Apiculturists and scientists from around the world gathered in Vancouver, a city nestled between sea and mountains.

Canada Place, site of the International Apicultural Congress, on Burrard Inlet.

Some eight hours after the airplane left Tokyo's Narita Airport, we arrived in Seattle, USA. I transferred to another plane and an hour later landed in Vancouver, Canada's third largest city. Vancouver stands on a peninsula that juts into the Strait of Georgia. Facing the sea and with mountains on three sides, it seems to peacefully coexist with nature. The nearby ocean currents mean that the city itself does not receive snow, but snow can be seen covering mountaintops just 30 minutes by bus from the downtown area. In winter, after school or work, people head for the nearby slopes. I was envious at the amount of time the city seemed to offer. In mid September when I visited, the skies were clear and sunny, but it felt cool even on days that were over 20°C, perhaps thanks to the dry air.

I was in Vancouver to attend the 36th Apimondia International Apicultural Congress. This major conference held every two years attracts apiarists, scientists, and companies selling honey products from around the world. Over a period of six days, seminars, symposia, and workshops are held, and many papers and research results are presented.

A wide range of topics was addressed at the congress,
including the future of the beekeeping industry and the potential for apitherapy in health maintenance.

Mr. Yamada meets up with Christina Mateescu (on right), a researcher from Romania with whom Mr. Yamada has conducted joint research..

Upon entering the convention center, visitors immediately sensed that the world is truly a mosaic of cultures. More than 4,000 people from 60 countries conversed in a multitude of languages, meeting up with old friends and making new ones. I was able to catch up with Christina Mateescu, head researcher at the National Medical Center of Apitherapy, Bucharest, Romania, where I had visited last summer and a year before that.

The 1999 congress offered a wide variety of programs and more than 200 presenters. It would have been impossible to attend everything, so I selected the lectures of greatest interest to me and arranged my schedule in that way.

On Monday, September 13, I attended a plenary session sponsored by the American Association of Professional Apiculturists titled "Thinking outside the box: Strategies for surviving in the 21st century honeybee business." This session examined sales strategies for the 21st century; the promise of honey for consumers, foods, and health; effective advertising; and other topics related to the sale of honeybee products. On Tuesday, I attended a plenary session titled "The Scientific Basis of Apitherapy", with the keynote presentation by Roch Domerego, vice chairman of the Apimondia Apitherapy Council, titled " The Scientific Basis of an Api-pharmacopeia." I also attended a forum at which the latest research findings in apitherapy were presented. Topics included establishing honey as a recognized medicine, progress in bee venom therapy for HIV/AIDS, and apitox (bee venom) therapy for chronic pain. The number of reports of new findings at the leading edge of apitherapy was surprising, and learning that apitherapy is being used to treat AIDS left me with the strong impression that apitherapy has an amazing future.