Looking to the land of the rising sun

Next week I will be part of a lucky group of Canadians fortunate enough to travel to the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) congress in Japan. Although I’ve travelled a lot, I’ve never been to that part of the world before, so I’m excited to see what it will be like.

Why am I going? Good question. And there’s a good reason. I have been named a co-chair, along with Owen Roberts, of the 2011 IFAJ congress that will be hosted in Canada for the first time since 1967. So although our event is still four years away, we need to start spreading the word about Canada, and also getting an idea of what our peers from 30 countries around the world will be expecting from us when they visit our country.

Thanks must be extended to our IFAJ 2011 development sponsors, Pioneer Hi-Bred and Syngenta. Their support has helped us launch a website and logo, get a committee together and start spreading the word about our conference, especially to our colleagues overseas.

Lilian Schaer and Owen Roberts are attending the IFAJ 2007 congress as part of the Canadian IFAJ 2011 Development Initiative, supported by Pioneer and Syngenta.