 2005
CONFERENCE IN SINGAPORE
By Animal Concerns Research
and Education Society (Acres)
This year, Acres was privileged to host the third
biennial Asia for Animals Conference. The conference was held from
the 22nd to the 24th of June 2005 at Novotel Clarke Quay. This marked
the first time an animal welfare conference has been held in Singapore.
The conference provided an opportunity for all those involved in the
animal protection movement in Asia to come together and consolidate
experiences in the region with an eye to developing new strategies
and facilitating change.
We were delighted by the interest generated by
the conference and over 200 delegates  signed
up from nineteen countries all over Asia and also from countries
farther away including Australia, the USA and the UK. It was
encouraging that representatives from nearly every Asian country
took part and that a number of Singaporean members of the public
chose to attend the conference to learn more about the Asian animal
welfare movement.
We were especially pleased by the enthusiastic
responses from the Asian governments who were all invited to attend,
and in the end delegates representing the governments of Sri Lanka,
India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Mongolia, Thailand, Lao People¹s
Democratic Republic, Cambodia, Singapore, Indonesia, China and The
Philippines attended, most of whom made presentations.
The conference started with an opening speech by
Louis, followed by a thought- provoking opening address by Dr. Geh
Min, Nominated Member of Parliament and president of the Nature
Society, Singapore. Next, Jill Robinson MBE, CEO of Animals Asia
Foundation gave an inspiring Keynote speech about the general state
of the animal welfare movement in Asia and the progress that had
been made.
 The
first presentation session was concerned with ³Disaster Relief
and Recovery² and focused primarily on rescue efforts involving
animals affected by the recent tsunami, with many moving accounts
of people¹s efforts to help the animals at such a difficult
time. After the presentations the Elisabeth Lewyt award was handed
out to a number of individuals and organizations in recognition
of their efforts during the tsunami. The Humane Society also handed
out awards to many individuals who gave their time and energy to
help animals left in need following the tragedy.
The evening¹s cocktail reception provided a chance for delegates
to informally meet each other and a welcome opportunity for old
friends to catch up on each other¹s news.
Over the next two days presentations on Farm Animal
Welfare, ZooCheck Work in Asia, Stray Animals Management, Rescue
Centre Operations, Tackling the Wildlife Trade, Media and Communication
Strategies for NGOS and The Role of Government Agencies in Animal
Protection took place, all providing valuable insight into these
various topics.
All together there were over 60 presentations.
Many were inspirational, many contained disturbing information but
all contained something to learn and opened up whole new areas of
debate and discussion. Many horrific situations and instances of
animal abuse from all over Asia were revealed but we could all take
comfort in the fact that every one of us
sitting in the room was there for the same reason- to work towards
our common goal of ending the exploitation and suffering of all
animals at the hands of humans. We could all take heart from the
inspiring stories of success that some of the presentations focused
on. I think we all walked away from each of the sessions with a
renewed sense of purpose and resolve to all work together to help
each other help the animals.
The interactive workshops on offer enabled a more
hands-on learning experience for delegates on the subjects of Fundraising,
Media and Communication Strategies for NGOs, Lab Animal Campaign
Strategies, Trap, Neuter Release Programmes and Running Educational
Programmes. All provided a great opportunity to talk to and learn
from experts in these fields and the lessons learned can help us
all work more productively to further the efforts of our organizations.
The ³Films that have Made a Difference² evening film screening
by Wildlife Asia on the second evening showcased a series of inspiring
films that have helped promote the animal protection movement to
the public and achieved real results.
The gala dinner on the last evening provided a
final chance for all delegates to get together and talk, with a
few games thrown in to help everyone to relax after a busy few days.
Overall, the conference was a great success with
positive feedback from the delegates.
The conference received local media coverage from
both Today and The Straits Times and radio station 938 Live held
interviews and discussions related to the conference.
The only downside was that three days was just
not long enough to cover the many important issues to be discussed,
so it has been decided the Asia for Animals conference will now
be held every year and a half.
 The
conference was sponsored by Animals Asia Foundation, Animal People,
Best Friends Animal Society, Extra Trading/Brightlife Australia,
Humane Society International, In Defense of Animals, North Shore
Animal League International, SPCA Hong Kong and SPCA Singapore.
This support enabled the full and partial sponsorships of over 70
delegates¹ attendance, many of whom would not have been able
to attend without this help. The conference was also supported by
the Singapore Exhibition and Convention Bureau.
Special thanks go to local designers Kwan and Boon
who kindly gave their time to design the conference logo and advertisements
which received much praise. Much appreciation also goes to Asian
Geographic, RV Mediaworld and WE Magazine for kindly sponsoring
the conference advertisements in their magazines. Special thanks
also go to Kim Bartlett of AnimalPeople and Anneleise Smillie of
Animals Asia Foundation for their invaluable help in organising
the conference.
We look forward to the next Asia for Animals Conference
to be held in Chennai, India and again meeting up with friends and
colleagues to share our experiences in working together towards
making a difference for the animals.
Louis
Ng (MSc)
President and Executive Director
Animal Concerns Research and Education
Society (Acres)
www.acres.org.sg
11A Opal Crescent, Level 3
Singapore 328406
(O): +65 6296 7758
(F): +65 6294 0644
(HP): +65 9796 8592
For more information about the AFA 2007 Conference, email AfA2007@gmail.com.
AfA2007@gmail.com |
