Dear ICUMSA Colleague,

It is now only three months until the 31st Session of ICUMSA to be held in South Africa. For those ICUMSA Referees and Associate Referees who are undecided whether to attend, I would like to encourage you to take the opportunity to participate. It is only through your active participation that ICUMSA can be relevant and continue to provide the necessary analytical methodologies to the international sugar industry. The meeting will also give you the opportunity to not only catch up with acquaintances and friends but make new ones.

For those of you who intend to attend and have not yet booked, just a gentle reminder that guaranteed accommodation at the hotel and venue expires in the middle of June. After this date we cannot ensure that you can be accommodated at the venue. If necessary, alternate accommodation may be available in Hazyview, but this would require a 40-minute drive to the venue every day.

Click here to book your accommodation.

As a reminder, the venue for the meeting is the Protea Hotel Kruger Gate, situated on the Sabi River and adjacent to the Kruger National Park. It was chosen to provide not only the necessary conferencing facilities but also the opportunity to absorb some of the South African ambience and atmosphere of being in the bush, away from the hustle and bustle of the city. The highlight will be the conference dinner, planned to be held in the boma, under the stars.

Access to the venue is not difficult with regular flights from Johannesburg airport to Kruger International, throughout the day followed by an easy 1 ¾ drive through the towns of White River and Hazyview. The conference organisers (Turners Conferences) have arranged transportation from the airport for those who do not want to hire a car. Alternatively, for the more adventurous, a car can be hired in Johannesburg and then drive to the venue. This will take approximately 5 hours on well-maintained freeways and major roads. Please contact Deveena Naiker - Deveenan@turnersconferences.co.za for assistance with airport transfers, tours and car hire.

I would like to remind those ICUMSA members who may be interested in attending the 2018 Conference of the South African Sugar Technologists Association (SASTA), it will be held in Durban at the International Conference Centre from the 14th to 16th August 2018. More information will be found at www.sasta.co.za.

Looking forward to welcoming you all in August.

Till then,

Stephen Walford
SA National Chairperson