APIMONDIA

General Assembly & Annual Report 2024

• Annual Report 2024 featuring including financial statements and Commissions’ work
• Plans for regular webinars of the Regional Commissions
• Proposal to create an International Certification for ApiTourism
• Proposal to establish the Apimondia Think Tank to tackle solutions for global beekeeping challenges

The Global Honey Bar

• Showcased of 250 honeys from around 42 countries

• 120,000 tasting sticks used

• An exquisite honey taste experience to explore aromas and flavours
• Types of honey, e.g. buckwheat, wildflower, heather, eucalyptus, cherry blossom, Manuka, avocado, bush and tropical honeys.

Global Honey Talks

• 6 sessions of lectures dedicated to honey quality, sensory and storytelling
• Speakers explored Manuka authentication, stingless bee honeys, honey judging systems, climate-change adaptation in honey production, sustainable African honey paths, honey sensory analysis Bridging Research & Practice (B-RAP)
• One of the Core Projects of CoLOSS – Honey bee Research Association for the prevention of colony losses

• 2 sessions dedicated to share how to turn bee science into tools and training for beekeepers, veterinarians and advisors
• Speakers covered learning programmes, digital tools, gamification for bee health, hotlines and qualification frameworks for advisors, and technology transfer

World Beekeeping Awards (WBA)

Innovation & Innovation category topped all the others, showcasing 93 creative solutions and prototypes:

• 299 exhibits from 36 countries
• 20 categories, including Mead, Beeswax, Photography, Printed material and innovations
• Gold Medal: Hivekeepers (Australia) for a fast honey extraction system 
• Silver Medal: Bio Inovatsi (Bulgaria) for a manual, electricity-free uncapping machine
• Bronze Medal: Roman Dvykaliuk (Ukraine) fora propolis collection machine, Łysoń Beekeeping Company (Poland) for a portable apitherapy device, and Slobodan Dolasevic (Serbia) for a laboratory cage for bee experiments

Storytelling and practical knowledge were celebrated in the Book category

Children’s books 

• Gold: Little Master Beekeeper (Poland)
• Silver: Abeja del Uruguay
• Bronze: Bee Hive (Australia)

General books

• Gold: The World Atlas of Honey by Carla Marina Marchese
• Silver: Bee Club
• Bronze: UAE beekeeping manual.

Manuals

• Gold: Beekeeping and Veterinary Medical Practice
• Silver: The Honey Bee Solution to Varroa
• Bronze: Simple Guide to Old Polish Mead

Scientific books

• Gold: Where Do the Bees Go?
• Silver: Stingless Bee Nest Cerumen and Propolis
• Bronze: Sustainable Honey Bee Breeding

Magazines 

• Gold The Beekeeper Quarterly (UK)
• Silver Bee Craft (UK)
• Bronze Deutsche Bienen-Journal (Germany)

Student Poster Awards

• 609 Posters presented with Bee Health and Beekeeping Technology and Quality having the largest selection
• First time, each of the 7 Apimondia Scientific Commissions awarded one student poster (72 posters applied)

POSTER AWARDEES

• Apitherapy: Šarūnė Sorkytė (Lithuania) | Preserving boar semen quality parameters with propolis extracts during long-term storage
• Bee Biology: Gabriel Reginatto Silva (Brasil) | Food storage behaviour in stingless bee Melipona quadrifasciata
• Bee Health: Pablo Juri (Uruguay) | Evaluation of screen and sticky bottom boards for the control of Varroa destructor in Africanized and European honeybees
• Beekeeping Economy: Josely Borges Ortiz (Mexico) | A new device to detect the adulterated honey: Business plan
• Pollination & Bee Flora: Chiara Benedetta Boni (Italy) | Unmanaged wild bees and managed honey bees do not share pollen resources: investigation on interspecific trophic competition in three National Parks
• Rural Development: Sandra Barbosa (Portugal) | Enhancing propolis production: A strategic approach to boost beekeeping profitability through effective mediation

Technology and Quality: (in spotlight) Lucía Almeida Kutscher (Uruguay) | Antimicrobial activity of honeydew honey that caused larvae mortality (River Disease) in Uruguay