Contents: Introduction……………………………………...………………..…………3 A New Year……………………………………………………….……………4 Member Overview……………………………………………..…………6 Highlights of the Year………………………………...………………12 Main partnerships………………………………………………..…..…16 »Life is good and I don't want to go home«……………….18 !st International Art Festival in Turkey……………………...20 Financial Report for the year 2006/2007…………….…….23 Who are we? The new Executive Committee…………….24 Looking Toward the Future………………………………………..26 Title photo: Participants of the IAAS Seminar in FInland.
Published by
International Association of Students in Agricultural and related Sciences www.iaasworld.org vpcommunication@iaasworld.org President Laura Kihsltröm president@iaasworld.org Editor Rachael Cox Layout and design Matjaž Turinek
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Introduction
M
arcus Tullius Cicero once wrote, “Abores serit diligens agricola, quarum adspiciet baccam ipse numquam,” which translates to, “the diligent farmer plants trees, of which he himself will never see the fruit.” In the year 1957, a small group of students from nine countries sowed the seed which would turn into the largest international agricultural student organization. The roots have grown deep and extended throughout the world, reaching over forty countries to date, changing, adapting, and pushing forward into the future. Many are not here to witness the growth of the organization they founded
years ago, much like the farmer does not see the fruit of his tree. we must continue to do as our founders did, taking steps into the future not always knowing what we are moving
“the diligent farmer plants trees, of which he himself will never see the fruit.” towards. As we celebrate our 50th anniversary and reflect on where our roots lie, we must look forward into the future.
In the last year many changes have happened within IAAS and many will continue to occur. As the world changes we must adapt, but we also must prepare ourselves to be the change in the world. The mission of IAAS is “To promote the exchange of experience, knowledge and ideas, and to improve the mutual understanding between students in the field of agriculture and related sciences all over the world,” and in the following pages you will see how we have achieved this goal in this year and how we will continue to do so in the future.
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A new year
At the 2006 World Congress in Malaysia, great changes were made to the Constitution and Bylaws of IAAS. The biggest change was to disassemble the headquarters which had been established in Leuven, Belgium in the past. Though our office remained, the new executive committee did not. After election, the executive committee, now composed of five instead of three members, went back to our homes to begin work.
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Working in five different countries to bring unity to a student organization comprised of over forty countries proved difficult, but was managed by the executive committee while maintaining all regular life duties required of university students. IAAS is a studentrun organization – from the president, advisory committee, and down to each member, we are students studying agricultural and related sciences.
The executive committee worked hard to recover from a financial crisis of the previous years, stabilizing the monetary flow, paying loans, and reestablishing contact with members and partners. Much of the work of the Executive Committee is aimed towards facilitating the communication between members and the executive committee, creating platforms such as a virtual community and a new website, while a great deal of time was also
Each year comes with challenges facing the organization, problems to be solved, new ideas to be pursued, learning to be done, and fun to be had. But something that
always has and will continue to exist in IAAS is the great opportunity to participate in international
IAAS is a studentrun organization – from the president, advisory committee, and down to each member... meetings and seminars. IAAS meetings are loved by all participants. This
Predgovor dekana Fakultete za kmetijstvo
spent working to promote our organization at a more professional level, developing a new image to present with our newly restructured organization. Work was also done on the newly restructured exchange program which will be discussed later.
year international meetings were held in Poland, Togo, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Russia, Spain, France, Slovenia, Croatia, Finland, Turkey, Austria, and the Czech Republic. Seminars, regional meetings, sub-regional meetings, World Congress, and directors meetings are common, but this year we had a new meeting, an Art Festival. Some of these events will be described in the “Highlights of the Year� section on page 12.
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Member Overview
IAAS
is a group o f young, motivated, passionate, forward-thinking students who study in an agricultural or related field at universities throughout the world. Currently we are comprised of 46 member countries, with over 67 universities within those countries which comprise local committees.
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‌ all students in agricultural faculties are welcome to the activities IAAS is offering both on local and international level.
There is no formal structure at the international level for a student to be considered a member of IAAS, but instead it is the decision of the national committee to designate the rules for local committees and individual members. Basically all students in agricul tural facul tie s a re welcome to the activities IAAS is offering both on local and international level. In many faculties, students are automatically a part of IAAS when they become members
‌ IAAS is the largest student run association in the field of agricultural and related sciences. in the faculty’s student union. There are approximately
1500 students across the world who are active in IAAS
and thousands more who are loosely associated with our activities and mission, making IAAS the largest student association in the field of agricultural and related sciences in Europe and in the World.
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Our membership is split into categories by the World Bank’s country classification system (www.worldbank.org/data/ countryclass/classgroups.htm) which divides nations into low-income, lower-middle income, upper-middle income, and high income economies. Based on these separations we split our members into: A (low-income), B (lower-middle income),
These classifications define a members’ membership and publication fees, to be paid to the organization on a yearly basis, as well as eligibility to the Development Fund, a scholarship program for A and B members. Membership is also divided through a range of activities within IAAS. There are five types of membership in IAAS: Correspondent member, Candidate member, Full member, honorary member and frozen member.
C (upper-middle income) and D (high income economies).
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Full Membership is granted to those approved by the General Assembly. They are
allowed to vote at the General Assembly, have to pay a yearly membership fee, are added to the mailing lists of IAAS, participate in the meetings, seminars and other activities organized by IAAS, receive the association’s magazine IAAS World, and organize events in the name of IAAS and participate in the exchange program. Candidate members are associations which plan to apply for full membership. A country can remain a candidate member for two years and then application for full membership is voted on at the General Assembly. As a Candidate member you have all the same rights as a full
member except being allowed to vote at the General Assembly. Candidate members do not pay membership fees, but have the possibility to be added to the mailing lists of IAAS, participate in the meetings, seminars, and other activities organized by IAAS, receive our association magazine IAAS World, organize events
‌ IAAS is the largest student run association in the field of agricultural and related sciences. in the name of IAAS and
Participate in the exchange program.
Correspondent membership means, that individuals or associations pursuing the same goals as IAAS join IAAS and therefore stay in contact with the Executive
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A Countries Benin Bosnia and Herzegovina Ghana India Kenya Nepal Niger Nigeria Rwanda Tajikistan Togo Uganda Uzbekistan Zambia Zimbabwe
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B Countries
C Countries
D Countries
Belarus Bulgaria Georgia Guatemala Macedonia Indonesia Sri Lanka Thailand Ukraine Serbia
Croatia Czech Republic Hungary Russia Mexico Poland
Austria Belgium Denmark France Finland Germany Greece Italy Norway Portugal Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland USA
Correspondent Members: Brazil Egypt
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Highlights of the year The First Annual IAAS Art Festival The First Annual IAAS Art Festival: The idea of an art festival arose from a desire to celebrate the 20th anniversary of ZiFTT, the Theatre Club of Ankara University Agricultural Faculty, by the IAAS committee of Turkey. Working in hand with the faculty of their university and the Executive Committee, plans were
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underway for the first ever IAAS Art Festival. Students from eight different countries participated in the Art Festival, performing theatre, dance, photography, and music. During the festival, participants enjoyed not only these performances, but also cultural immersion in Turkey with food and field trips to an old agricultural
town. The conclusion to the festival was an international rhythms shared by all to symbolize the peace in the world. You can read more about the Art Festival on the following pages of the Annual Review.
Agricultural students ... performing theatre, dance, photography, and music.
European Directors Meeting, Poland This year, the European Meeting was also an exceptional General Assembly to make some changes to the constitution before hiring a notary. Not only were there participants throughout Europe, but there were also members from India, Togo, and the United States of America. Over one hundred students participated in the seminar on Corporate Social Responsibility which allowed participants to interact with administrators from Multinational companies working in Poland to discuss the topic of responsibilities among these companies. The organizing committee worked with the Responsible Business Forum - the first nongovernmental organizati-
on in Poland, which provides an in-depth focus on the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility. The Forum's mission is to make the idea of responsible business widespread as a standard in Poland. This is to increase
companies' competitiveness, and to satisfy society and to protect natural environment. Also, participants had a chance to experience Krakow, Warsaw, and a smaller town in southern Poland (please help with the name). The New Year was celebrated together with students from many cultures and backgrounds coming together to move into the future. 13
African Directors Meeting is Africa's largest gathering of students of agricultural and related sciences. During this event all African countries can review their situation in the organization, discuss progress, and present their current and future activities. It is also a great opportunity to meet
people from IAAS World and to establish longlasting contacts. Delegates take part in seminars, discussions and workshops relevant to the topic of the meeting. This year’s theme was the “Impact of HIV/AIDS and Malaria on Labor in Agriculture in Africa” which
was organized by IAAS Togo. During the ADM in Togo, participants had an opportunity to take part in 3 lectures, 5 plenary sessions, and 3 working groups. They visited coffee and cacao experimental gardens and learned more about growing these crops. Participants also visited some tourist’s places in Kpalimé.
Seminar “Innovation Chain in Agrifood Business” , Finland give the participants an insight on cutting-edge technologies in the field of biofuels and functional foods, emphasizing their importance in creating an area of economic growth in Europe. Read more about the innovation seminar on page 18.
In Spring 2007 IAAS-Finland organized an international student seminar headlined “Innovation Chain in Agrifood Business”. The purpose of the seminar was to assemble together a group 14
of some 70 foreign and Finnish students to familiarize themselves with the innovation chain in agriculture and forestry. Bearing in mind the Lisbon strategy, the organizing committee wanted to
Seminar “Culture, tradition and typical food on a journey through Croatian agriculture” The last three days we spent in the seaside, a peninsula called Istria, where we introduced them to Mediterranean agriculture: olive farms and oil mills, aquaculture, vineyards, and another national park Brijuni. It was ensured that all students had a lot of fun and experienced positive IAAS spirit! The mission of the seminar was to take students from Belgium and Slovenia on a journey through Croatia during which they would be presented with the agriculture, people, tradition and customs. The meeting took place in our capital city, Zagreb, where we showed them our Faculty of Agriculture and had some interesting lectu-
Summer School in Serbia: “Renewable energy resources and sustainaThe school was organized by the Belgrade local committee and it was a workshop which consisted of lectures, discussions, a lot of visits to agricultural companies and an excursion at the end of the week in a nature reserve in Serbia. All lectures were related to use of alternative energy, organic production, and healthy food.
res about IAAS and Croatian agriculture. We spent the n ext 2 day in the northwestern part of Croatia, where we all learned about enology and local customs. In the middle of our IAAS voyage we went to Plitvice lakes, our oldest national park, where students had an unique opportunity to enjoy in truly untouched nature.
Sub-regional Meeting Nancy, France, /May 2007 During this week we tried to show our guests some typical foods and drinks from the East of France. We could see different farms and wine producers and thus taste their products. The aim of these visits was to show why our country was so famous for its gastronomy. Beside
this, we had lectures about food functionality and a project done in Africa by another association of our school, ISF. Of course we had the opportunity to visit Nancy and to taste lots of very different specialties at the trade fair.
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Main Partnerships IFISO is the Informal Forum of International Student O r g a n i s a t i o n s (http://www.ifiso.org/). Its aim is to create the necessary environment for international student organisations to collaborate on all possible levels in order to strengthen their capacities through knowledge sharing and identification of synergies. Currently the IFISO, "non-political", not-for-profit international, student-run organisations network consists of a multi-disciplinary mix of 28 such NGOs, covering more than 2 million students all together. AEGEE, AIESEC, BEST, EDSA, EESTEC, EFPSA, ELASA, EMSA, EPSA, ESN, ESSA, ESTIEM, EUROAVIA, FISEC, IAAS, IADS, IAPS, IAPSS, IEEE,
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IFMSA, IFSA, IPSF, IPSO, ISHA, IVSA, JADE, PRIME and WISE. Every year, besides several networking events, IFISO comes together twice. Participants have great opportunity to meet leaders from other students NGOs and benefit from sharing of ideas and experiences among them. The IFISO spring meeting 2007 (31/5-04/6) took place in Brussels and it was hosted by AEGEE and co-organised by BEST, ESN, ESTIEM and IAAS. From IAAS, Michal Przyborski (PL), Marcin Adamczyk (PL), George Giannopoulos (GR) and Wouter Geurts
(BE) joined. The program consisted of two plenary days at the European Committee of Regions, and two open discussion days at the Flemish University of Brussels. One of the highly discussed topics was EU-funding . Mme Grombeer, Coordinator of the Education, Audiovisual & Culture Executive Agency in session about “Youth in Action� gave us more information about conditions and procedures that are taken into account when grant applications are evaluated. Next, we were in contact with Mr. Sergio Corti, who gave an introduction on Life Long Learning programs and with Ms. Rita Nagy (European Commission) to have a discussion concerning the EU visa policy for non-EU and non-Schengen residents and possibilities to make VISA-procedures less complicated for students engaged in international student associations.
European Youth Forum
www.youthforum.org The first ever EU Youth Summit, organised by the European Commission in cooperation with the European Parliament and the European Youth
Forum, was an opportunity for the young generation to express its aspirations and to contribute actively to shape the future of Europe. The aim of this summit was to produce concrete youth input for the ongoing debate on the future of Europe. Marcin Adamczyk represented IAAS at The First Youth Summit in
Rome and approved Rome Youth Declaration. The summit took place in Rome March 23 – 25, 2007 to celebrate 50 anniversary of Rome Treaty. One of the themes of the Youth Summit was “Building democracy and civil society in Europe”. Two crucial sentences in
final declaration in this line were “The stakeholders at all levels, governments and EU institutions must include youth organisations and young people coming from diverse backgrounds in all youthrelated decision-making processes… Funding for NGOs is important in enabling them to work efficiently and to create
spaces for dialogue which are accessible to young people.” Whole declaration is available at www.youthforum.org . In Rome it was stressed not only that the NGOs are important during decision making process but also that they should be given relevant financial support. As student’s NGOs we hope that the EU decedents will take the Youth Declaration into action and that they introduce the law procedures suitable also for international (not only European) youth o rg an i z at i o n s based in Europe, enabling them receiving grants.
Other partners... Other
partners
we
co-
operated with, include ICA (European association of life science universities). Where we actively participaed in various EU funded projects .
We are also partnering with IFSA (International Forestry students Association), Myligo online platform, various youth organizations all over the world, to mention just some.
More information on vppartnership@iaasworld.org or visit our website www.iaasworld.org
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“ Life is good and I don’t Seminar: Innovation Chain in Agrifood Business IAAS-Finland is currently one of IAAS’ most active member countries. The number of active students involved has rapidly increased during the recent years, and in April 2007 the members in Finland had the chance to organize a seminar : “Innovation Chain in Agrifood Business”, which gathered in total around 70 participants from foreign and Finnish origin. The planning of the seminar had already started during summer 2006. The actuality of the chosen theme innovativeness needs no explanation as everyone probably has come across it in daily media and in lectures. Production that is based on innovative and
highly educated work force is seen as the lifeline of Europe’s economic competitiveness – according to the Lisbon strategy (European Council, 2000), Europe is to be the most dynamic and competitive knowledge-based economy in the world by 2010. How did we pass on this knowledge to our participants? The participants at the seminar were from Sweden, Denmark, Russia, France, Switzerland, Belgium, Greece, Indonesia, Poland and Slovenia. The program was divided into a preseminar and seminar. The meaning of the pre-seminar was to work as a motivational kick-off for the week with less official program; the partici-
pants had for example the chance to experience guided tours around Helsinki, hike in a national park, sleep in cabins in forest and swim in an ice-cold forest pond – followed by, naturally, Finnish sauna!
The seminar consisted of two specific cases: 1)Functional Foods and 2)Fuels and Fibers. In the case of Functional foods, our aim was to give our participants a basic understanding on what is needed to get a new product to the market, how to create a whole family of products from a single component discovery, how to create international demand for it how innovativeness can be used to develop the strategy of a company. Fuels and fibers gave insight on how to make fuel and fiber products of renewable resources. For both cases, we had cutting-edge companies and also visited the main sponsors for each case – Valio for Functional foods and UPM for Fuels and Fibers.
The way the seminar was carried through was in itself innovative: the high educational value of it enabled the organizing committee to offer it as an 18
want to go home ” Helsinki, Finland 15.-22.4.2007 intensive course of 2 ECTS. Getting the ECTS credits of the seminar required active participation in lectures (foreign participants) or writing a learning diary (Finnish participants) and giving a presentation of a selected innovation in the field of agrifood business from our participants’ home countries.
Besides focusing on specific case studies, there was also a possibility to learn crucial leadership and management skills when Harri Westermarck, Professor of Extension Education in the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, gave a lecture on those topics on the last official day of the seminar. As future decision-makers, we hope our
participants remember at least one thing from this lecture: Growth is optional but change is inevitable – it is up to us whether we see this as an opportunity or as a threat.
Between and after official program, the organizing commit-
tee in Finland made sure there was time for everyone to relax: how about singing some karaoke at a Finnish rock bar, attend a party in a hay barn or take it easy in Scandinavia’s biggest water park?
Considering the short length of the seminar, the contents did not only cover the learning aims, but also gave a spark to our participants to deepen their knowledge on these topics. We sincerely hope more of these kind of integrated and innovative events will be hosted in other IAAS committees as well and would last but not least like to thank our participants for a wonderful week!
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1st International IAAS University
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Written by Orçun GÜRKAN,
Edited by Laura Kihlström
IAAS International’s versatile book of activities got a new chapter when the very first International Art Festival was organised in Ankara, Turkey in May 2007. Not only was this event one of the first ones organised by IAAS Turkey, but it was also a landmark event for IAAS International as an association. It gave a spark for other commit-
tees to promote the idea of cultural understanding and learning, and emphasized the meaning of arts as a means of communication. It is also an excellent way of a new member country to get more students involved, and an effective motivational factor for older member countries to attract new members.
How the was born
whole
idea
The festival idea was created in August 2006 to cel eb rate th e 20th Anniversary of the Establishment of ZiFTT. ZiFTT is a University Theatre, which has been established 1987 and continued until today by the stu-
Art Festival and ZiFTT Theaters Meeting 14 - 19 MAY 2007 dents of Ankara University Faculty of Agriculture. The proposal was warmly accepted by the faculty management, and was further developed when dean Prof. Dr. Cemal Talug and vice dean Prof. Dr. Nilgun Halloran met Matjaz Turinek, president of IAAS at that time, at an ICA meeting. They had a chance to talk about the Art Festival idea and also to make Ankara University a part of IAAS International. During the following month, the Executive Committee stayed frequently in touch with the organising committee in Ankara, and helped the faculty to establish an IAAS committee.
The “1st International IAAS Art Festival and ZiFTT University Theatres Meeting” was promoted during IAAS European Director’s Meeting in Poland and the idea was warmly responded by participants. Spring time was busy for the organising committee: the Atelier Stage of ZiFTT was
… during the festival, participants got closer, shared experiences and learned about other cultures... reconstructed, a grass amphitheatre was built and for example an interior garden design of the festival area was renovated.
An oasis of cultures The festival was promoted through IAAS Network (mailing lists, website)
and the websites of Ankara University Agricultural Faculty and ZiFTT. An announcement was also put under some national theatre web sites, and many agricultural faculties worldwide were invited by Prof. Talug. The result was that 10 countries with different types of performances and 30 Turkish performance groups applied.
Finally, it was time for the Art Festival week itself. Many important invited guests, in addition to participants, were pre21
On behalf of the organising committee, Orcun Gurkan would like to thank all the participants of the Art Festival and the Executive Committee of IAAS 2006/2007, especially Matjaz Turinek and Wouter Geurts, who actively supported the idea from the very beginning.
sent at the opening ceremony. Newspaper agents were interested in interviewing the organising committee and representatives of IAAS International. The structure of the week was similar for each day: approximately 2-3 theatre groups, 1-2 dance groups or 1-2 music groups performed. In addition to the unique and high quality performances, a photography exhibition took place in the festival area. Many other activities took also place: a rock concert, excursion to an agricultural town and attendance to a TV programme - during the festival, participants from different countries had 22
the chance to get closer, share experiences and learn about each others’ cultures. What was also unique about this event is the low cost of participation: the participants only needed to pay for their travels to Ankara – everything else was covered by the organising committee, which had gathered support from many sources, including the Advertisement and Support Fund of Prime Ministry, Anadolu Grubu; Efes Pilsener Co, other agricultural companies and of course the Agricultural Faculty of Ankara University.
Thankfulness and traditions
The staff and management of the agricultural faculty also deserves a big thank you– they worked so much and changed everything from impossible to possible.
IAAS Turkey started a hopefully long-lived tradition in IAAS by hosting the 1st International Art Festival. The idea has been well responded to among our member countries.
Financial report for the year 2006/2007 2006-2007 IAAS had a very successful financial year. Recovering from a financial deficit, we were
able to maintain a positive balance (Figure 1). Though our total net worth is low (Figure 2) we
IAAS International Profit & Loss July 2006 - June 2007
were able to stay within our budget while paying back a loan from a previous year.
IAAS International Balance Sheet As of June 30, 2007 Total
Income Development Fund Fundraising Expro Fee Membership Fees
2,693.95 11,442.20
Misc./Unknown World Congress Payments Total Misc. Income Publication Fees Sponsorship Total Income
51.28 1,493.68 5,300.00 6,844.96 358.42 6,000.00 28,295.21
Expenses Control Committee Development Fund Payments Executive Committe Stipend
260.00 723.00 2,000.00
IAAS World Magazine
1,535.98
IT Costs
1,063.13
Legal & Professional Fees
1,356.16
Loan Repayment
3,251.00
Misc. Expenses Bank Charges Misc./Unknown
190.80 1,473.91
Participation Fees
180.00
Past EC Expenses
2,282.29
Phone Bill Debts
1,056.09 5,300.00
WoCo payments to Germany Total Misc. Expenses Supplies & Materials & Promotion Travel Total Expenses
ASSETS Current Assets
Misc. Income Bank Interest
Total
955.68
10,483.09 508.10 4,782.36 25,962.82
Net Operating Income
2,332.39
Net Income
2,332.39
Bank Accounts Cash on Hand
0.00
Current - 96 Development Fund - 69
117.26
Savings - 80
244.21 3,411.90
Total Bank Accounts
3,773.37
Total Current Assets
3,773.37
TOTAL ASSETS LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
3,773.37
Liabilities Total Liabilities Equity Opening Balance Equity Retained Earnings
1,440.98 2,332.39
Net Income Total Equity TOTAL LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
3,773.37 3,773.37
Figure 2: Total net worth at the end of the 2006-07 fiscal year.
Figure 1: Profit during the fiscal year amounted to 2.332,39 Euro.
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Getting to know the Executive Committee for the year 2007/2008
Who are we? President: Laura Kihlström Home country: Finland Age: 21 Study field: Agroecology Interests: Travelling, music, photography, dancing, yoga Favourite quote: “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans” – John Lennon
Vice President of Partnership: Marcin Adamczyk Home country: Poland Age: 26 Study field: Agricultural economics Interests: European Union Integration, Traveling, Music, Sports, Sailing – Yacht Coastal Skipper, Car Racing - Driver in TRIDEM 2005 Paris-BerlinWarszawa "EUROPE, WHAT A RIDE!", Favourite quote: "Think Globally, Act Locally"
Vice President of Finance: Clark Richardson Home country: United States of America Age:22 Study field:Agricultural Business, Economics, Political Science, International Agriculture, and Spanish Interests: Music, singing, playing the trombone, running, playing racquetball, traveling, watching movies, reading books, spending time with friends
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Vice President of Communication: Michal Przyborski Home country: Poland Age: 22 Study field: Interests: Favourite quote:
Vice President of Exchange: Wouter Geurts Home country: Belgium Age: 27 Study field: Interests: Favourite quote:
Development Fund Report This year, twenty eight scholarships were given to IAAS members through the Development Fund. The Development Fund was created as a way to enable students from low-income countries who are involved in IAAS to participate in international meetings sponsored by our organization. Active students from A and B countries are eligible to apply for the scholarship. The scholarship is administered by the Vice President of Finance.
to the development fund to make distribution of funds fairer to all. Previously, in the constitution and by-laws, there were only general guidelines, in combination with traditions from past vice presidents. To bring continuity and professionalism to the scholarship program an equation was created for funds disbursement based on previous scholarship award, number of people applying from applicant’s country, and cost of travel.
This year at the general assembly changes were made
In the future, we hope to expand the scholarship pro-
gram in order to empower a greater number of students from all over the world to get involved in international activities. At present we are only able to fund a small portion of students’ travel and participation expenses which disallows many students from lowincome countries to participate. We hope to approach sponsors who might specifically fund this part of our organization, so we might better fulfill our mission to engage students from all over the world.
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Looking Toward the
Future
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IAAS is going through an important phase during its 50-year-existence. This is the second year with a dissolved headquarters structure, making it possible for executive committee members to live and work from their home countries.
a three years’ period is to have one person working in Belgium during the first year, moving on to three persons in the next year and finally achieving a stage where all five executive committee members would work and live in a headquarters in Belgium.
In the minds of the new executive committee, this is however only a temporary solution to stabilize the financial situation and then gradually return to the structure of having IAAS Headquarters in Leuven, Belgium. The strategy for
During their year, the new executive committee will also focus on creating and improving its partnerships with other associations. There are already co-operation initiatives with many other student organizations, including IFSA and ESN, adding a
completely new dimension to the versatile activities of IAAS.
‌ the annual Art Festival will be continued by IAAS-USA in the year 2008, continuing in Ukraine in 2009
Encouraged and motivated by the 1st International IAAS Art Festival, the tradition of hosting annual festival will be continued by IAAS-USA in the year 2008, continuing in Ukraine in 2009 and in Spain in 2010. The dialogue between different cultures will also be enhanced by introducing new kinds of activities, such as concerto rurales. Furthermore, activities that teach our members about actual topics, such as fair trade, human rights and democracy will be introduced in the form of study visits, voluntary action and debates. By this we want to highlight
the fact that it is always good to know about things outside your own field as well. During
the
year
the
executive committee will also work actively on getting new member countries in IAAS, both from the European region and out-
side it, spreading the joy of the meeting of cultures and students from various locations and backgrounds all over the world.
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50 Years ago ... forward thinking agricultural students gathered in the desert‌. IAAS was founded.