The pre-registration for the Interpoma Congress 2020 is now open

In order to remain accessible to a global audience, Interpoma 2020 has reinvented itself and turned into "Interpoma Connects 2020: Digital Days for the Apple Economy", a series of events that will take place both offline and online on November 19 and 20, 2020. At the heart of the two-day event program is the Interpoma Congress, the international congress that every two years attracts international speakers and experts from the world's major apple-growing countries to discuss the newest trends in apple production, storage and marketing. A limited number of participants is going to participate directly on site in Bolzano at the MEC Meeting & Event Center South Tyrol, while the international audience will be able to attend the conference from the comfort of their own homes thanks to extensive live streaming transmissions. The Interpoma Congress, this year for the first time coordinated by Gerhard Dichgans, an internationally renowned consultant in the industry, is divided into two sessions. On November 19, the focus is going to be on the somewhat problematic relationship between growers and consumers in the apple cultivation. The session’s key note Wilhelm Kremer-Schillings – largely known as "Bauer Willi", a German farmer who is particularly committed to a constructive dialogue between "farmer and citizen", is going to be the first to speak on topic: Specifically, he will reflect on why consumers are demanding more and more guarantees for quality and healthy products, but at the same time are not prepared to pay a reasonable price. Following him is going to be Christian Josephi from the German communications agency Panama PR, giving inputs on how to communicate efficiently and correctly in the age of social media. The first day is going to end with presentations by Alfred Strigl from the Austrian sustainability company Plenum and by Arnold Schuler, Provincial Councilor for Agriculture and Forestry of the Autonomous Province of Bolzano (South Tyrol), who are going to talk about sustainable development strategies for apple cultivation and South Tyrol as the cradle of biodiversity. The second module on Friday, November 20th, is going to focus on the challenges and opportunities that climate change poses for apple cultivation and varietal innovation. Among the top-notch speakers for this session are Prof. Massimo Tagliavini and Dr. Damiano Zanotelli from the Free University of Bolzano/Bozen, Alain Vialaret , former director of the French company Blue Whale, and Professor Luciana Tavella from the University of Turin. To conclude the session is going to be the Chairman of the day, Walter Guerra from the Laimburg Experimental Centre (South Tyrol), presenting the latest trends in rootstock breeding and giving an overview of the current global state of the art, featuring brief presentations by Gennaro Fazio from Cornell University (USA), Vincent Bus from Plant&Food Research (New Zealand) and Felidas Fernandez from NIAB EMR (UK). "I am delighted that the Fiera Bolzano Exhibition Center is opting for an innovative format for this year's edition of Interpoma with a mix of both off- and online events as well as digital content" explains the Congress Coordinator Gerhard Dichgans. "Starting now, all experts from the international apple economy can already pre-register for this year's congress, which will feature the hottest topics and speakers from the industry. I am expecting a great interest from day one, both for on-site and online participation". Starting today, the pre-registrations for the so-called Interpoma Connects Digital Pass dedicated to the international audience are open on www.fierabolzano.it/en/interpoma/event/interpoma-congress. The Digital Pass features not only the participation at the Congress’ live stream, but also a print copy of ipoma, the new and exclusive Interpoma magazine with the most exciting stories from the world of apples. One pass costs 79.00 €, with an early bird price of 69.00 € for those who register within September 25th. The congress will be simultaneously translated into Italian, German and English and on the second day also into French.