European Commission Programme event organised by EPSO
3rd Fascination of Plants Day
Interactive Exhibition
EC-EPSO-Plant ETP Official EXPO 2015 Event
6-7 October 2015, BNL, Piazza San Fedele 1/3, Milano
Concept
16.9.2015 /

European Plant Science Organisation
/

Date & duration: Tuesday, 6.10.2015Exhibition(14h-19h), Opening ceremony

Wed, 7.10.2015Exhibition (9h-17h)

Leading DG / Organisation: EPSO & Plants for the Future ETP

Event title:3rd Fascination of Plants Day

Brief description:Interactive exhibition encompassing various uses of plants for food and nutritional security, reducing the environmental footprint of agriculture etc. Presenting and discussing societal challenges and the various plant breeding technologies which can help to address them, including conventional breeding, new breeding technologies and GM. The exhibitors will be from academia, industry and farmers in the Plants for the Future European Technology Platform. The exhibition is attracting the general public, especially young people (e.g. school children and students), policy makers and the media.

Location:BNL, Piazza San Fedele 1/3, 20121 Milan, city centre

Number of participants:Many

Speakers / VIPs:Exhibitors from Europe (incl. academia from EPSO,

industry and farmers from the Plants for the Future ETP)

Contact persons:

List of stands

Exhibitor / What is exhibited in the stand / Interactive experiment to attract MEPs/assistant and win a prize / People at the stand / Stand
1.
Leibniz Institute Vegetable and Ornamental Crops Großbeeren, DE / Fascinating plants in your house and on your table / Small cacti as give-aways - they plan to have a challenge on how to distinguish two cactus cultivars - this will also be used to discuss cultivar protection issues in horticulture
Various tomatoes to taste
Various root systems in transparent pots / Eckhard George, Marina Korn / 1 table
2.
Wheat Initiative, FR / Origin of wheatand the genetic variability of bread wheat / Samples of different wheats (progenitors, varieties) as well as wheat products (flour, bread, etc.) on the table. Bring 3 kinds of wheat / flour and related bread / Anna Dall'Oca
+ 1 tbc / 1 table
3.
Jülich Research Centre, DE / 1) Using the hidden half (the root) to improve water and nutrient use efficiency (presentation)
2) Seed diversity and domestication of beans (display of bean seeds samples and pods) / A game (slide presentation) for 'ordering' seeds/fruits according to use, type of products, etc. / Fabio Fiorani, Simone Gatzke / 1 table
4.
CNR + Univ Milano, IT /
  • Maize biodiversity for human and animal health
  • From waste to bioproducts: integrating plants into a sustainable production system
/
  • Display of maize seed of different colours containing pigments with health benefits
  • See duckweed at work in a small waste management plant. Distribute plastic containers with duckweed and instructions to grow it at home.
/ Silvana Castelli,
Katia Petroni / 1 table
5.
Nestlé, FR / Plant science applied to coffee.
Discussing concept of creating shared value with coffee farmers. Video of farmer feedback on coffee varieties.
Table with coffee plants, coffee beans / Different coffees to taste and rate with different attributes.
Plants of coffee robusta and Arabica to recognize / Isabelle Privat, Pierre Broun / 1 table
6.
Bayer CropScience, NL / Not final version:
Innovative cotton fibers addressing the societal needs. / Cotton with enhanced fiber characteristics like flame retardancy, dye retention and wrinkle resistance both improve textile processing and enhance consumer benefits. / An Michiels + 1 tbc / 1 table
7.
Rothamsted Research, UK / Making fish oils in plants / Short video on making GM camelina; oil samples; iPad interactive game. / Johnathan Napier, Matina Tsalavouta / 1 table
8.
EPSO, BE / Fascination of Plants Day 18 May'15 Worldwide / Show FoPd website so people can see what was done in their country, and videos from YouTube competition.
Game of "The plants in our life". / José Pio Beltran, Karin Metzlaff / 1 table

This exhibition will build on the success of a similar exhibition in the European Parliament on 9 May 2012.

Support provided by two Italian EPSO members: CNR, University of Milano

  • Translate the printed material into Italian (Poster, flyer, stand description as appropriate)
  • Scientists and Helping students at each stand to interact with the Italian visitors
  • Helping students to distribute flyers on the cathedral square and around the exhibition venue to attract the audience

Support provided by the EC and the EXPO Steering Committee

  • Help with attracting participants, social media
  • 1 member of the EXPO Steering Committee will join event and report back to SC on recommendations

Contacts

Karin MetzlaffSilvia TravellaAldo Ceriotti Chiara Tonelli

EPSO, BEPlant ETP, BECNR, MilanoUniversity of Milano

T +32-2213-6260T: +32-2-7432865T: +39-223699444T: +39-250315007

Useful links

  • Fascination of Plants Day website:
  • Success stories FoPD 2013 –
  • Winning videos from Australia FoPD 2012
  • Launch of the 1st FoPD in the European Parliament, 9.5.2012:

EPSO Science Based Policy, 1.9.2013

EPSO member institutes and universities:

EPSO representatives:

Plant ETP members:

About EPSO

EPSO, the European Plant Science Organisation, is an independent academic organisation that represents more than 220 leading research institutes and universities from 28 European countries, Australia, Japan and New Zealand. EPSO’s mission is to improve the impact and visibility of plant science in Europe.

About Plant ETP

Plant ETP, the European Technology Platform ‘Plants for the Future’, is a stakeholder forum for the plant sector and comprises the EU level representation of the public plant research institutes and universities (EPSO, European Plant Science Organisation with over 220 research institutes and universities), the private plant breeding research activities of the entire European plant breeding and seed sector (ESA European Seed Association, representing some 7000 companies active in research, production and marketing of seed) as well as the European organisation for farmers and their cooperatives (Copa-Cogeca) and further individual companies of the agri-food chain. Plant ETP’s mission is to promote and advocate strategic research and internationally competitive research in Europe as a joint basis for European plant sciences between industry, academia and farmers.

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