41st IVU World Vegfest - Malaysia, October 2013 - Overview

Friends from Ghana and Togo in Africa with more from Brazil, Thailand and the UK. Opening dinner - Thursday, October 3, 2013

The Welcome Dinner - 78 photos by the Malaysian VegSoc (MVS)


Some of the delegates at the welcoming dinner, after the meal and the formalities. at the Kechara Oasis Buddhist restaurant in Kuala Lumpur, October 3, 2013.

Delegates came from Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Iran, New Zealand, Nigeria, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Togo, UK, USA - and of course many from Malaysia.

Pre-event preparations - 18 photos by the Malaysian VegSoc (MVS)
Delegate Registrations - 95 photos by MVS
Arrival of Guest of Honour - 21 photos by MVS
VVIP @ Bilik Seroja - 61 photos by MVS
Press Conference - 32 photos by MVS
The Opening Ceremony - 31 photos by MVS
Exhibition - 87 photos by MVS
Day 1 - During Conference - 230 photos by MVS
Slide show of photos from Day 1 - by MVS

Oepning dinner and Day 1 - 25 photos by V Star
Very short video (14 seconds) of the warm-up routine before the talks started, by Bob Ratnarajah from Australia.
The First Day in Malaysia - by Tuddow Inprasit from Thailand (16 photos on Facebook)

right: Part of the opening ceremony of the two-day conference at the Putra World Trade Center in Kuala Lumpur. The event was opened by the Deputy Minister of Health for the Malaysian Government. Friday, October 4, 2013

Very short (14 seconds) video of the dragons (right) by Bob Ratnarajah from Australia

More than 1,000 delegates attended the lectures, including 200 sent from the nutrition section of the Government Department of Health - which has since invited the Malaysian VegSoc to assist in formulating nutrition guidelines.

Below: the Deputy Minister of Health opening the conference sessions. The Minister (a vegetarian)  was to have attended but called away at the last minute. His deputy was very good.



Below: Indian dancers from the opening ceremony, in the corridor between the four lecture rooms. Two were rooms for English, one Mandarin and one Tamil - all with many very high-quality lectures, predominantly on nutrition. Plus an area for cookery demos.


Gala Dinner - at the end of day 1 - 17 photos by the Malaysian Vegsoc (MVS)
Secretariat Room - days 1 & 2 - 16 photos by MVS
Day 2 - During Conference - 13 photos by MVS
Raw Food and Cooking Demo - 12 photos by MVS
The Second Day in Malaysia - by Tuddow Inprasit from Thailand (in the suit above - 22 photos on Facebook)


Above: some of the audience for the music, dancing and ceremonials at Lake Titiwangsa, Sunday, October 6, 2013. More than 10,000 visitors found their way around 100 food stalls. This Food Fair/Fiesta/Vegfest is now set to become an annual event in Kulala Lumpur.

Day 3 - Food Fair/Fiesta at Lake Titiwangsa - 99 photos by the Malaysian VegSoc

Below: the West African food stall, run by visitors from Ghana, Nigeria and Togo, giving a great taste of the 42nd IVU World Vegfest planned for Accra, Ghana in October 2014:


Join us in Ghana next year! see:
worldvegfest.org/.../42nd-ivu-world-vegfest-accra-ghana-october-2014

Go Green Stay Healthy - photos from the Food Fair and around Kuala Lumpur, by Tuddow Inprasit from Thailand (in the cap above - 28 photos on Facebook)
Go Green Stay Healthy 2 - as above, 26 photos

The Asian Veg Union held its AGM during the event, and is now renamed 'Asia-Pacific Vegetarian Union (APVU)', with the President from Indonesia, General Secretary from Australia, committee from China, Thailand, India and Malaysia.

"Following the 41st IVU World Vegfest, many of the guests and delegates were treated to a journey to Penang, Malaysia.  Penang is an island, which has its own culture fused from the many cultures.  We were treat to large variety of dishes, and treats for Penang Veg community.
A big thanks to Dr Vythi, Mr Pishu, Himanshu, and the all the Malaysian hosts who treated us like rock stars!
Day one we stopped at a Cave Temple on the way to Penang. Day two we did the tour of the fort as well as hawker style veg feast at the Hung See Temple.
Day three of the event, we loved the tour of the Tropical Fruit Farm in Penang. The African delegates tasted durian for the very first time.
Following the farm the delegates visited the Chief Minister's office to ask for more Veg options in Penang to help with populations health and environment matters. The CM was quite receptive, and so was the Environment minister. 
Following the meeting, we relaxed with a basic Indian meal to close the night.  We are looking forward to doing it all again next year in Ghana, Africa."

Trip to Penang Days 1 & 2 - 40 photos by V stars, Australia
Tropical Fruit Farm in Penang Day 3 -  31 phtotos by V Stars
Penang - 503(!) photos from Julie in London