IAAS Annual Review 2011 by IAAS Editor

ANNUAL REVIEW A

RECAP OF 2011

AFRICAN DIRECTORS MEETING, ORE > WO-CO 2011, ALUMNI MEETING MEETINGS S U PL +

EXCHANGE WEEKS >

POLAND, GREECE, ITALY

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AR WHO’S WHO 27

5 6 8 11 12 14 17

President’s Letter Editor’s Letter EC 2011-2012 Control Committee Regional Directors EC 2010-2011 Training Committee

EX WEEKS 19 POLAND 21 ITALY

3219

22 GREECE

LOCAL EVENTS 36 Long Live the Cork Tree

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CORE MEETINGS

24 African Directors Meeting in Nigeria 2010 BY JOHNSON PAUL OMOKAGBO

25 Exchange Coordinators Meeting 2011 BY KONRAD EGENOLF

27 Alumni Meeting 2011 BY IAAS ALUMNI BOARD

29 African Directors Meeting 2011 BY GOKA KOSSI SELOM

30 World Congress Meeting 2011 BY IAAS MACEDONIA

32 European Directors Meeting 2010/11

BY IAAS PORTUGAL

38 Employer of Your Dreams BY IAAS POLAND

39 Reports from Indonesia BY IAAS INDONESIA

40 Refreshment Week BY IAAS SWEDEN

41 Slovenia Hits the Alps BY IAAS SLOVENIA

43 A Wine Festival BY IAAS SLOVENIA

44 IAAS Spain Seminar BY IAAS SPAIN

BY SEBASTIAN KEEL

33 Art Festival in Russia 34 46

BY ANASTASIA SOROKINA

ExPro Information BY IAAS EXPRO

Partner Meetings

BY LYDA MICHOPOULOU

ON THE COVER IAAS Group Picture in Slovenia Photograph by Kristina Košmrlj

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Those who look for opportunities think orange. Research and Development is of the utmost importance to us. KWS grants its employees the freedom to cultivate their own ideas and therefore successfully »seed the future«. It is this approach which enables KWS employees to continually advance their professional and personal development. Take your opportunity: www.kws.com/career

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14.11.2011 09:54:35

AFEPA European Master in Agricultural, Food and Environmental Policy Analysis There are 10 Erasmus Mundus scholarships (500€/month for 2 years) available for European students to attend the Master’s programme in Agricultural, Food and Environmental Policy Analysis (AFEPA) jointly organised by the Université catholique de Louvain, the Corvinus University of Budapest, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, the University of Bonn and the Technical University of Catalonia. Deadline for application is January 10, 2012. Visit www.uclouvain.be/afepa for full information.

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GREETINGS FROM THE PRESIDENT Dear IAASers around the world, I am really happy to present you the Annual Review of 2011. Back in 1957, when a group of progressive students wanted to share their experiences and exchange the knowledge on agriculture, IAAS, the International Association of Students in Agricultural and Related Sciences, came into being. Over the years, it has evolved from eight founding members to one of the largest international Students’ Associations, gathering young people who study, major and do research at more than 80 universities in 40 countries around the world. IAAS has a long standing tradition and we proudly keep alive our mission: “To promote the exchange of experience, knowledge and ideas, to improve the mutual understanding between students in the field of Agriculture and Related Sciences all over the world.” To emphasize the importance of IAAS in a globalized world, let me give you a brief insight on one of the most serious problems we are facing, the climate change. Over the last 10 years, the rapid change of the weather, the transformation of the seasonal cycle from 4 seasons(summer, autumn, spring, winter) to 2 (summer, winter), the decrease of natural resources such as water made our way of living more problematic. Thus, the need to develop a strategy for the future was visible and the movement of Social Responsibility was born. Being social responsible means that we care and respect the environment, we don’t waste the natural resources and we embrace the earth that feed us and host us. The idea of being Social Responsible is that we think big, we dream of a better tomorrow but we act on today, at the local level such as our life, our neighborhood, our city where even the smallest action can make a difference. As the President of IAAS, I would like to encourage all our members to participate in informal educational programs, organize extracurricular activities so that more students of agriculture and relates sciences will enjoy the knowledge and skills of IAAS members. IAAS is a place where we share ideas on how to build a better tomorrow, we experience our science and enhance our education; we create long lasting friendships and discover opportunities for the future. By being a member of IAAS, you will change your way of looking at agriculture and you will discover a new way of life. IAAS is a place where everybody feels at home and respected. Together we broaden horizons. This Annual Review will give you a synopsis of the events, worldwide congresses and activities organized or joined by IAAS members in 2011. Last but not least, I would like to announce that this year’s topic is: Social Responsibility You are most welcome to organize a discussion, seminar or write an article for the IAAS Magazine about this topic. To end a pleasant and fruitful year let me wish you a happy NEW IAAS YEAR! KEEP UP THE IAAS SPIRIT! Sincerely yours,

Lyda Michopoulou

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WHO’S WHO

A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR Greetings IAAS World, I’m both happy and relieved to present the 2011 Annual Review! When I first accepted the position as World Editor, I didn’t know much about IAAS. Through your articles and reports, I’m impressed with this organizations numerous accomplishments and dedicated members. With every individual executive board coming together to cultivate the spirit of learning for which IAAS stands, I marvel at the collaborative efforts and contributions every IAASer puts forth. What unique opportunities you can take advantage of during your college years—and furthermore, what an awesome alumni network you will become a part of! When I edited the articles, I really tried to retain every authors “voice.” To me it is important that their personalities still came through instead of my edits obliterating their words. This way, it is a publication reflective of its diverse membership and ideologies. I hope you all read this recap of 2011 with interest and enjoy the design! Best of luck to you all,

Nina Bolka

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EXEcutive Committee 2011-2012 PRESIDENT Lyda Michopoulou

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 2011-12 Email: president@iaasworld.org Skype: lyda_papa

What does IAAS mean to you? For me IAAS is my second family. Truthfully, my dream was to study biotechnology, not agronomy. But when I found IAAS at my university, I fell in love with this association and decided to finish my studies in agronomy. IAAS is a unique world full of students that share the same dreams with me and have a better vision for life.

What is your mission for IAAS this year? This year IAAS’ mission is my mission! 1. EC Visibility: Be involved at every major IAAS event & try to attend small events like seminars or exweeks 2. Transparency and Flow of Information: Upload our EC meeting reports on the web, send newsletters and ec couriers with all information about external events and/or IAAS events, and provide information upon request concerning membership fees or LCs/NCs involvement to the bigger picture of IAASWorld 3. Discuss Agriculture: Not only talk about agriculture but also DO agricultural related projects. 4. Cultural Training in IAAS: After this World Congress there will be an Independent Training Committee with 3 trainers as members. Their goal is to promote trainings in IAAS and with the help of Zero generation, our partner establish an IAAS training system. 5. Fundraise for IAAS International: Help committees to fundraise for their events, provide trainings on fundraising via skype or f2f. 8

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How do you think the annual topic of “Social Responsibility” applies to IAAS? The moto of Social Respinsibility is: Think Globally, Act Locally. This is the main idea of IAAS considering without our members, we don’t exist. It can be applied through our IAAS activities. A seminar related to Social Responsibility an socially responsible actions will show that IAAS is helping form a better society. Also, it can be applied on all our exchange weeks where members partake in activities like cleaning a beach, park, reforestation, etc.

Favorite IAAS Memory: My trip to Mexico for the World Congress where I found true Mexican love! ;) It was my first World Congress and also my first translantic trip. I caught up with old friends and made new ones, had the opportunity to experience Mexico, and loved every single moment! Thanks to all the IAASers for this great memory!

V.P. COMMUNICATION Teresa Lazzaro

Email: vpcommunication@iaasworld.org Skype: lazzrot87 What does IAAS mean to you?

IAAS is a place where you come across many cultures, many different people...and find many great friends! IAAS is the place where my passion and committment for agriculture can grow together with that of many other students all over the world.

What is your mission for IAAS this year?

My first objective as VP-Communication is to improve the communication and information flow within the IAAS community. I would like to see the cooperation between the international board and the local committees grow stronger and more effective for a greater IAAS!

How do you think the annual topic of “Social Responsibility” applies to IAAS?

We are so lucky to have the exchange experience. I think that knowledge and ideas with other students is such an important topic, especially since agriculture applies to all communities.

Favorite IAAS Memory: My best IAAS memory, ehm...finding a IAAS-Egypt poster from 1989 displayed in an office when going to meet a professor for study questions. The meeting took a much better turn: old IAAS stories from a totally unexpected IAASer!

V.P. EXCHANGE Uke Praise

Email: vpexchange@iaasworld.org What does IAAS mean to you?

IAAS is a non-governmental organization where students from about 40 countries come together & exchange ideas and experiences in agriculture. Its a great avenue for self-enrichment.

What is your mission for IAAS this year?

I want to make Expro better than ever by regularly updating the database and expro places, publishing the bulletin and surveys.

How do you think the annual topic of “Social Responsibility” applies to IAAS? We have a role to play in our society. From what we have

Favorite IAAS Memory: learned through our studies, practicals and exchanges, we can

IAAS ADM Ghana 2009...there has not been anything like it!

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V.P. PARTNERSHIP Ivan Kirovski

Email: vppartnership@iaasworld.org

What does IAAS mean to you?

IAAS for me is not only an organization, but also a way of life. It has become a way for me to get to know more about agriculture and culture, share ideas, experiences and knowledge. This organization opened my eyes to diversity, change and new ideas.

What is your mission for IAAS this year? My mission is to make IAAS a more socially responsible organization in which students alone will be able to make an impact on society. My plan is to encourage members to take on more projects and to communicate more about agriculture.

How do you think the annual topic of “Social Responsibility” applies to IAAS?

Favorite IAAS Memory:

We need to take on our positions as future leaders in agriculture and start getting involved. Even if it’s as small as planting trees or growing a school garden, we need to discuss world hunger and work to end it.

They are all awesome, but the one that really impressed me was my first IAAS event, because for me, that was like a whole new world.

V.P. FINANCE

Aristeidis (Aris) Archontelis Email: vpfinance@iaasworld.org

What does IAAS mean to you? A fun and multicultural approach to agriculture in which members can exchange practical knowledge.

What is your mission for IAAS this year?

I would like IAAS to be stronger and grow to more countries. The new members motivate me to work harder for IAAS, managing the finances and achieve stability in the association.

Favorite IAAS Memory:

I cant forget my first EDM in Poland 2006/2007. It was such a year of change with visitors from multiple countries.

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control Committee 2011-2012 Hello Everybody, We are your Control Committee (CC) meaning we serve you rather then control you! If you have any inquiries about our duties do not hesitate to ask! The CC, as you may already know, consists of Susanne Ziegler (Germany, IAAS President 2010/11), Kristina Košmrlj (Slovenia) and me, Itiel Seriol (Mexico). We have been involved with the IAAS Executive Committee and all the application stuff IAAS works on, including our IAAS Constitution and by-laws. The CC has the job of reviewing all of these IAAS related things and confirming if they abide by our governing laws. It has been an interesting first half of the year considering we’re from all over the globe. There’s a sense of camaredy amongst our crew, and we all feel that it’s important for all organizations that we work with to find the best solution to their problems. We’ll be looking forward to hearing from any of you and answering whatever questions you might have about our organization. With polite salutes, Itiel

Kristina Košmrlj (right), Slovenia Itiel Seriol (middle right), Mexico Susanne Ziegler (top right), Germany

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Regional Directors 2011-2012 AFRICA -->

Oscar Ahossou

From: Benin Email: iaas_africa@yahoo.co.uk

<-- AMERICAS Dylan Clark

From: The United States Email: iaasamericasrd@gmail.com

West Europe --> Nina Ellenbroek

From: Switzerland Email: iaaswesterneu@gmail.com

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CENTRAL EUROPE

Anastasia Melidi

From: Greece Email: iaascentralrd@gmail.com

North-east europe

-->

Susanne Humble and Madelene Andersson From: Sweden Email: iaasnortheasteu@gmail.com

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EXEcutive Committee 2010-2011 Hello IAAS folks all over the world! It has been finally a year working in IAAS international! A year was not enough for me to embrace IAAS’ exchange programs; there were many challenges that I faced but I ran it well. We are now having new faces in EC means the new spirits and new ideas to bring IAAS for better a future. Even though I’m retired does not mean I’m no longer part of IAAS things; I’m still pleased to emerge myself in this organization. Dear IAAS friends, if you are currently still in your IAAS committee, please remember to ask yourself not what IAAS will give you, rather what you will give to IAAS. The more things you give, the more things you will gain. I’m still looking forward to hearing from all of you! If you have something to share, please do not hesitate to contact me by e-mail: erihadyansyah@yahoo.de Best wishes and Greetings from Indonesia! Eri Hadyansyah Dear IAASers, It was a pleasure being part of our international community as a member of the Executive Committee. One challenging year passed, but was full of great moments. I am especially proud that contact was established with many new organizations including CEJA and Rural Youth, two organizations that are gathering young farmers. Working in an international team for a beloved organization is something that brought me a lot of pleasure and taught me many lessons. I felt that I was learning from each of the team members. If you would like to empower IAAS as an organization for students, I can encourage you to contact members of Executive Committee and join some of the Boards. It is a rewarding experience and you can contribute to make great things happen! As a member of Advisory Board, I am always available for you. Please feel free to add me on skype (under name: statija). IAASfully yours, Tijana Stancic 14

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Beloved IAAS community, It´s been a year full of exciting moments and challenging tasks. Now looking back after several months have passed, I even feel more sentimental towards how valuable and important this year has been. During the year I not only improved leadership and coordination skills, but also got a deep understanding of the importance of IAAS as an association bridging inequalities, contributing to intercultural communication and fostering the idea of a more fair society on a global scale. To share some of my most moving moments, I note feeling the motivation and energy of members putting the IAAS mission to action. This energy was not only supported by the well organized events, but also from the effort made by the Executive Committee, which filled me with happiness. In the future I would love to see our association grow in quantity and quality. This can be achieved through following up on the IAAS strategy produced during WoCo in Macedonia. Points like having a training system, an interactive website, the Independent Committees to support IAAS International and an Alumni network established will lead to an all-embracing growth of the association. YOU, as the future IAAS generation, USE the chance to contribute to IAAS´ unique developement with your engagement! All the BEST!  Yours, Susanne Ziegler

Dear IAASers around the world, Thanks again to all of you for the trust you put in me as Vice-President of Finance of this wonderful organization. Looking back it has been a very diverse and challenging but also rewarding year. There were a variety of tasks I haven’t been trained for or which I even couldn’t have me imagined doing. But the greater the challenge the bigger the reward they say. I’m thankful for all I’ve learned and the experiences I made - professional and personal. I’m especially grateful for our great team. I want to thank all of them for the great time and the support we have given each other. This experience has taught me how essential it is to be able to communicate well and exchange your knowledge to come up with the best solution for all sites. Therefore our mission is as important as ever. IAAS is contributing a great part to reach this solution while having fun. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do and that many, many more will get to know this spirit. Paul Blume

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EXEcutive Committee 2010-2011 IAAS World, It’s been almost five months since our term as Executive Committee ended. After last years’ amazing, intense IAAS experience, I was not the only one from EC to kind of fall into a gap. Suddenly I had much more time then I could have ever imagined and, honestly, without IAAS, I barely knew what to do with that free time. More and more I begun to understand the apparent “IAAS Addiction” of elder members and Alumni. Being in the last year of my Master studies, getting ready for a “real” job in the “big world”, I already started to miss the IAAS spirit. Have you noticed how empowering it is to work as a volunteer? Barely paid, but for a cause. With a team passionate about its projects and for people world-wide that are not only collegues, but friends. (This reminds me of a wonderfull video on motivation “Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us” that expresses way better what I’m trying to say here). Anyway, I’m happy to still be in touch with some of you, from time to time I linger on facebook looking at old and new IAAS pictures... and I’m still amazed by the diversity and international character of our network. During

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the last year in IAAS, I’ve also found my true passion; training and facilitation, and I’m thankfull to work with a bunch of awesome IAASers in the Independent Training Committee. My IAAS story thus continues... I wish you to also find friendship and passion in IAAS. We’re priviledged to be part of this worldwide network. Engage and Enjoy! Lara Emde

Independent training committee Big ambitions, new committee By: Lara Emde, Irena Soljic, Tine Willemyns Special thanks to Laura Kihlström and Herve Tunga

n the last 2 years, IAAS had seen the development of an independent training system as a necessary structural component. During the World Congress in Macedonia this past summer, an Independent Training Committee was established with the mission to support members’ professional growth. What happened so far? Representatives of IAAS were introduced to the concept of training at the first Leadership Summer School in 2008. Since then, its members have actively taken part in this annual event, gaining positive experiences. It has become apparent that among a large student association there is an increasing need for developing leadership, communication and project management skills in order to motivate and empower individual members and committees. IAAS has established partnerships with professional trainers from Zero Generation and other European students associations. The main objective of these partnerships is to gradually develop an independently functioning training system for IAAS. The role of Zero Generation is to mentor, facilitate and provide expertise. Regular online and face-to-face meetings and strategy planning accomplish this mission. Zero Generation trainers are invited to IAAS events to train our new trainers! For example, Tine and Irena went to the Youth Trainers Academy in Slovenia and are now official IAAS Trainers! Last year the trainings were organized at all international events (EDM in Switzerland, WoCo in Macedonia) and numerous European IAAS events. We have carefully listened to members who participated in these trainings and have learned a lot! Firstly, we can assure you that trainings have generally a positive impact on the event dynamic. Participants felt that the trainings really contributed to a positive share of ideas and knowledge during the event. Also, many mem-

bers felt inspired, even empowered and more capable leaders of their local IAAS committees. Finally, we discovered how important it is not to get lost in vague management theories, but keep trainings very relevant to daily challenges IAASers face. Until now feedback from members has given us the energy to continue working in the direction of an IAAS training system... Besides training members, we also offer “tailor made” trainings to the executive committee. We are very pleased they asked us to facilitate their strategy meeting again! What are we up to? Work is currently underway and next steps include planning the first IAAS Train the Trainers in 2012. Originally planned in Finland, this event will now be held in Belgium before the 55th IAAS World Congress. Linking trainings to our organization’s biggest annual event will enable us to truly go for an international training system, eventually leading to increased training at the national level. You’ll also meet us on EDM, DMA and who knows—maybe on your local committees motivational weekend? Work with us - it’s awesome! By offering trainings, facilitation and coaching, we are dedicated to continually improving quality and we strongly believe that this will have a significant positive impact the long-term viability of IAAS actions. We’ve got plenty of important work to do and, just like you, are combining our engagement with our studies and work! We work mostly via email and Skype, which is difficult, but we also have a lot of fun and very rewarding experience together. We welcome anyone interested in helping with developing the website, template documents and maybe even a wiki page! Contact us: Lara (Belgium), Irena (Croatia) and Tine (Belgium) via iaas.trainings@gmail.com AR 2011

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IAAS EXCHANGE WEEK IN POLAND

Freezing cold temperatures, loads of yogurt, lack of sleep, and a group of brave students. After overcoming these circumstances, the group summarized the experience as “a fantastic, unforgettable week.” BY PAULA SZYMCZAK

t took place in February but the memories are still fresh, as the group of fifteen unbelievably hot and energetic IAAS members from Belgium, Croatia and Spain decided to accept our invitation and visit Warsaw. It started… stinky. Fortunately, everybody was more or less prepared for that. The subject of our meeting was: “Milkyway – from the cow to the product”, so we began with cows, or – to be more specific – with visiting the cowshed of the university. After this smelly adventure it could only get better. We had a guided tour from the company Łowicz, where we could witness the dairy production. The company, DeLaval, prepared a lecture for us as well! After the official part we found some time for pleasure: competition during bowling night, new experiences in Coperniwcus Science Center, not to mention visiting a traditional brewery. We tried to make our guests familiar with some cultural aspects of Poland by visiting Chopin Museum and Art Gallery “Zachęta” or during the City Tour in Warsaw.

We still had a few hours left (especially during night), so we would go out to parties. The favorite one was definitely the Trade Fair. During this traditional IAAS event countries trade what they believe is the best product from their country! The green olives from Croatian trees, fruity Spanish Sangria, mouthwatering Belgian chocolate, variety of Polish vodka and the never ending fun cannot be described, it has to be experienced! And as for eating, every ex-week usually has a featured product. For us it is definitely yogurt. We were given generous dairy products from several companies. As a result, we had heaps of yogurt…it just wouldn’t disappear! We all have joked that our guests were going crazy and would have nightmares the next time they had to eat yogurt. Maybe next year we will go with beer production to avoid this problem! Paula Szymczak IAAS Poland

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IAAS EXCHANGE WEEK IN ITALY

rom 17th to 24th of October the Local Committee of Sassari organized the Exchange week Italy-Belgium with the LCs of Leuven and Gent. It was an amazing experience for our new members, many of which were experiencing IAAS international events for the first time! With our seven guests from Belgium (6 from Leuven, 1 from Gent) and the special participation of our VP Communication, Teresa Lazzaro, we traveled around Sardinia to discover some of the agricultural, natural and cultural features of the island. The first day we visited the research departments of our faculty of agriculture, then the historical city center and finally we had a wonderful Trade Fair! This is such an awesome IAAS tradition where we see the best products from both countries! In the following days we visited the biggest milk factory of Sardinia and one of the most

important vineyards in Italy, where we had the chance to taste our typical wines and see the historical and current devices used in the production. In the last days we discovered the amazing landscapes and the “nuraghes” of Sardinia, some pre-historical sites and natural parks. The week was filled with the traditional IAAS spirit—sharing experiences, knowledge and ideas! It was unbelievable that we swam in the gorgeous Mediterranean Sea and also found that our Belgian friends love “mirto” (the traditional spirit of Sardinia). There was also a final surprise: the flags of our LC disappeared during the trade fair! We found out that they were stolen and brought to Belgium. Now, a Sardinian delegate must go there and retrieve it. Will IAAS Sassari heroes be able to accomplish the mission? To be continued... IAAS Sassari Committee AR 2011

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espite the time that has passed, we are still remembering what fun we had in Greece! In the summer of 2011 IAAS Czech Republic and IAAS Slovenia members had the opportunity to visit probably one of the most beautiful islands in the world, Lesvos. For seven days they learned about the great island and Greek culture. Everybody from the Czech group was excited and had a great time. Thank you IAAS Greece, we will never forget the memory!

Sincerely, IAAS CZECH REPUBLIC 22

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Lesvos is a typical Greek island where someone can experience the traditional Greek spirit, hospitality and nature! It is known for its olive oil, ouzo (a traditional Greek drink) and beautiful beaches. We visited some nice places: a cheese production facility where we tasted some “oil cheese” and ”feta”, olive fields and an olive oil producer, a traditional winery and the very famous ouzo Varvayanni factory. We also went to the partnership of honey, the Natural History Museum and the saltpans of Kalloni. We went to Mytilene and Ayvalik (Turkey) for sightseeing and had a really nice time at the sea.

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CORE MEETINGS

AFRICAN DIRECTORS MEETING IN NIGERIA Poor Farmers’ Food Productivity and Food Security BY JOHNSON PAUL OMOKAGBO

his meeting was organized by National Committee of IAAS Nigeria. The four local committees are: 1. Olabisi Onabanjo University, College of Agricultural Sciences, Ayetoro Campus 2. University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State 3. University of Ibadan, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences 4. Eboyin State University The participating countries were: 1. Republic of Benin 2. Ghana ` 3. Togo 4. Nigeria The lecture was given different guests including Otunba Moyo Owotomo, a representative of Ogun State Ministry of Agriculture, Professor J. A. Agunbiade, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Provost and the Head of College of Agricultural Sciences and Professor Janice Olawoye of the Department of Agricultural Extension, University of Ibadan. Students came together and debated about the ”Poor Farmer’s

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Productivity and Food Security” for six days. From this debate we came up with some goals, one of which is to help local farmers to improve their food productivity and knowledge about food security. Summarized conversation points from our meeting included: 1. Credit assistance for poorer farmers 2. Subsidies on agricultural inputs 3. Improved extension services 4. Capacity enhancement 5. Energy issues 6. Water use (irrigation) 7. Policy management Thanks to all the IAASers that attended ADM 2010 and our sponsors that help with the activities (especially the College of Agricultural Sciences, Olabisi Onabanjo Univeristy, Nigeria and to the EC Exco’s 2010/2011). I must say thanks to all the EC members for making 2010 ADM a memorable experience in Africa!

Johnson Paul Omokagbo IAAS Communication Board 2011

Exchange Coordinators Meeting 2011

May 25th-29th, Bonn, Germany BY KONRAD EGENOLF

his is a report about the 2011 IAAS-ExCo-Meeting, which took place from 25th-29th May in Bonn, North-Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The OC of Bonn was happy to host 24 students from all over the world. Students from Belgium, France, Greece, Poland, Slovenia, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Indonesia, Mexico and Germany participated to represent their committee and National Exchange Program (ExPro). Eri Hadyansyah (Vice-President of Exchange), Paul Blume (Vice-President of Finance) and Susanne Ziegler (President of IAAS-International) coordinated workshops and presentations. The organizing committee of Bonn also organized a motivational workshop to break up the material. On the 25th of May most of our participants arrived in Bonn, many of which spent a whole day traveling by bus, train and plane to reach our university town in western Germany. Unfortunately they did not have a lot of time to rest! Once they all arrived we immediately got on a bus again to travel to “Ahrhütte” for the first 2 days. Ahrhütte is in the beautiful region “Eifel” situated on the western bank of the Rhine River. With nature and few distractions in our way, we had absolute concentration for our meeting! We closed the day with a “getting to know each other” game by the campfire! Thursday—Starting on ExPro! We began with country presentations from every nation and a general introduction to IAAS-ExPro. Very experienced ExCos were present, as well as recently elected ones, giving everyone the opportunity to exchange lively ideas. This workshop closed with a free brainstorming exercise in small groups. We collected ideas related to ExPro so we could bring them up later in our meeting. OC organized a field trip to a local dairy farm with goats and cows with an attached cheese production facility. The family that AR 2011

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runs this farm invited us to spend a wonderful afternoon full of cheese-tasting and guided farm tours. We ended the day with our legendary Trade Fair!

a fun day! Later that evening, we went back to Bonn. No one partied; we were too tired!

Friday – Getting up was hard! Breakfast was early because we had to leave our hostel at 10 in the morning. The bus ride wasn’t enough time to fully wake us up either, but there were plenty of interesting things to learn and see at our destination “Wiesengut.” Wiesengut is an experimental organic farm at the University of Bonn. The first workshop was related to ExPro. Eri provided broader insight into ExPro documents with plenty of examples for a good ExPro-promotion between our countries.

After a small lunch OC tried to wake up our participants with some farm games that tested our members athleticism and agricultural knowledge. Afterwards we received a tour around the farm and experimental areas. We ate barbecue and had a soccer match with the staff of the experimental farm, completing

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Saturday – Intensive work on ExPro with our faculty! Paul and Susanne had prepared an interesting workshop about communication and ways of improving in IAAS multinational and multicultural organizations. It was an interactive way of discussing the problems with communicating and figuring out strategies to improve. Eri led a workshop on the ExPro-database facilities and how to use them. This was especially important for the participants that had just started ExPro when returning to their countries. Saturday night was finally party time! It was our last evening together, so we went out to a nightclub in Bonn! Sunday -- Going Home! On Sunday all participants started packing up. Slowly, they all traveled back home! Thanks to all who were involved it was such a lovely time. All of the OC members enjoyed your presence and ideas!

iaas alumni Meeting Every IAAS member knows that there comes a time you graduate and move on to a professional life. Is this the end of the story? Not if you ask IAAS Alumni! n April 15-17 2011, nearly 50 IAAS alumni gathered in Leuven, Belgium, to build up the alumni association and reunite with old friends. The weekend happened because of the preparation of the Executive Committee and members of the Alumni core group.

and in Mechelen, where we had a tour at Het Anker Brewery. That evening also included a tasty barbeque and trade fair. On Sunday we had the chance to dig in the IAAS archives. Alumni were impressed and proud to have the EC back in an established office.

The old and new The meeting in Leuven celebrated our IAAS alumni and the 20th anniversary of IAAS being registered as an NGO in Belgium. Our most experienced alumni at the meeting included EC members from the early 1990s. There wasn’t a gap between generations present; rather the IAAS spirit glued everyone together. The meeting was the perfect opportunity for alumni to meet in person and broaden the alumni network.

Trade Fair Since we are talking about an IAAS meeting, we cannot leave out Trade Fair. The legendary party where all countries that are present serve delicious food and drinks has its own special place in IAAS events. Some alumni were shocked that older members didn’t participate in Trade Fairs!

City tour, brewery visit and activities Of course every IAAS event involves an agenda! On Friday, we began our journey with a guided city tour of Leuven! We ended at the KU Leuven faculty area. The opening night included dancing, motivational speeches and drinking delicious Belgian beer. The sunny weather of Leuven continued throughout the whole weekend

Open Space Technology On the last day of the meeting, it was time to bring our knowledge and experience together to plan strengthening the alumni network. The Open Space Technology (OST) is a tool for generating and collecting ideas in groups. The main idea is to maximize time and motivation. The OST session in Leuven was facilitated by 2007 EC members Laura Kihlström (Finland) and Michal Przyborski (Poland). The OST brainstorming session involved many AR 2011

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points. The main ones were: 1. Developing the website and social media outlets 2. Defining the mission and vision of the alumni association 3. Human resource management 4. Fundraising In the summary session these ideas came together. These are some points we resolved at the end of the meeting: • IAAS Alumni meetings will be organized every year in mid-April, the weekend before Easter. The alumni meeting of April 2012 will be hosted by IAAS Switzerland. • The alumni core group will start gathering alumni information in the IAAS World website database • The alumni core group will establish a social media strategy and a volunteer social media coordinator will facilitate the communication • A national level alumni recruitment campaign will be initiated before next alumni meeting If you are interested in reading more detailed notes of the OST session, an outline can be found if you register on the IAAS world website. 28

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Last but not least, the alumni would like to thank the EC, OC and everyone involved in the meeting for the fabulous work and team spirit. Long live IAAS! We welcome alumni to join the core group activities in order to bring our alumni association to great heights! If you are interested in joining the alumni core group, please email: iaasalumni1957@gmail.com We are family… There is definitely some truth to the quote “Life is good and I don’t want to go home” (originally printed for the seminar t-shirts in Finland in 2007). We are a big IAAS family, and by establishing the alumni family our beloved organization will prosper. In Leuven, we had nearly 50 people from over 10 countries – next year we hope to see even more alumni! We vision an IAAS alumni association where members can feel welcome to return to their favourite organization. While at these reunions, alumni will train new members, learn from each other, and network on a professional level. In the future, alumni may also support the association financially.

AFRICAN DIRECTORS MEETING 2011 A report from IAAS-Togo’s ADM 2011 BY GOKA KOSSI SELOM

t is with a great joy that I write this note to the IAAS community! I hope to encourage everyone to promote and share IAAS with the world!

Benin, Ghana, Nigeria, Italy, and Togo. We think that this congress was very helpful. We had honor the have Uke Praise from the African IAAS

IAAS-Togo faced difficult moments in 2007, but today our new generation aims to reform our chapter. Through my involvement at the Perugia congress and participation of 10 Togolese members at the African congress in Nigeria in December 2010, we have uncovered helpful points to improve upon. We took the risk to organize the ADM2011. Today IAAS-Togo has more than 105 active members who organize ADM2011. We had elected a new committee intended to promote IAAS-Togo on a national and international scale. We hosted our friends from Nigeria in other big IAAS event—EXWEEK—in Lome last August. In November 2011, IAAS Togo invited our dean, Mr. Sanda Komlan, to speak about investment and food quality. After this lecture, we discussed the African Directors Meeting and business and agricultural development. We have 53 participants who came from

ex-pro committee, Mattia Giovanini and West Africa’s IAAS director Mr. Adabe Kokou Edoh. During the congress we heard to 3 lectures: • “Agrobusiness, level of production,” presented by Mr. Akakpo from the ministry of agriculture • “Business and agricultural development,” presented by Mattia from IAAS-Italy • “Agrobusiness, level of food processing,” presented by Mr. Laba, a professor and former member of IAAS-Togo We also had the opportunity to visit the research center of our school, see pineapple processing, rice production and agricultural hydraulic practices. We wish the best for the rest continental congress, EDM, DMA and all IAAS events. Thank you,

Goka Kossi Selom National President of IAAS-Togo AR 2011

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World Congress meeting 2011 Food and Identity

riven by a desire to show students involved in agriculture from all over the world our traditional products, we decided to organize the 54th IAAS World Congress under the theme, “Food and Identity.” As future experts in the field of agriculture, it is our responsibility to promote and produce healthy and sustainable food. From 17 July to 7 August 2011, the World Congress took place in four locations: Skopje, Prilep, Pretor and Ohrid. We were fortunate to have over 40 IAAS World Congress participants from Macedonia, Italy, Belgium, Canada, Greece, Portugal, Switzerland, Finland, Croatia, Spain, USA, Indonesia, Slovenia, Germany and Chile.

Prilep: Located in the center of Macedonia • We visited the tobacco institute and tobacco factory • Saw “Stocharstvo Bogdanci,” which is a local farm with greenhouses for growing tomatoes Prilep also had a lot to share with our visitors. They wandered about Palijurci that is famous because St. Paul once spoke there. They also saw monuments in the center of the city.

Skopje: The capital of The Republic of Macedonia • We visited with the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Food • Saw Skopsko Brewery, which is the oldest and largest brewery in Macedonia Skopje has a rich cultural landscape. There is Mount Vodno standing at 1066 meters and has the world’s biggest cross on top. There is also the Matka Canyon, which has a breathtaking cave. We visited the city center and saw monuments, partied at Skopje discos, and enjoyed the sights.

Ohrid: Located in southwestern Macedonia, on the Ohrid Lake shores • Guests toured churches, the fortress and the center of the city • People also went out to the Ohrid discos Ohrid is famous for its historic sights and churches, people have called in Balkan’s Jerusalem.

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Pretor: Located on the shores of Prespa Lake • We relaxed on the beaches of Prespa Lake • Engaged in sports activities like swimming, football matches and hiking

IAAS Macedonia

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A report from

BY SEBASTIAN KEEL

AAS Switzerland had an early start in 2010 as we organized the EDM 2010/2011. After 9 months of intense work and planning, 80 participants from all around the world arrived to the little country of Switzerland. We are glad they managed to find the little town named Lignerolle. The week was intense for the participants and OC. The program included an Opening Ceremony, excursions and parties. The Opening Ceremony started with a presentation by the former professor and present director of the Federal Office of Agriculture in Switzerland, Bernard Lehmann, and it included traditional Swiss dances. Visitors partook in various excursions including tours of cheese factories and the Tropic House Frutigen. One of the highlights of the EDM 2010/2011 would have to be the workshops at the beginning of the trip! After this concentrated week IAAS Switzerland was exhausted for some time, so we mostly were concerned with daily business (ExPro) protocol. We also held a fun weekend in Zug for incoming ExPro students. The next event on the schedule was WoCo in Macedonia. One representative of the Swiss committee went and stayed for almost 2 weeks. Besides the traveling to farms and lakes, many new 32

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ideas and projects were discussed. They focused on improving the communication and recruitment of new countries at WoCo. Switzerland was particularly interested in being the first to have an exchange week between the US, Canada, and Switzerland. Back in Switzerland at the beginning of the semester the former Swiss IAAS President, Evigna Dialer, gave her mandate to Sebastian Keel. At the beginning of the IAAS Switzerland’s new year we held recruitment of new members. A short (5 min.) presentation was held during the lessons for the first semester students. Approximately 120 students listened and were invited to join IAAS Switzerland. Around 20 students came and had a chat with IAAS Members with cake and drinks. At the end 5 members decided to stay. Now our “active committee” has around 15 members. Now with new motivated members and renewed batteries we want to develop IAAS Switzerland further. Some of the projects that IAAS Switzerland has for the coming year include the development of the Archimedes program, an exchange week with USA and Canada, the EDM in Slovenia and diverse social evenings. We even hope to make closer connections with alumni.

ART FESTIVAL IN RUSSIA BY ANASTASIA SOROKINA

utumn 2010 in Moscow brought the new OC together to host the IAAS Art Festival. The new Russian Organization Committee put together some ideas for the art festival because this kind of event is new to IAAS. We pulled inspiration from the US, Turkey, Macedonia to frame our show but added our own Russian culture. We believe our show was a success with numerous creative participants! We wanted to show Russian art and culture to our guests so we planned trips around Moscow, Tretyakov Gallery, and The Museum of Modern Art and saw theatre performances that showcased our capital.

The second thing we wanted to do was hold activities for our participants. We had them learn the Russian national dance called “Kalinka Malinka” as well as some modern dancing. We even tried to design exclusive shirts for everyone! The third thing we did was learning about our

participants. Paul was our teacher and motivated the team with his interesting workshop about leadership. Of course we had the traditional IAAS Trade Fair and agricultural event. We visited one of the biggest greenhouses in Moscow region, Agroholding Moskovskyi, where members were taught about growing vegetables and flowers. The Trade Fair was followed up with national dishes, sweets and drinks underscored by a perfectly lovely atmosphere!

We thank IAAS World for the opportunity we had to host the Art Festival in Russia. Also, a special thanks to Paul and Wojtek, who helped make this possible. P.S. Welcome to Russia. There are no bears on the streets. Not so cold. And it is not so dangerous to be there. Don’t believe us? Ask Paul and Wojtec. They’re still alive! : ) Best regards, Anastasia Sorokina AR 2011

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WELCOME TO IAAS WORLD! DISCOVER EXPRO WITH US! "To promote the exchange of experience, knowledge and ideas, and to improve the mutual understanding between the Students in the field of agriculture and related sciences all over the Worldâ&#x20AC;? IAAS Mission Statement Tunis, 1957

WANT TO GO ON EXPRO? Then contact your Exchange Coordinator: IAAS MEMBER COUNTRIES Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Macedonia, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Niger, Nigeria, Portugal, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovenia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Thailand, Togo, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Zimbabwe

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WANT TO GO EXPRO?

IAAS Headquarters

Kasteelpark Arenberg 20 B3001, Heverlee Belgium Tel.: +32 16321736 Fax: +32 16321958 E-mail: iaas@iaasworld.org ExPro: expro@iaasworld.org Website: www.iaasworld.org

International Association of Students in Agricultural and Related sciences

EXPRO I

Exchange Program

AAS is the largest organization of agricultural students and provides the IAAS exchange program to provide opportunities for students to do an internship in another country. With the IAAS Exchange Program, you can learn and experience things that cannot be learned in books. The IAAS exchange program is divided in two categories: â&#x20AC;˘ The Ceres Program offers internships in farms and agricultural companies (most exchanges take place in the Ceres Program) â&#x20AC;˘ The Archimedes program offers internships related to education, research, engineering or management. Most often, Archimedes involves businesses, organizations and research institutions. The minimum duration of an IAAS internship is 4 weeks, but the maximum duration is 48 weeks. The IAAS exchange program is a unique opportunity for you to explore the world of agriculture; it will develop your skills and expand your worldwide network! Together we will discover the amazing world of IAAS ExPro. The IAAS Exchange Program has existed for over 45 years and currently, more than 20.000 students have participated with IAAS. Every exchange is unique and full of cultural submersion and learning. Every trainee will get the opportunity to have a high quality internship. Besides providing you with professional working experience, an internship should also give you a deep cultural experience. Doing an IAAS internship is not a tourist event. You will not be an outsider. On the contrary, you will have to integrate yourself in the foreign country. Because of this you will see and experience much more! AR 2011

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LOCAL STORIES

Long live the cork tree A report from IAAS-Portugal BY Sérgio Lavado & João Vasco Silva

o celebrate the beginning of spring 2011, we wanted to share with IAAS the story of Portugal’s remarkable tree!

like Australia. There, it develops moderately well, however it can’t withstand the removal of the cork.

The Cork Tree (Quercus suber) is an oak tree (Quercus spp.) that can be distinguished by the thickness of the bark covering the trunk, unique branches and roots. The bark is known as cork and its main function is to protect the tree against fire and high temperatures, which can be found in the areas where it grows. Each tree has a life cycle between 250 and 300 years! The development of the Cork Tree varies according to ecological conditions including altitude, precipitation, temperature and soil type. This tree, typically found in the Mediterranean, is well adapted to altitudes inferior to 200m and tolerates not only low precipitation (less than 500mm/year) but also, high temperatures. Furthermore, this tree is well suited to sandy soils that are not very evolved. These ecological characteristics give to the Cork Tree a high plasticity and rusticity. It can be found in all the occidental region of the Mediterranean with dense forests and deserts. The tree has been planted in other areas of the world with similar ecological conditions 36

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In Portugal, the Cork Tree covers an area of approximately 730.000 ha, representing 23% of the Portuguese forest. There are two ways to increase the potential of use of the tree and its surrounding environment: “Montado de Sobro” and “Sobreiral.” On one hand, we have “Montado de Sobro” which can be described as a multifunctional system, characterized as a lower density of trees, combined (or not) with a forage crop, or even livestock. It’s a fragile and artificial ecosystem that is dependent on human intervention. This type of land use is of upmost importance because it is the only solution for the land that otherwise would be un-farmable because of rocky soils and uneven sloping land. Secondly, only the Portuguese native races of livestock are very well adapted and can survive these harsh conditions. On the other hand, we have “Sobreiral” which has smaller trees due to the dense forest. The main goals of this system are: 1. The production of the cork. The cork can only be removed every 9 years and it is 100% renewable, easily recycled and its removal

are 400 species of vertebrates, including protected and hunting species, 140 species of aromatic and medicinal plants and a large variety of wild mushrooms. Conclusion: Because it is very important to Portugal, the Cork Tree is well protected by the government, which prohibits cutting it down. This tree and its ecosystem are responsible for the creation of lots of revenue for the rural areas. Environmentally speaking, the forests with long cycle trees are quite important because of the sequestration of carbon. Without it we would lose all the potential of these ecosystems: its trees and what they can offer us, special attention for the cork, food (from hunting and native races of livestock), biodiversity (especially bird watching) and honey. doesn’t involve cutting down the tree. This Finally, it’s very important for you to business had better days in the past because notice that you can have a direct impact on these of the increase in use of plastic corks in wine sensitive matters. The cork is the most important bottles. Nevertheless, Portugal still remains product of the “Montado” and “Sobreiral” due to the largest producer of cork in the world its characteristics, value and uses. It’s used in (52.5%), followed by Spain (29.5%). decoration (by professionals and do it yourself 2. Hunting. It is very important to hunt because enthusiasts), in construction (for thermal and it regulates these areas, cleaning the system acoustic isolation properties), in the textile and feeding of the local fauna and flora. industry (dresses, bags and wallets), in lots Furthermore, it creates jobs that improve rural of leisure activities (such as fishing, baseball/ development, providing opportunities which hockey/golf balls and postcards) and in the generate more rural tourism and improves the technology industry (cars and aerospace). economic values of these areas (500million But, for sure all of you have bought a bottle EUR/year). wine bottled with cork: that is the main market 3. Apiculture. The production of honey is one of the cork producers and is where you act of the oldest activities related to this system. directly! Buying products made of cork or with Its importance relies on the bees because cork, especially bottles of wine means you are they are responsible for the polinization of the contributing to the maintenance and development majority of the plants of this ecosystem and of the Cork Tree, which is the same as producing the honey. contributing to the preservation of one of the most 4. Biodiversity is another important part of these sustainable ecosystems in Europe, or perhaps ecosystems. In relation to the Cork Tree, there the world.

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Employer of your dreams A report from IAAS-Poland

inally, our university decided to put on a job fair—and it turned out being very successful! Our last project, called the “employer of your dreams” was organized by IAAS Poland in March 2011. The event aimed to provide Warsaw University of Life Sciences students the best employers and recruiters. Our project took place at various companies including Agrosimex, BGŻ, Coca-Cola HBC Poland, Danone, Pizza Dominium, De heus, Nestlé Poland, Novartis, Nutricia, Sodexo and Unilever. Our students participated at workshops and found out things like: • How to respond to a job listing • How to prepare for an interview • How to write an effective CV Job fairs are good places to meet many representatives from corporations of all industries during a short period of time. This event was very beneficial for us as well. We make many new contacts with businesses and learned how to make effective choices in the future. Last year our job fair attracted nearly 1,000 students! The success has only encouraged IAAS to continue putting on this event!

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REPORTS FROM INDONESIA Seminars attract IAAS members

Poverty Alleviation Towards Social Welfare

his past October, IAAS Indonesia was invited by the Ministry of Social Affairs to participate in the 4th KSN Expo and Awards. These are annual programs that concern social movement. IAAS Indonesia invited a speaker from the International Dialogue Forum to discuss “Poverty Alleviation towards Social Welfare”. Masa Mukti, the Vice Director of Exchange, became our representative speaker at the forum. This program is also our way to promote our organization. We are proud that IAAS Indonesia was the only student organization that participated in the program.

In the International Dialogue Forum, IAAS Indonesia presented our Village Concept Project at Kondang Merak, East Java, which concerns education and coral reef recovery. Masa Mukti, together with representatives from LAO PDR and Education USA, discussed the role of civil society to alleviate the poverty to reach social welfare through their own project and other activities. Rahyang Nusantara IAAS Indonesia

Role of Youth in Supporting Green Attitude for Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation

AAS Indonesia organized a national seminar called “Youth in Green Attitude for Climate Change” at Bale Rumawat, Padjadjaran University, Bandung last July. The seminar was one of series of the 4th National Scientific Paper Competition on Agriculture (NSPCA) that has been hosted by IAAS Indonesia Local Committee of Padjadjaran University. The main point of this seminar was to discuss the human life preserving the natural environment. The seminar also invited experts to address zero waste programs. The seminar speakers were Anilawati Nurwakhidin from the Foundation of Bioscience and Biotechnology Development in Bandung, Mufti Alem from Greeneration Indonesia, Khilda Baiti Rohmah, an environmental activist and Dr H. Setiawan Wangsaatmaja, Head of the Local Board of Environmental Management, West Java

Province, Indonesia. There were focus group discussions conducted after the seminars. Participants talk about personal commitments to live zero waste lifestyles. Aside from the national seminar, the 4th NSPCA held paper presentation which was entitled “Climate Change: How Agriculture Face It.” The winners of this competition were Iman Budi and Sofa Dewi Alfian from Padjadjaran University. The organizing committee arranged an excursion to and energy independent village in Cibangkong to learn the construction of biogas station. There were 8 universities from all over Indonesia that participated in this event including Padjadjaran University, Bogor Agricultural University, Diponegoro University, Tenth November Institute of Technology, Brawijaya University and Haluoleo University. AR 2011

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Refreshment week in Sweden Sweden welcomes new members BY MADELEINE ANDERSSON

AAS Sweden kicked off the week at a pub with about 200 students. The special drink of the evening was Sangria (made from a real Spanish recipe, thanks to the Spanish committee and especially to Miguel Laguens

countries. We finished the second day by handing out brochures about IAAS.

Vega)! What would a Spanish pub be without paella? Nothing! So we naturally sold paella with a Swedish touch. During the night we had a slideshow with IAAS Sweden pictures. After a few hours people had a lot of sangria and started to dance on the dance floor to international music. It was a great way to start the refreshments week! DAY 2 The second day we organized games for all the new Swedish students. They played a famous Swedish game called sack jumping. The second part of the competition was a memory game in which two teams had to match the right pictures with the correct 40

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DAY 3 The third day we showed a PowerPoint presentation about our work in Sweden. We recapped all the trips offered and explained how IAAS is run. We also showed a movie from Madrid’s seminar to provide further information. This lecture ended with a quiz about IAAS. Many potential members wrote their email down so we could invite them to our next meeting!

IAAS SLOVENIA HITS THE ALPS Slovenia gets a view from the top BY Kristina Košmrlj

ow do you describe a great weekend spent in the heart of the Triglav national park in Slovenia? It’s difficult to say. Despite the general consensus that living in a small country might be boring, we are here prove the opposite. Only two hours northwest from Ljubljana, our capital city, you will reach the mountains of Slovenia with breathtaking views, which were, surprisingly,

even new to some of our members. So what did we visit? Our first stop was Tolmin gorges, the lowest point of the national park. Legend has it that this place was visited by Dante Alighieri, who was then inspired to write the Inferno (Hell) part of the divine comedy. After a walk through the canyon we went higher up to visit the the memorial church of the Holy Spirit in Javorca, dedicated to fallen Austro-Hungarian defenders of the Soča (Isonzo) Front in the World War I and built in 1916. One can see the tragedy of this front all over the Soča valley, but you’re especially moved by reading the 2800 names written on wooden boards along the walls. We decided to stay in a camp next to the city of Kobarid, a few kilometers to the north of Tolmin. Fact – camping is no fun without BBQ! While some prepared food and drinks,

others went down to the river to see the the narrowest point of Soča’s gorge and the Napoleon bridge. The evening ended with jokes and laughter… In the morning we took a 20 minute walk to a waterfall before leaving the camp for the River Soča in Trenta valley and Vršič pass (actually this was plan b because we woke up later than expected). We were lucky that plan B any not less interesting AR 2011

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than plan A. And what makes a Sunday perfect in Slovenia? A piece of finest homemade apple ‘’štrudl’’ (strudel) and coffee at noon with a view that no human could have created but Mother Earth! Well, I might have skipped the serious part of this weekend, but there is no point in writing meeting reports, is there? What matters is – IAAS Slovenia will return to this Emerald beauty next year! For all other details see our beautiful pictures!

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SLOVENIAN WINE FESTIVAL A festival brings members together By Andreja Brglez

iven the rich wine culture of Slovenia, it was only a question of time as to when our IAAS team would participate in a wine festival. And that day finally came! On November 17th we put on our nice clothes and went to Grand Hotel Union in Ljubljana to see and taste the finest products at the 14th Slovenian Wine and Culinary Festival. The atmosphere was vibrat inside of the exhibition hall with more than 150 exhibitors presenting their wines from all over Slovenia and abroad. For us it was interesting to taste so many different types of wines in one place. We felt like little upcoming experts in wine. While discussing the wine we pretended to know more than we really do as we mingled with old classmates and made acquaintnces. At first we felt happy from all the wine we drank, but quickly left to snack on the treats prepared at the festival. Master chefs mostly from Slovenian turistic resorts prepared many delicious dishes. The environment was more and more relaxed. We concluded that wine Traminec from Slovenian Styria is the IAAS Slovenia favorite and that the festival was a great opportunity to make connections. We were especially proud of two of our members from Maribor who joined us and did a great job becoming part of the team! Of course we will never forget one of our professors who gave us orange juice after leaving the festival. In his opinion this is the remedy to save you after drinking so much in one evening! Finally we went to an after party with one of Sloveniaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s well known wine makers. The positive energy of the festival continued! We hope the Slovenian wine festival project will become a tradition for IAAS Slovenia! Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d also like to thank Dr. Mojmir Wondra from the Biotechnical faculty in Ljubljana, who helped get us to participate in the festivities! AR 2011

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A seminar with Iaas Spain Way to sustainability

t all started when during an IAAS Spain meeting when we decided to organize a seminar themed “The way to sustainability.” We voted for Antonio to be responsible for making this project happen along with Ernesto (IAAS Spain’s President), Mario (the former president), Myriam, Miguel C, Marcos, Lucia, Rocio, Sarah, and Miguel L. After months of speaking with professors, industries, contacts, and organizing events like wine tastings and the annual association party, we successfully gathered enough money for this event. Thirty IAASers from thirteen different countries came to our seminar in Madrid and parts of Valencia. They all were greeted at the airport and bus stations on the first day. They stayed at the youth hostel called Albergue Juvenil Santa Cruz de Marcenado. Since the first day was Sunday we all visited touristy sites in Madrid like la Plaza de Colon, Plaza de Cibeles y el Ayutamiento, Plaza de Neptuno y el Prado, Atocha and el Retiro. In order to get people to interact and have fun, we had natives be the guides and explain monuments. 44 |

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After lunch we all returned to the hostel to get ready for the Trade Fair. It took place in the bar Jarama. Every country presented its table full of delicious food or alcohol. We had a really good time there and even though the bar had to close at midnight, we made sure the party continued at a Salsa disco. On the second day, getting up was difficult! However, we all managed to be on time at Universidad de Agronomos where our seminar officially started. First we had a lecture about the situation of agro energy and development potential. This was presented by one of our professors, Dr. Curt. After lunch came a second visit to the food production department, but we ended the day watching a Flamenco dance in a studio. On the third day we left to the CBGP (center for biotechnology and plant genomics) where a professor P. Carbonero lectured on “genetic engineering for food and energy” and afterwards we toured the center. Later that afternoon we went to an organic farm and noted the differences between organic and GM food production.

On the fourth day we visited Grupo Leche Pascual, one of the largest industries of Spain. There, we learned how they package pasteurized milk, juices, tortillas, and yogurt. Afterwards everyone enjoyed a large lunch provided by the company. Of course everyone still found the energy to go out dancing and experience Spanish nightlife after these long days! On the fifth day we left for Valencia, a city located along the Mediterranean coast. We stayed there for one night and relaxed by the beach, visited the city, and organized a workshop.

We divided the participants in six groups, gave them different topics lectured about during the week and had them discuss the matters. Every group presented their opinions and personal perspectives to the “class.” On the July 15th everyone travelled back to Madrid. The next day we had a closing ceremony for our guests—ending six days of fun and learning! We hope everyone had a great time and left with a good and memorable impression of Spain. We, IAAS Spain, really enjoyed hosting this event!

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PArtner Meetings

1st Fundraising European School T

he 1st Fundraising European School took place during the third week of September in Zaragoza, Spain, hosted by AEGEE-Zaragoza. The Board of European Students of Technology (BEST) and AEGEE trainers for the event coordinated together to put on the event. Lyda, the IAAS President, was the only IAAS participant selected to partake in the full week of trainings about fundraising. The first day began with an overview on what fundraising is. Then we went into why it is important to fundraise for your organization you are proud of. The rest of the trainings touched on topics related to persuasion, negotiation, calling sponsors and meeting them, making booklets, making a budget, writing sponsorship offers and writing grant applications. At the end there was a case study in which we had to “fundraise” for an event. The goal of the study was to contact as many companies as possible, write grant applications and of course have fun, which we did!

Autumn ifiso meeting D

uring the last week of October, Lyda, the IAAS President, had the pleasure to host the IFISO meeting in Thessaloniki, Greece. What is IFISO? IFISO is the Informal Forum of International Student Organizations and it aims to bring different student non governmental organizations (NGOs) together. IFISO is an informal platform where we get the chance to meet other student organizations, exchange knowledge, collaborate on all possible levels and built synergies in an agreeable environment. Thirteen NGOs were represented – AEGEE, 46

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BEST, ESTIEM, ESN, EMSA, IEEE, EUROAVIA, ISHA, IFMSA, IFSA, EESTEC, EGEA and IAAS!!! IAAS and ESN Thessaloniki members cooperated and organized the whole event. They were immersed in Greek culture and nightlife apart from the sessions and enjoyed their stay. The days were filled with facilitated workshops where we gathered knowledge of all associations and discussed matters like the aim of IFISO, the IFISO website, external relations and recognition of NGOs projects. We had time to brainstorm and think about joint projects for the future during our breaks and

evenings. The last session was the Open Space Technology, which gave participants the option to discuss two important topics that came up during the sessions: structure and establishment of a IFISO core group and membership in IFISO. An important part of the whole event was dedicated to Leadership Summer School (LSS) â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a high quality-training event, organized in summer as one of the most successful joint IFISO initiatives. We had a long session to figure out how the structure of the organization should be. Fortunately, after a really long session we were able to come to an agreement of how the

LSS should be structured. During the evenings we had the pleasure to experience the real Greek night with tasty food, wine and rempetika (Greek folk music)! Lastly, we decided on the next host for spring and autumn IFISO meetings. The spring meeting will be organized by ESN in Poland and the autumn meeting will be organized by IFSA in Bulgaria. It was a really inspiring meeting because sharing and exchanging knowledge and experiences between student NGOs is a great benefit for our work and for IAAS!

AR 2011

IAAS ANNUAL REVIEW

Join us! Evonik recruites the brightest minds in the industry worldwide. We offer a great place to work and the opportunity to join an extensive community of dedicated and experienced feed industry specialists. This year Evonik has started the “Student European Ag Trip”. By sending students into the world of the international feed business, Evonik has offered students the

opportunity to get in touch with likeminded people, lay the groundwork for their future and share a unique experience with their peers. Experience all of this and more in summer 2012 – follow our European Ag Trip via facebook. Virtually travel with teams who meet employees, visit key customer sites and gain a deep insight into our industry!