68th Plenary Meeting

Cape Town, South Africa
7-11 September, 2009

International Year of Natural Fibres:
Discover Natural Fibres 2009

Proceedings of the 68th Plenary Meeting
Meeting Statement and documents
Meeting and hotel registration
Inscription - français
Página web en espanol
Accompanying Persons Program (44K PDF)
Organizing committee web site (external link)
Agenda (36K PDF) (as of 27 August)
Meeting brochure from the organizing committee (3MB PDF)
Pre-registered participants (140K PDF) (as of 28 August)
Additional information

Welcome

The 68th Plenary Meeting will be held during 7-11 September 2009 in Cape Town, South Africa.

The Organizing Committee in South Africa selected the theme of the 68th Plenary Meeting as “The Role of Cotton in Economic Development and Ensuring Food Security During a Period of Global Economic Crisis“. The theme is designed to provide opportunities for discussion of problems confronting policy makers and businesses on the role of cotton in the current economic situation and how cotton contributes towards food security.

The Republic of South Africa, also known by other official names, is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa. The South African coast stretches 2,798 kilometers (1,739 miles) and borders both the Atlantic and Indian oceans. To the north of South Africa lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland, while the Kingdom of Lesotho is an independent enclave surrounded by South African territory.

Cotton in South Africa is currently mostly produced under irrigation, mainly in the Limpopo and Northern Cape Provinces. The major dry land production areas are in the Limpopo Province and in northern KwaZulu-Natal where more than 3,000 small-scale cotton farmers reside.

Site of the Meeting

The 68th Plenary Meeting will be held at the International Convention Centre (ICC) in Cape Town, located in the heart of the city. All lunches and meeting will be held at the ICC.

Consular Matters

To enter South Africa a valid passport and visa are required. For a currant list of nationalities that do NOT require a visa to enter South Africa visit the web site of the South African Department of Home Affairs.

Yellow Fever Certificates are required if the journey starts or entails passing through the yellow fever belt of Africa or South America.

Participants should check with travel agents or Consulates for visa and yellow fever certificate requirements as diplomatic criteria change from time to time.

The South African Department of Home Affairs have provided a visa authorization letter (348K PDF) to help delegates requiring a visa with their application.

If you have any questions about the plenary meeting, please email your comments to plenaryinformation@icac.org.

A two-night technical tour (44K PDF) following the plenary meeting is also available.

The current weather forecast in Cape Town can be viewed at either the CNN or weather.com web sites.

Currency and Time Converters

The current time around the world can be viewed at timeanddate.com and a simple currency converter can be found at xe.net.