IFAJ Congress 2005 in Switzerland Next year the Federation of Swiss Agricultural Journalists is going to be the host of the 49th ifaj congress which will be held from 31th August to 4th. September 2005 in Switzerland. An organizing committee has been working for almost two years and our goal is to offer you a congress which is a mixture of presentations and excurcions with local food and drinks. For those who have never heard of Switzerland: Switzerland is a quite small courtry in the heart of the European Alpes. There are 7,3 million people living in Switzerland. Only four percent of the working population are engaged in agriculutre. The roughly 70'000 farmers are not only producing food for our people but also maintain a wonderful landscape which is the very basis of our tourism. Our conference theme „The new Role of Agriculture“ will give an insight into the lives of Swiss farmers and their families. The globalisation and liberalization have been a tremendous challenge for the Swiss farmers and their organisations. You will hear and see how the new role of agriculture is indroduced and accepted in Switzerland. The concept of our congress is similar to the congress 2003 in the Netherlands. We are offering two Pre-Congress-Tours for those who come a long way and for those who have more time and want to see and learn more about other regions of Switzerland. The Pre-Congress-Tour starts on Sunday evening August 28th. On Monday and Tuesday, there are specific excursions; one in the east of Switzerland and one in the West of Switzerland. There will be an agricultural, cultural and tourist relevant content. For the congress people will arrive on a Wednesday. There will be an info-market and possibilites for talks and interviews. The opening ceremony of the congress with overview briefings on topics relevant to the theme of the congress will start on Thursday morning and go on till the early afternoon. We will have dinner at the top of a mountain, 3000 meter above sea level. Friday will be the day of excursions in four groups to four diffent regions. You will enjoy the scenery of some regions of Switzerland and visit Swiss farms and even alps where they are producing cheese. Saturday we will discuss the ways doing public relations for agriculture with those who are interested. For other there will be a trip to Bern, thecapital of Switzerland. After lunch we will go to visit a community and be informed about regional policy in Switzerland. The farewell dinner will be on a ship on the lake of Thun. One of the biggest traditional events in Switzerland is held in Interlaken during the congress. There will be an opportunity to watch the parade on Sunday morning. The best source of current information will be our homepage www.ifaj2005.ch . There you will find the registration form by the end of this year. Hans Mueller, President organizing committee