Gyeonggi Province, which was designated as the first Asian host of the 17th IFOAM OWC 2011, will be hosting the 2009 East Asian Organic Conference as a preliminary event to IFOAM OWC.

The Conference will be held at COEX, the Namyangju Studio Complex and the Yangpyeong Education Center for Eco-Friendly Agriculture from November 17 to November 20, 2009. The conference features seminars, international technology exchanges and information sharing related to organic agriculture, and aims to pursue the development of organic agriculture through the collective efforts of the East Asian countries while simultaneously promoting cooperation with international organic organizations.

The Conference will be attended by IFOAM Chairwoman Katherine Di Matteo (US) and IFOAM Vice Chairman Andre Leu (Australia) as well as more than 30 global organic experts and 370 members of the domestic organic agriculture industry. The Conference will serve as a “Pre-IFOAM OWC” to promote and check the province’s preparedness for the 17th IFOAM OWC 2011.

Gyeonggi Province plans to lay the foundation for the success of the 2011 conference, develop potential organic industries, and secure new growth engines through the development of organic processed foods and related industries by hosting a conference that features presentations and discussions under the diverse themes of “organic agriculture of Asia,” “climatic change and organic agriculture,” “organic seed,” “organic animal farming,” “organic fabric,” “organic cosmetic products” and organic wine.”