Maastricht
Logistics
Note on Logistics for Participants at the Maastricht Conference1. INTRODUCTION
On 12 September 1999, more than 350 agricultural and environmental experts and policymakers from around the world will gather in Maastricht, the Netherlands, for a Conference on the Multifunctional Character of Agriculture and Land. The objective of the Conference is to identify new practices and the necessary enabling environments that will lead to increased sustainability.This "note on logistics" provides practical information to Conference participants.
2. VENUE AND DATES
At the kind invitation of the Government of the Netherlands, the Conference will be held at the Maastricht Exhibition & Congress Centre (MECC) in Maastricht, the Netherlands, from 12 to 17 September 1999. The opening session will start at 14.00 hours on Sunday, 12 September. The Conference is scheduled to close by noon on Friday, 17 September.Maastricht is known, among other things, as an historical and cultural centre. Maastricht is also the city perhaps most associated with the ongoing unification of Europe and the growing consolidation of the European Union. It was here in 1991 that the "Treaty of Maastricht" was agreed, laying the foundation for political, economic and monetary integration of Europe.
3. PARTICIPANTS AND REGISTRATION
Participants will be able to register at the MECC from 9.00 to 13.30 hours on Sunday, 12 September and also on the morning of Monday, 13 September. and will be continued on Monday morning, 13 September.Owing to the limited space available and the depth of international interest, participation is by invitation only. Participants will be designated experts from invited governments and experts from invited intergovernmental and international non-governmental organizations. They will mostly be senior experts in agricultural development, food security and/or natural resource and land management.
4. FORMALITIES FOR ENTRY INTO THE NETHERLANDS
Passports must be valid. Participants are requested to contact the nearest Embassy/Consulate of The Kingdom of the Netherlands to obtain information on visa requirements. Participants are strongly advised to request visas well in advance.5. ARRIVAL DETAILS
Maastricht is on the A2/E9 highway and connected with the European highway network. There are train connections to destinations including Amsterdam, Brussels and Aachen. Other European cities can also be reached rapidly by train.Please note that participants arriving by plane on Saturday and Sunday will be met by members of the Organizing Committee at Amsterdam (Schiphol Airport) and Brussels (Zaventem Airport).
6. CLIMATE
The climate in the Netherlands is temperate. The differences in temperature are slight. Lighter clothing is recommended for the summer, and warmer clothing for the winter. As rain is not uncommon during any time of the year, a raincoat and/or umbrella may come in handy.7. CURRENCY
The unit of currency in the Netherlands is the guilder, mostly noted as "ƒ " for florin or as "Dfl." for Dutch florin. A guilder is divided into 100 cents. Coins range in denomination from Dfl. 0.05 through Dfl. 5,- and banknotes from Dfl. 10.- through Dfl. 1000.-. One Euro has been set as Dfl. 2.20371 (1 US$ is approx. 2.12 Dfl). Foreign currency and travellers cheques can be exchanged for Dutch currency throughout the country and major credit cards are accepted in most hotels and stores.8. ACCOMMODATION
Hotel rooms can be reserved through your registration form (via MECC Hotel Service). Prices (excluding breakfast) are between ƒ 192.50 and ƒ 300.00 (single rooms) and between ƒ 220.00 and ƒ 370.00 (double rooms). For more information concerning hotel reservation contact:MECC Hotel Service, ph: +31-43-3838383, fax: +31-43-3838309, e-mail: mhs@mecc.nl
9. DOCUMENTATION
Discussion and debate at the FAO/NL Conference on the Multifunctional Character of Agriculture and Land (MFCAL) will be broadly based on two Technical Documents which will provide a broad, integrated and thematically coherent examination of the complex issues surrounding the MFCAL Their provisional titles are:
- Taking Stock of the Multifunctional Character of Agriculture and Land
- Issues Paper: the Multifunctional Character of Agriculture and Land
These two Technical Documents have been distributed to all Conference participants in early August 1999, in English, French, Spanish and Arabic. On-line versions of the two documents are now available in the "Documents" section of the official Conference website (http://www.fao.org/mfcal).
In addition, six Background Papers have been prepared for the Conference. They demonstrate different ways in which the MFCAL approach can be applied to specific technical issues and questions: Dryland Conservation, Agricultural Biodiversity, Water, Environment and Trade, Bioenergy, Research and Technology. These six Background Papers will be sent to Conference participants in early August. The six Background Papers and their summaries will be made available on the official Confernece website during August.
Delegations are kindly requested to bring their copies of the Technical Documents and the Background Papers to the Conference, as only a limited number of additional copies will be available on-site.
10. POSTERS AND PUBLICATIONS
There is limited space available for displaying posters and publications. Consequently, material received will be accepted on a first-come-first-served basis. Therefore, delegates wishing to bring posters, publications, reports, etc. are requested to contact the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries of the Netherlands at their earliest convenience to specify the contents and nature of the material (fax: +31-70-3786131, e-mail: PBKABSBS@kab.agro.nl,).Material should relate to the multifunctional character of agriculture and land. The maximum dimension of poster formats is 1.0 x 1.5 m.
11. EXCURSION
A one-day field excursion to projects and initiatives in Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands is being organized for 15 September. The excursion will require a moderate amount of easy walking. Please bring suitable clothing, including comfortable walking shoes. The excursion is free of charge for participants to the Conference.12. INTERPRETATION
The plenary sessions will be conducted in English, French, Spanish, and Arabic. Simultaneous interpretation in these languages will be provided. During the parallel meetings the facilities for simultaneous interpretation will be limited. Chinese consecutive interpretation will also be provided.13. INFORMATION AND QUESTIONS
For further information, please visit our website at http://www.fao.org/mfcalThis site gives you background information, provides access to the MFCAL database and contains on-line versions of the two main technical documents..
If questions remain unanswered by this note and the website, please do not hesitate to contact the organizers:
- Questions regarding logistics (e.g. travel, registration) should be directed to EXPO&HOC, ph: +31-70-3766792, fax: +31-70-4272700, e-mail: maastrichtconference@expo-hoc.nl
- Questions concerning hotel reservations should be directed to the MECC Hotel Service
(see section 8)- Questions concerning the technical content of the Conference should be directed to the Executive Bureau at FAO, ph: +39-06-57052808, fax: +39-06-57053369,
e-mail: agr99-Conference@fao.org