As developments move forward with the coronavirus, the International Seed Federation (ISF) sent out a letter this morning to announce that the ISF World Seed Congress in Capetown, South Africa, is postponed until 2022. They write:
During these unpredictable times, one thing is certain: the health and well-being of our members, delegates, sponsors, exhibitors, partners and staff has been, and will always be, our top priority. ISF fully supports all public measures to protect the health and welfare of the population and to prevent the further spread of the novel coronavirus. It is our responsibility to inform you in a timely and proactive manner of decisions made by ISF for the World Seed Congress.
We have been closely monitoring the situation on COVID-19 and have kept you informed on where we are, in the updates we sent on March 5 and March 13. Further discussions took place with our National Organizing Committee, Core PCO, and partners, to determine the best option for you and the global seed community.
In light of recent developments on the rapid spread of COVID-19 in many countries, we have made the decision to postpone the ISF World Seed Congress 2020 in Cape Town, therefore no ISF World Seed Congress will take place this year. The next ISF World Seed Congress will be held in 2021 in Barcelona, Spain.
Amid this unprecedented situation, the commitment of ISF and the seed world to Africa in providing quality seed and increasing our engagement in the continent remains the same.
Therefore, after agreement with partners, service providers and the National Organising Committee we have decided to go back to Cape Town for the ISF World Seed Congress 2022 (16-18 May 2022) where we will celebrate our “shared roots to achieve greater heights,” giving true meaning to the slogan.
To make this happen, our colleagues from Mexico agreed to be host of the ISF World Seed Congress 2025, instead of 2022.
We thank both South Africa and Mexico for their outstanding support in making this transition during these extraordinary times and for the solidarity between continents.
To approve these changes and to continue the governance and operations of ISF, a virtual General Assembly will take place in June 2020.
ISF has a longstanding relationship with our members, delegates and sponsors and we will follow up with exact details for refunding of the ISF World Seed Congress 2020 with the registered delegates and companies by email in the coming days.
If you booked through the official ISF WSC 2020 travel and accommodation platform, our hotel team will reach out to you in due course. A smooth reimbursement of your payment will be ensured. However due to the difficult circumstances, it may take some time, so we would please like to ask for your patience on this matter.
Over the coming weeks, we will also explore other ways to conduct our meetings under a virtual environment. We will continue to update you on how you can take part in the continuing dialogue on critical topics like plant breeding innovation, seed movement, genetic resources, and others. Our mission continues, therefore our work doesn’t stop! We thank you for your continued trust. Together, we are strong and we will surpass this challenge.
