Adriaan du Toit wrote:

> CHANGE OF DATE APIMONDIA 2001 : IMPORTANT NOTICE
> NEW DATE: 28 OCTOBER - 1 NOVEMBER 2001
>
> The United Nations' High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms Mary Benson,
> announced on Tuesday, 24 October 2000 in New York that South Africa had
> been appointed host country for the 2001 WORLD CONFERENCE AGAINST RACISM,
> DISCRIMINATION and XENOPHOBIA. This conference will take place at the
> Durban International Convention Centre. The Convention Centre is booked by
> the UN for the period 17th August - 10th September 2000. This mega
> conference event will be attended by 12,000 delegates and 193 heads of
> government plus their personal entourage (including, personal assistants,
> body guards, chefs, private aircraft & motor vehicles), bringing to 20,000+
> the total people who would be
> involved. As you will note, these dates clash head-on with the planned
> activities for
> Apimondia 2001.
>
> We, as the Congress Organisers for Apimondia 2001 were requested by the
> South African Government to investigate the possibility of re-scheduling
> the Apimondia Congress in order to ensure that this very important World
> Congress can be accommodated. In consultation with Asger Jorgenson
> (President of Apimondia, Denmark) and Riccardo Jannoni-Sebastianini
> (Secretary-General for Apimondia, Italy), and after many discussions we
> decided that given the high priority and profile of the UN Racism
> Conference, it would be in the best interest to move the Apimondia Congress
> to a later date.
>
> We accept that this change could cause inconvenience. We apologise for this
> in advance, but now we must look forward and start again with renewed
> enthusiasm to make this forced change beneficial to the Apimondia Congress
> and the bee-keeping community internationally. The revised date now falls
> outside the South African & African honey harvesting season as well as at
> the end of the apple and pear pollination season, we expect greater local
> and regional participation, it is also expected to benefit our northern
> hemisphere beekeeping colleagues, as they would have finished their winter
> preparations.
>
> WE AGAIN INVITE YOU TO ATTEND THIS MAJOR BEEKEEPING EVENT WHICH WILL TAKE
> PLACE FROM 28 OCTOBER - 1 NOVEMBER 2001 AT THE DURBAN INTERNATIONAL
> CONVENTION CENTRE, SOUTH AFRICA.
>
> Please do not hesitate to contact myself ([log in to unmask]) or the
> Congress organising secretariat, Cilla Taylor, ([log in to unmask]) if
> you have any concerns or comments in regards to this date change.
>
> Dr Adriaan du Toit
> Tel & Fax: Int + 2712 8081762