Relive the magic and excitement of the WSRC11!
World Soybean Research Conference 11 (WSRC11) 18 – 23 June
World Soybean Research Conference 11 recently took place in Vienna from June 18 – 23, and we are happy to look back on the successful event. We want to thank everyone who participated and helped make this conference such a successful meeting of science, agriculture, retail and more!
For the first time in the history of the WSRC series, this edition took place in Europe. Under the theme “Soybean research for sustainable development”, the World Soybean Research Conference 11 brought together over 700 international participants from 51 countries including representatives from government, research and academia, extension and education, NGOs, private sectors, and resource partners. The opening ceremony of the conference was opened by the Austrian Federal Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, Regions and Water Management, Minister Norbert Totschnig, and the Federal Minister for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology, Austria, Minister Leonore Gewessler. Mr Jingyuan Xia, Director of FAO Plant Production and Protection Division, and Istvan Rajcan, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada held a keynote presentation. We are very happy about the involvement of the FAO, since this demonstrated the global importance of the event.
The programme included plenary sessions on Soybean research for sustainable development; European Soybean; Soybean in agricultural systems; and regional soybean reports as well as many scientific parallel sessions and workshops. Around 250 poster presentations expanded the programme where latest scientific findings were presented and from which the young scientists award candidates were chosen. The exhibition brought together companies and organisations from various fields and in the Donau Soja umbrella booth, Donau Soja members had the possibility to present the European sector to the global audience.The conference topics ranged from Soybean Genetics, Genomics, Breeding & Biotechnology; Soybean Weeds, Diseases, Pests and their Management; Agronomy, Physiology & Agrotechnology to Soybean Food, Feed & Nutrition.
Night of European Soy
A clear highlight of the conference was the “Night of European Soy” in Weltmuseum Wien, which celebrated the growth and diversity of Europe’s soya-based food market. 26 European producers showcased the versatility of soya and the delicious products made from it. Over 200 participants were able to wander through the beautiful museum and try the different specialties. Our sincere appreciation goes to all exhibitors who made this “soy-licious” night possible with their contributions in presenting their products.
The following exhibitors took part in the “Night of European Soy”:
The Future of Soy is Food
On the topic of Soybean Food, Feed & Nutrition we particularly want to emphasise the session “The Future of Soy is Food” with ProVeg, ADM, Wenger Manufacturing, Bühler, Someno’s TOFU, WWF USA, KeyGene, and Saatbau Linz. Donau Soja´s main mission is to bring together researchers, farmers, producers and consumers to build value chains that ensure a safe and sustainable protein supply. We welcome the diverse discourse on this topic that tried to answer the question on what characteristics soya products need to fulfil to play a successful role in the transformation of the food system and the protein transition.
Policy and corporate social responsibility (CSR)
Another very interesting session took place with Donal Murphy-Bokern, Independent; Lieven Callewaert, Chair of the Collaborative Soy Initiative (CSI); Ursula Bittner, Economics expert Greenpeace in central and eastern Europe; Guillaume Tessier, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Global Soy Lead Brazil; and Will Schreiber, 3Keel Group Ltd. on the topics of policy and CSR regarding soya. The experts discussed the challenges of traceability and the role certification can play to stop deforestation and ecosystem destruction.
Collaborative Member Booth
Attendees had the opportunity to exchange information with over 30 exhibitors on site about the newest innovations in the soybean community. The focal point of the exhibition hall was the Donau Soja Booth, under which our members represented the vision of more sustainable agricultural procedures and food possibilities in Euro.
Booth participants:
Gala Evening
On Thursday, 22 June the gala evening was held in the Vienna City Hall and gave ample opportunity for participants to broaden social networks and friendships in the breathtaking ambience. Young Scientist awards, and Lifetime Achievement Awards were granted and the location for the next WSRC12 was announced as Rosario, Argentina.
Find more pictures from the WSRC11 here:
Watch a highlight video of the conference here:
Media Snippets
We are very happy that the WSRC11 in Vienna created quite the international media buzz! So far there have been a total of 165 articles in print media, online, on TV as well as on the radio – but we expect additional coverage to follow in the coming weeks!
Find some highlights of the media coverage here:
