Thursday, December 12, 2013

12/12/13: A show nobody wants to leave - the APA13 in Saigon, Vietnam

News from Roger Gilbert and Tuti Tan direct from the Asian-Pacific Aquaculture event in Vietnam

The second day of APA13 ended as noisily as it started with a President's Reception - of drinks and buffet dinner - which included awards, appointments and entertainment from a traditional Vietnamese band along with dancers.

If day one had engaged exhibitors, day two did not disappoint. Conference rooms, in-hall seminar rooms and the corridors of the exhibition hall were more than satisfactorily full with the event quietening after lunch for a few hours before picking up again towards the close and the opening of hospitality on some stands. All exhibitors spoken to by IAF felt the exhibition was well worth while and the venue and its location making it a perfect attraction.

Wifi is free at the airport, in hotels, restaurants, bars and cafes, with no login details required other than the freely offered password. The exhibition hall was no exception and it was a pleasure to be able to check emails, make international calls and browse website on the floor of the show. The Saigon SECC should help establish this as a benchmark for conference and exhibition venues, and encourage organisers to offer up free wifi to visitors. 

Why should international visitors and exhibitors in particular be penalised by exhibition and convention centres? Surely wifi should be seen as a service - like rest rooms, lighting and heating - to those who have made the effort and gone to the expense of attending. Vietnam's Saigon SCEE should be congratulated for making its visitors so welcome not only for its wifi and general facilities, but for the friendliness of it staff and the abundance of its rest areas, both inside and outside, that visitors could use.

In the afternoon IAF had the pleasure of being invited onto a Chinese delegation hosted by Novus to visit its joint aqua research centre at the University of Nonglam some one-hours drive from the SECC. Two groups of 10 visitors made the trip and were treated to an explanation of how the Novus works with Nonglam Univeristy to carry out trial work on trout, carp, catfish and tilapia, etc. The centre has some 80 half-cubic metre and 24 cubic metre re-circulation tanks in which to conduct trial work. It also has a separate area (where bio-security prevented the groups viewing), that carries out work with bacteria and assists in developing disease control strategies.

There is one final day of the APA13 before visitors disperse to their various farms and countries. Most will be looking forward to a last evening together in downtown Saigon, which is full of Christmas decoration and festive atmosphere.

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