IFOAM Organic World Congress 2014 in Istanbul

With 2,500 participants from all over the world expected to gather here for the congress, preparations are going ahead at full speed for what is the most important and biggest conference of the international organic industry. For ten days, the theme emanating from the Istanbul Congress Center (ICC) and other locations will be “Building Organic Bridges”. The pre-conferences begin on Friday 10 October; the main programme will take place from 13 - 15.10.2014. This is when the IFOAM General Assembly and other organic conferences (e.g. OrganicDataNetwork) will be held, followed from 17 – 20 October by a programme of excursions and the congregation of WWOOFers (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms).  (Picture on left: Istanbul Congress Center)

The Turkish eco organization Bugday (Bugday Association for Supporting Ecological Living) has for 20 years been supporting the development of the organic movement and is the main organizer of this major event. Bugday president Günesin Aydemir and her team are delighted to welcome IFOAM to Istanbul. “Things have to change, and the time for change is now”, says Aydemir regarding the many challenges faced by the organic movement and the future of our planet.  IFOAM president André Leu is looking forward to the World Congress in Istanbul and is very impressed by the motto “Building Bridges”: “This message is more likely to be appropriate in Istanbul than in any other city”, he writes in his welcome to guests, because Istanbul links the two continents of Europe and Asia by means of two great bridges across the Bosphorus. (Online registration here). (Picture: The continents are linked by ships as well as bridges)

The Congress programme has been drawn up. The conference is divided into three thematic blocks running in parallel (Main Track, Scientific Track, Practitioners' Track), which in turn offer two or three parallel events with a range of presentations, panel discussions and workshops. The core issues are visions and trends, and the future of organic agriculture and the organic markets, but just as important is the discussion of specific measures in all aspects of the organic world. Themes in the Main Track include food security, social and environmental challenges, smallholders and the road map to sustainability 2017 - 2020. At the IFOAM General Assembly a good 600 member organizations will discuss the future positions to be adopted by the umbrella organization for the international organic sector, and they will determine the way forward as well as electing the new World Board. (Picture on left: The Galata Tower in the old part of the city with panoramic view)

The spectrum of topics covered by the Congress is wide-ranging: as well as dealing with the classic issues of organic agriculture with arable farming and animal husbandry, the focus is also on, for example, aquaculture, regional development, the Economy for the Common Good movement and the eco textile industry. In the scientific track, one-and-a-half-hour parallel events will address the topic areas plants (soil fertility, plant protection, seed, biodiversity, etc.), animals (health, fodder, production systems, etc.) and the social economy (education, communication, marketing, etc.). The track “Practitioners” is organized along similar lines and addresses the motto of the Congress: we’re going to build bridges. More than 70 people from all over the world who practise organic farming will share their experiences with the other participants, broaden their horizons and aim to inspire and explore the possibilities of future joint strategies. Finally, in the workshops, organizations like FibL, the Organic Research Center (GB), the OrganicDataNetwork project (see our earlier report), the US trade organization OTA and many others will present the results of their work for discussion. Anyone wanting to enjoy the country and its people when the World Congress has come to an end can avail themselves of four different excursions to tourist destinations. They can also opt to stay overnight on an organic farm. (Picture on left: Customer in a specialist wholefood store)
 

The World Congress has invited a number of interesting speakers. Among the highlights are the nine keynote speakers at the congress. The report by the former basketball player Will Allen, the founder of the NGO Growing Power and the leading figure in urban agriculture and author of the book  The Good Food Revolution, is certain to be an exciting experience. In 2010, Allen was declared by Time Magazine to be one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Another guest is Bhutan’s Minister of Agriculture Lyonpe Yeshey Dorji. He will report on the total conversion of agriculture to organic as part of his country’s gross national happiness.  Best seller author Anna Lappé (Diet for a Hot Planet) has, together with her mother Francis Moore Lappé, founded the Small Planet Institute, an international network and research institute, and Real Food Media, that works with videos and events addressing themes around sustainability. Pat Mooney is co-founder and director of the ETC Group that, as an international organization, focuses on the role of modern technologies in the life of marginal groups. Mooney has almost half a century of experience in working with civil societies. Among other things, he was awarded the Alternative Nobel Prize and the Pearson Peace Prize. Mooney continues to be regarded as an authority on questions of global governance, corporate amalgamation and intellectual property. (Picture: Reporting on the Congress will be Karin Heinze and Kai Kreuzer – seen here in Rumeli Hisar)

(Pictures: Will Allen, Anna Lappé, Pat Mooney)













Naturally, this big organic event in Istanbul in October offers the opportunity to take trips to the historic old part of the city where you find the world-renowned museum of the Topkapi Palace, Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. Travel for just under an hour by bus or taxi and you come to the Ottoman Rumeli Hisar Fortress (Wikipedia-Info), that was built in 1452. One and a half hours by boat takes you to the car-free island of Büyük Ada in the Sea of Marmara (pictures), where tourists get around in horse-drawn carriages. When you go for a walk in the vicinity of the Galata Tower, drop into the Konak Café and enjoy a view of the splendid old town from the roof terrace. If you want at least some organic food, you should go to the Slow Food Restaurant Zencefil (see our earlier report on organic oases in Istanbul). A restaurant to be recommended is Kahve 6, where some organic products are used.  In the Sisli district of Istanbul, the big weekly organic market Eko Pazar is worth a visit.

(Pictures: Sisli’s weekly organic market, olive oil from Laleli, weekly organic market Ataköy, specialist store Cityfarm)











If you want to be independent and visit some organic farms with overnight stay in the region, we recommend you look at the list TaTuTa published by the organic association Bugday. Recommended farms are found, for example, in Belentepe and Kayinormaný, or there is the more traditional Turkish farm Saban Burhan.

More information about the IFOAM Conference here

Online registration here