Apimondia is the International Federation of Beekeepers’ Associations based in Rome. Every two years, they organise a world congress with an accompanying exhibition, usually on a different continent each time. The bidding process to win the event is fierce and highly competitive. Yet, it seems unbelievable that the Slovenian 2003 Apimondia Congress is still considered a benchmark event, as a Slovenian attendee of this year’s Apimondia Congress in Chile explained to me.
Beekeeping as a way of life
Slovenia was selected as the host of the Apimondia Congress in 1997 in Antwerpen. Before the event in Ljubljana, Slovenian beekeepers raised interest in Slovenia at previous events in Vancouver in 1999 and Durban in 2001. The Apimondia Congress began on Sunday, 24 August 2003, in Gallus Hall. Photos from the event are still used today when presenting the Slovenian meetings industry and Cankarjev dom. Many attendees remember the event for the flag-bearers from 200 beekeeping associations and the Api Expo accompanying exhibition. The event also hosted over 3,000 attendees and began with an unforgettable reception at the beekeeping centre in Brdo pri Lukovici. Other attendees have fond memories of the evening reception and the start of beekeeping tourism in Slovenia. Nearly 400 scientific articles were written for the event. The entire Apimondia Congress exuded positive energy, embodied in the legendary slogan: “Beekeeping as a way of life.”
All Slovenian media platforms reported about the event’s resounding success. Still today, the event is considered one of the most important events ever hosted in Slovenia. Numerous individuals contributed immensely to the success of the project, who I believe are the hidden heroes of the Apimondia Congress 2003. Expectedly, Lojze Peterle, then the president of the Slovenian Beekeepers’ Association and Asger Søgaard Jørgensen, the president of Apimondia, were in the limelight of the media. All levels of the event organisation were coordinated by Franc Šivic, who was unbelievably patient in merging the scientific, commercial, promotional and tourist aspects into one seamless experience. He also coordinated the details with the legendary secretary of Apimondia, Riccardo Jannoni. The executive team also included the late Janez Poklukar and his right-hand, Peter Kozmus, PhD (Vice President of Apimondia), Janez Grad, Malči Božnar and other members of the Slovenian Beekeepers’ Association, devoted to individual segments. One of the central goals of organising the global congress was to bring beekeeping closer to as many people as possible, especially younger generations. I believe the congress undoubtedly succeeded in doing so, and more importantly, helped change the perception of beekeeping. Today, the sector is respected worldwide and contributes to achieving the goals of sustainable development defined by the UN.
After twenty years, I am convinced the congress was a resounding success because of the incredible enthusiasm of Slovenian beekeepers and the professionalism of Cankarjev dom’s team. The event also took place in a historical moment, following the end of the 1990s Balkan Wars.
Not many know that the project could not have taken place without the meticulous organisation of Cankarjev dom. In practice, that meant the entire organisational team of Cankarjev dom, under the helm of Mitja Rotovnik, had to work on such a huge project. In reality, the project was led by Srečo Peterlič, the head of congress activities. Over 80 team members from all departments of Cankarjev dom cooperated in the event. It started years before the event, when Maša Martinčič, the head of marketing at the time, began preparing a bid to win the congress with the help of the Slovenian Beekeepers’ Association.
I am immensely grateful to Srečo Peterlič for giving me the opportunity to lead such a complex and demanding project. We, of course, could not have succeeded without the fantastic team of financial experts – Seka Per and Smiljana Slivniker. Thanks to their work, the event was also a financial success. Production-wise, we had to execute three grand events in Gallus Hall (opening ceremony, Slovenian night and closing ceremony). That required the coordinated work of all technical departments under the leadership of Sašo Kranjc, the technical director. Plenary meetings took place in Gallus Hall, where we had to ensure simultaneous translation into four official languages of Apimondia: English, German, French and Spanish. Janez Žagar and his team of audio video technicians played a crucial role, as they had to organise the scientific part of the conference with symposiums. Parallel sessions took place simultaneously in every hall in Cankarjev dom. The speakers’ centre is considered a textbook example today. Concurrently with the event, we hosted the Api Expo, which had the professional support of colleagues from the scenography team, including Slobodan Tešić and Šime Ivkić. I could not have tackled such a demanding event organisation without my right-hand man, Jure Marinšek, who ensured everything ran smoothly.
The documentation of the project is like a textbook for organising demanding events. Perhaps we should write more about how we organised the event, as our industry seems chronically deprived of expert know-how today.
In my quest to mention members of the Apimondia Congress in Cankarjev dom, I must have forgotten to mention numerous colleagues, without whom the event could not have been organised.
P.S. The Apimondia Congress is organised every two years. The upcoming two editions will be hosted by Denmark in 2025 and Tanzania in 2027.
Article by Gorazd Čad
