detailed programme early April 2012

21. Executive Council and Congress Organising Committee meetings May 2012

22. Assessment and approval of second circular by Executive Council May 2012

23. Printing of congress second circular early June 2012

24. Mailing of congress second circular mid June 2012

25. First deadline for ApiExpo bookings end September 2012

26. First deadline for payment of reduced registration fees end December 2012

27. Deadline for submission of summaries end February 2013

28. Screening and selection of summaries mid March 2013

29. Mailing of notifications on report presentation to authors end March 2013

30. Executive Council and Congress Organising Committee meetings May 2013

31. Deadline for submission of full reports end May 2013

32. Definition of working sessions schedules May-June 2013

33. Definition, nomination and notification of contest juries May-June 2013

34. Forwarding of summaries and reports to printing company early June 2013

35. Preparation of diplomas and certificates for contests early June 2013

36. Casting of medals for contests early June 2013

37. Second deadline for payment of reduced registration fees end June 2013

38. Checking registration of authors June 2013

39. Second deadline for ApiExpo bookings end June 2013

40. Checking registration of authors July 2013

41. Collation and preparation of congress programme booklet July 2013

42. Final deadline for ApiExpo bookings July 2013

43. Checking registration of authors August 2013

44. Compilation and printing of pre-congress volume mid August 2013

45. Transmission of congress registration data September 2013

46. Printing and delivery of congress proceedings September 2013

47. Checking registration of authors September 2013

48. Congress September-October 2013

49. Presentation of final accounts and congress report end December 2013

50. Posting of Congress proceedings on Apiacta website version early 2014