Cape Town 2006

IFEAT INTERNATIONAL

CONFERENCE 2006

MONDAY 27 NOVEMBER - FRIDAY 1 DECEMBER 2006

The 2006 IFEAT Conference in Cape Town was another fantastic success!

It was held on the 27 November to 1 December 2006 at the ArabellaSheraton Hotel in Cape Town, South Africa. As this was the first time the conference has been held in a Sub Saharan country, it was appropriate that the main theme for the conference was the Industry in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian Ocean, with focus on Production and the Market in the Region.

Attendance at the conference continues to exceed all expectations each year with 520 delegates and 88 Accompanying Persons making the trip to Cape Town as well as some 35 Day Delegates. The conference commenced with a Welcome Reception on the 27 November held at the Arabella were guests arrived to be greeted by traditional Zulu Warriors and the uplifting voices of the choir. Drinks and canapés were followed by a brief performance from the Zulus and a Welcome speech by Cape Town Committee Chairman, Martin Gill.

The conference 3 - day lecture sessions began on Tuesday 28 November and included reviews of regional markets and production in Sub Saharan Africa and the Indian Ocean as well as looking at some of the individual oils of the region in more detail. Wednesday and Friday also included panel discussions on industry, regulations and growth markets.

The IFEAT Business Meeting was held on the 29 November. Open to both members and non members of the Association, this session was made up of the IFEAT AGM, Annual Review and Educational reports as well as presentations on the 2007 Conference in Budapest and the Egypt Study Tour which is also planned for 2007. The IFEAT Medal Lecturer for 2006 was Professor Earle Graven who gave an enjoyable presentation on his own eventful journey “On the Scent of South African Essential Oils”. Unfortunately, the Best Student medal winners were not able to attend the conference this year, however we are making arrangements for their medals to be presented at a later date.

This year’s AGM saw the retirement of Dr Clinton Green who has been IFEAT’s Conference Programme Co-ordinator for many years and whose involvement with IFEAT in general goes back even further. This year’s excellent lecture programme was a great credit to Clinton as have the previous 9 conference programmes and his retirement will be much deserved. Clinton hands the reigns of Programme Co-ordinator over to Peter Greenhalgh who has already started working on the lecture programme for the Budapest conference.

The IFEAT Annual Dinner was held on Wednesday 29 November at Moyo restaurant located in Spier, Cape Town. This dinner, open to IFEAT members and their guests, was attended by 350 people who sat out under the stars enjoying a grand buffet of local and international dishes as well as some traditional African singing and dancing entertainment.

The Field Trip took place on Thursday 30 November and delegates were able to choose one of two locations to visit –Grassroots or Afriplex. Both destinations involved a tour of the fields, distilleries and premises of the company and gave delegates an insight into the production of buchu and other essential oils.. Groups then met for a picnic lunch at the vineyards of the La Motte estate where they were able to partake in a little wine tasting!

The conference came to an end with the Closing Banquet at the Arabella on Friday 1 December. During this dinner a presentation was made by IFEAT Chairperson Katrina Neale to IFEAT’s Founder, Ron Neal in appreciation of his continued contribution to IFEAT throughout it’s 29 year history. He has attended every IFEAT conference and has been closely involved in the planning of most of these events. Katrina also announced that from next year’s conference in Budapest there would be a new accolade, the Ron Neal Award of Excellence, that will be presented to a person who has contributed significantly to the essential oils and aroma trades industries. This presentation marked the end to the formal proceedings of the conference and guests were left to take to the dancefloor for the remainder of the evening.

IFEAT would like to take this opportunity to thank everybody who was involved in making this conference such a huge success.

We look forward to seeing you at Budapest 2007!

IFEAT Dinner - Moyo Restaurant

IFEAT Dinner - Moyo Restaurant