Apimondia 2011 v číslech od WILLIAMa BLOMSTEDTa
(omlouvám se, ale toto kdybych překládal, tak bych to zkazil)
Apimondia! Sure, the United Nations, the Olympics, the World Cup all have their place as international forums, but for those interested in bees and honey, Apimondia takes the cake. It's the place where everyone and everything 'bee' comes together: beekeepers, scientists, honey packers, apitherapists, development organizations, equipment vendors and bee enthusiasts gather for a week of learning, sharing, business, networking and catching up with old friends. This year's conference took place in Buenos Aires, Argentina, a beautiful, wild city that takes the European urban life and twists it with South American flavor. The conference happened in late September, just as the Southern Hemisphere passed into spring, with the confident sun able to beat back the chills and bring everyone outside to enjoy the green grass and blooming flowers. This was my first Apimondia and I must say it was an experience to remember. The adjectives changed by the minute: fun, interesting, long, boring, confusing, happy, inane, hilarious, controversial, frightening, celebratory, overwhelming and life-affirming. Can you imagine sharing a space with thousands of other people who love and know honey bees intimately? Where you can meet someone from a vastly different culture, geography and language, but still be able to communicate with them through this specific livelihood and interest? I spent the five days in the thick of this atmosphere and here it is, broken down into numbers.
42nd Apimondia conference
5 days in conference
5 lecture halls
20 minutes per presentation
20 presentations in each hall per day
48 % of presentations from Central and Southern America
638 scientific posters
48 countries represented
710 member associations
2 – 4 languages each presentation was translated into
2009 year the American Bee Federation rejoined Apimondia
~8,000 people at the conference
18 Americans I met or saw
2700 square meters in the ApiExpo
137 booths
13 places to taste honey
5 days I went to all of them
9 types of honey at Argentinian stand
6 times I said “Wow!” after tasting the honey
75,000 metric tons of honey produced in Argentina 2010/11
2 world rank of Argentina in honey production
95 % of honey exported
4 time, PM, of Opening Ceremonies
4 Argentinian ministers who spoke during the opening ceremony who essentially said the same thing
16 dots I counted on the woman's hair clip sitting in front of me as I waited for the speeches to end
4 times the concept that “We will talk of Apimondia before Argentina and after Argentina” was brought up
5 dance performances in opening ceremony
4 gauchos who could hold water to the Jets and Sharks of West Side Story
2 people it takes to tango
1 days where Argentinian citizens could attend Apimondia for free
12 – 17 hours I spent per day listening, talking and thinking about bees
26 glossy pamphlets I will throw away
4.5 awkward conversations I was a part of
2 people who laughed at my poor Spanish skills
5 people who encouraged my Spanish speaking
4 Chinese guys running around in fuzzy yellow bee costumes
12 Mexican beekeepers wearing red, white and green ponchos
150 + Argentinians I saw wearing argyle sweaters
3 Koreans wearing traditional dress
1 artificial insemination instrument a Korean lady in traditional dress tried to sell me
4 unofficial performances put on by the Chinese and South Koreans, who were competing for Apimondia 2015
1 free dinner thrown by the Chinese
3 presents given to me by South Koreans
0 votes I had to cast
1 jug of honey from King Tutankhamun's tomb on display
5 tattoos of honey bees I saw
1 person I saw who had honey bee tattoos
5 songs about honey bees sung by Sam Comfort with the ukulele on the street (Best couplet in songs: When terror strikes the heart of bugs/ from Monsato and Bayer thugs)
4 pictures two Venezuelan girls took with him afterwords
17 times I heard Colony Collapse Disorder mentioned throughout the conference
33 %, at most, of colony losses due to CCD, according to Jeff Pettis
5 times Jeff Pettis used the word “complex” in his talk on recent colony losses
0 talks on the topic of honey adulteration
2 amazing videos of Indian tree-climbing honey hunters, inexplicably shown at triple speed
1 picture shown of helicopters flying hives to patches of Manuka in New Zealand, which is apparently cost effective
1 apitherapy presentation with 'libido' in the title
100 percent of seats filled for presentation
1 sentence in which libido was mentioned
1 guard permanently stationed in front of Bayer's expo booth
45 % percent gain of honey bees worldwide in the past fifty years
300 % percent gain in crops dependent on pollinators worldwide in the past fifty years
1 what the ratio should be for healthy global pollination
43 estimate of the average age of Apimondia attendees
14 people I saw asleep during presentations throughout the conference
1 guard Greg Buyers sweet-talked to get us into an exclusive Apimondia dinner/dance party
2.5 hours of dancing
2.5 hours I spent smiling and laughing
6 Conga lines formed
5 people I saw physically tossed up in the air
4 people who were caught on the way down
2 jackets I saw taken off and swung in the air
4 people, out of about 60, who seemed to know how to do the YMCA dance
99 % of people who had a great time
2 hours of sleep I got on Friday night
8 people at the 9AM apitherapy talk on Saturday morning
29 close up pictures of conjunctivitis and psoriasis rashes in the presentation
1 Russian apitherapist who claimed that bee venom can help temper alcohol abuse
5 estimated # of people who were hungover at this talk
70 minutes the Closing Ceremony was delayed
2 medals Slovakians won in the mead competition
1 Apimondia anthem that was established and sung
~44 thank yous issued by Argentinian Apimondia president Lucas Daniel Martínez
160 or + hugs given and received on stage
2 times 'We are the Champions' by Queen was played during the thank yous and hugging
3 tiffs that almost occurred between Chinese and South Koreans
1 complaint issued by the Chinese delegates over foul play in the Korean presentation
1 unplanned, embarrassing speech given by the Chinese delegate filled with potential benefits to sway voters
12 votes the South Koreans won by to host Apimondia 2015
35 minutes of amazing dance performance by Ukrainians to finish the Closing Ceremony
2013 year when Apimondia is next, in Kiev, Ukraine
5 Colombian beekeepers at my hostel on Sunday night who were still talking about bees at 3 AM
Apimondia - diskuse
, díky, Pavle! Tedy ty (a bylo jich celých 14 !!! (14 people I saw asleep during presentations throughout the conference) ), co si u tohohle dovolili usnout, bych postavil na pranýř s podstavcem symbolizujícím sv. Ambrože a nechal kolovat po světových sítích, aby je všichni viděli ... 
