ONDERSTEPOORT PAN AFRICAN VETERINARY CONFERENCE AND CENTENARY CELEBRATIONS 6-9 OCTOBER 2008

In a joint initiative the ARC-Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute ARC-OVI) , Onderstepoort Biological Products (OBP), University of Pretoria – Onderstepoort Faculty of Veterinary Science, Department of Agriculture (DoA) and The South African Veterinary Association (SAVA) organised the Onderstepoort Centenary celebrations to mark 100 years of veterinary excellence. The event will be held from the 6-9th of October 2008 at Onderstepoort.

Attendance is open to all persons with an interest in animal health and trade as related to the livestock and wildlife industry. Small scale, often subsistence farmers, are likely to reap the most vital benefits of research and cutting-edge thinking on vaccines, more appropriate veterinary practices, marketing and trade policies for the developing world. Cross border transport and trade stand to receive invaluable policy and process directions.

The heart of the celebrations will be the Onderstepoort 2008 Pan African Veterinary Conference. In 1908 such a Conference formed part of the inauguration ceremony of the Onderstepoort Veterinary Laboratory. It was the first of a series of similar conferences held in different African countries during the first half of the 20th century. It is therefore fitting that the centenary celebrations of the Onderstepoort complex in 2008 should again be accompanied by a Pan-African meeting of those involved in combating animal diseases on the continent.

The event will undoubtedly celebrate accomplishments over the past hundred years but it will lay particular emphasis on future challenges concerning training institutions, the role of technological developments such as the design and production of vaccines and diagnostic methods. We will also engage profound issues around trade and trans-boundary diseases.

The theme for the conference is: “A centenary celebration of the founding of Onderstepoort, focusing on the impact of animal diseases on food security and the economic development of Africa”. This Conference will be enhanced by various social informal and formal activities.

Registration and other information can be found at www.onderstepoort100.co.za or by calling Petrie Vogel at + 27 12 346 1150, e-mail Petrie@sava.co.za or Dr Johan Grobbelaar at +27 12 529 9101, e-mail GrobbelaarJ@arc.agric.za