ABIC 2010 NEWS

January 2010

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ABIC 2010: Bridging Biology and Business

ABIC 2010 features a stellar line-up of presenters in three streams: Energy, Health and Sustainability, with 66 expert speakers and five keynote presentations. ABIC 2010 also includes a tradeshow, an international poster competition and a public forum. A Gala and other networking events round out the social aspects of this premier conference.

Speaker Profile:
Dr. Cary Fowler: protecting the future of food one seed at a time

Cary Fowler is Executive Director of the Global Crop Diversity Trust. His career in the conservation and use of crop diversity spans 30 years. In 1985 he was awarded the Right Livelihood Award (the "Alternative Nobel Prize") in a ceremony in the Swedish Parliament. In the 1990s, he headed the International Conference and Programme on Plant Genetic Resources at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), which produced the UN's first ever global assessment of the state of the world's plant genetic resources. He drafted and supervised negotiations of FAO's Global Plan of Action for Plant Genetic Resources, adopted by 150 countries in 1996. That same year he served as Special Assistant to the Secretary General of the World Food Summit. He is currently Chair of the International Advisory Council of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault.

Dr. Fowler helped to create the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, housed under the snow in the Arctic Circle in Norway. The vault preserves hundreds of varieties of seeds, ensuring that the world’s food supply has the necessary diversity to stand against threats of disease and climate change. Dr. Fowler is one of 66 industry experts to speak at ABIC 2010 Bridging Biology & Business.

Dr. Fowler has been profiled by CBS 60 Minutes and the New Yorker, is the author of several books on the subject of plant genetic resources and more than 75 articles on the topic in agriculture, law, and development journals. Cary earned his Ph.D. at the University of Uppsala (Sweden), and in 2008 received an honorary doctorate from Simon Fraser University (Canada).

Dr. Cary Fowler on the the Svalbard Global Seed Vault: http://www.croptrust.org/main/

Learn more about other confirmed speakers coming to ABIC 2010: www.abic.ca/abic2010

In 1996, Ag-West Bio created the first major international conference devoted to science and business development in agbiotech. The first Agricultural Biotechnology International Conference (ABIC) in 1996 in Saskatoon hosted 700 delegates from 29 countries. After four successful Canadian conferences, ABIC travelled the world: Australia, Ireland, Germany and Thailand have each hosted the conference.

Message from the
ABIC Foundation

In 2008, the ABIC Foundation conducted a series of meetings that resulted in a strategic plan entitled “Agbiotech for a Sustainable Planet”. The plan laid out three interrelated and interdependent strategic thrusts:

> Connecting People
> Building Capacity
> Enabling Progress through Commercialization

The final product of this plan was materialized in a list of visionary goals:

> Create the leading Agbiotech Conference in the world;

> Provide leadership in thinking and knowledge in Agbiotech in the world;

> Design and implement capacity building programs that augment conference offerings;

> Extend the Foundation’s reach to engage global Agbiotech hotspots and strategically expand to developing countries with policy platforms supporting Agbiotech solutions; and

> Create a sustainable platform to further the vision and mission of Agbiotech solutions in support of a sustainable world.

www.abic.ca

Muriel Adams,
ABIC Foundation
Managing Director

At its very core, the ABIC Foundation supports the development of Agricultural Biotechnology (Agbiotech) as a major force in developing, creating and ensuring a sustainable planet. ABIC Foundation’s mission is dedicated to linking the global science, business, government and development communities to enable the application of sustainable agricultural biotechnologies for the good of all. Its focus for the future lies in the pursuit of three interrelated and interdependent strategic thrusts: Connecting People, Building Capacity and Enabling Progress through Commercialization.

CONTACT AG-WEST BIO:
306-668-2659
ABIC2010@agwest.sk.ca

www.agwest.sk.ca

  ABIC™ is a registered trademark. The ABIC Foundation is a not for profit, charitable organization:Supporting Learning and Networking in Agricultural Biotechnology.