News
MENAW 2007 Conference Official Report
December 29, 2007, 10:57PM MT
By Sharon St. Joan
First MENAW Conference: “Good things have happened here.”
First MENAW Conference: “Good things have happened here.”
About 100 participants representing 20 countries (including 13 from the Middle East/North Africa region and neighbors) gathered in Cairo for the first conference of the Middle East Network for Animal Welfare December 13-15, 2007.
The Opening Ceremony was attended by representative of His Excellency Sheikh El Azhar, the Great Imam Doctor Mohamed Sayed Tantawy, and representative of His Excellency Mr. Amin Abaza, Minister of Agriculture, Prof. Dr. Hamed Samaha, Chairperson of The General Organization for Veterinary Services. Dr. Naser Farid Wasel, the former Mofty of Egypt, opened the first session; Dr. Ali Abdul Razek the secretary general of the high council for Islamic affairs, opened the second session. Professors from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, representatives of government agencies, Water and Environment Police, Mubarak Police Academy and non-governmental organizations for animal welfare from Austria, Belgium, England, France, the United States, Australia and Egypt as well as many animal welfare societies from the Middle East and North Africa, attended.
There were “lively” discussions and debates, as one would expect (and hope for) at such a conference. It was wonderful to see so many young people so actively involved. The array of presentations included those by NGOs, as well as by religious and government officials. Yes, there were some rough edges and glitches, but all agreed that for a pioneering conference, things went well. The understanding and flexibility of the participants was greatly appreciated. The feedback has been that “good things happened at the conference” and that this conference represents a new era in animal welfare in the Middle East / North Africa.
All conference objectives were met:
• Networking, networking, networking!! (regional to regional and regional to the international groups). It was great to see the lobby and coffee shop filled with participants chatting away.
• Exchange of ideas and lessons learned – regionally and beyond
• New approaches were discussed and latest trends and developments presented
• Increased awareness of available resources
Many lessons were learned concerning implementing the conference itself. Often there were too many concurrent workshop sessions, making it difficult to choose. But there were so many different topics of interest, we felt it best to offer this diverse range in this first conference to attract as much conference participation and networking as possible. We had to modify the schedule as the conference evolved. Again, we thank the participants for the understanding and flexibility.
Presentations and workshops covered a wide range of topics, including animals and Islam, disaster response, sheltering, companion animals and working animals, humane slaughter and transport, wildlife enforcement, animals in war, the role of animal welfare in veterinary schools, media, education fundraising, and legislation.
The MENAW 2007 conference adopted, by majority vote, a number of recommendations concerning issues raised at the conference.
The Way Forward
Several countries indicated an interest in hosting a follow-up conference in 18-24 months, and a steering committee, whose responsibilities would include analyzing venue options (including local capabilities, air travel links, visa issues, etc).
There was universal agreement that forming a Middle East / North Africa Federation of animal welfare societies is urgently needed. This Federation would allow us to speak with a louder voice concerning animal issues, as well as in situations were a local society needs regional backing and strength to confront an issue. At the same time, despite wanting to create such a Federation as quickly as possible, there were also cautions to not rush into it, but to first evaluate legal, organizational and structural issues. Then move forward with the formal creation of a Federation no later than the next conference, and possibly sooner via internet.
The http://www.menaw.net website will play a crucial role as we build on the foundation of this conference. The website will also report on developments for the follow-up conference, as well as analysis of issues regarding Federation options. We hope to include an on-line forum for discussion and debate.
Thank you to our participants and sponsors for making this pioneering conference a success!
Photo: Sharon St. Joan / During a tea break at the conference - Dr. Chinny Krishna of Blue Cross of India and Dr. S. Abdul Rahman Secretary, Commonwealth Veterinary Association
How you can help
The MENAW website is http://www.menaw.net.
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