By Elaine Shein, AAEA Internaional Committee Chairperson
For those who have been waiting to register for IFAJ 2020 Congress taking place in Denmark in June, the site will finally be open for registration on Wednesday, Feb. 19, at 3 pm GMT (9 a.m. CST). Go to the registration page to register.
Before registering you can visit the website, you are encouraged to go to www.ifaj2020.dk to study the program and the selection of tours at the Main Congress. There are a large number to of tours. You will also find descriptions of the Pre-congress tour in Copenhagen/Zealand and the Post-congress tours to Funen and the Faroe Islands. Pre-congress tour 1 is southern Sweden on June 18-21; Pre-congress tour 2 is Copenhagen and Zealand on June 21-24; the main IFAJ Congress is June 24-29 in Bredsten, Denmark; Post-Congress tour 1 is June 29 to July 3 in Funen; and Post-Congress tour 2 is June 29 to July 3 in the Faroe Islands. Some of the tours are limited in number of attendees, so please try to register as early as you can.
This year’s theme is ”Farming today for the society of tomorrow”, looking at how Danish agriculture is an important part of the solution to the issue of how can agriculture produce enough food for the world’s future population without destroying the planet and climate — while at the same time satisfying consumer demands. This includes discussing how many consumers have a critical view of animal welfare and medicine use on Danish farms, and political winds do not always blow in favorable directions for agriculture. There will also be speakers at the Congress looking at the challenges that agriculture faces internationally.
During the Congress there will also be some great discussions about journalism. There will be three workshops about journalists’ working conditions (freedom of the press), about journalistic work methods (constructive journalism) and journalistic collaboration (cooperation across borders).
For AAEA members heading to IFAJ this year, there should be some excellent opportunities for networking, interviews and speeches that can turn into stories, getting a better idea of issues facing agriculture and journalists in that area of the world.