Faculty of Economics and Management

Short report from UEAA General Assembly and international scientific symposium

On 6 October 2022, the General Assembly of the Union of European Academies of Agricultural Sciences took place in Bratislava (Slovak Republic) at the premises of the State Veterinary and Food Administration. The General Assembly was held in a hybrid form and was attended by 40 guests representing the Union's Steering Committee, representatives of the European academies and guests from national sectorial institutions.

The meeting was opened by the President of the UEAA prof. Aleksidze Guram (Georgia) and prof. Ing. Jozef. Golian, PhD., vice-president of the Slovak Academy of Agricultural Sciences. This was followed by speeches of representatives of the sectorial institutions, among whom the first speaker was RNDr. Slávka Křížová, Director of the Department of Agri-food Markets and Analyses, who addressed the priorities of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for the current period. The Director of the National Agriculture and Food Centre, Ing. Martin Polovka, PhD., greeted the participants and awarded a commemorative medal to the President of the Union prof. Aleksidze Guram and to the former President and active member of the Steering Committee, who is prof. Michel Thibier, representing in the same time the Academy of Agricultural Sciences of France. A greeting speech was delivered also by vice-rector for science and research of the Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, assoc. prof. Ing. Drahoslav Lančarič, PhD.

The working programme of the general assembly included the election of the President and members of the Steering Committee, according to the UEAA Statutes. In the election, Dr.h.c. prof. Dr. Ing. Elena Horská, the current Vice President of the Union, was elected as a president. Her election, according to the statutes of the UEAA, transferred the presidency of the Union to Slovakia and to the Slovak Academy of Agricultural Sciences, for a period of two years, 2022 - 2024.

The Steering Committee was elected and countries Lithuania, Latvia, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia and Georgia are represented. Observers from the UK, Portugal and a new observer from the Albanian Academy of Sciences were also confirmed by election. Professor Elena Horská as a new UEAA President presented the priorities for the next period. She declared to continue with already started activities and highlighted a new priority topic - sustainability in the agriculture and food industry in relation to current policies, but also to unforeseen situations and geopolitical crises. Among the priorities there was declared also the topic of strengthening communication of agri-food topics at the national and European level as well as strengthening the awareness of young science and its promotion in the European area.

The UEAA General Assembly is held every two years in the presiding country and it is linked to the organisation of international scientific events. In the case of Slovakia, it was linked to the organisation of the international scientific symposium held at the Faculty of Economics and Management of the Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra entitled as “Sustainable, resilient and fair food systems in the EU and globally.”

Photogallery - Bratislava.
Photogallery - Nitra.