WPO’s board meeting is scheduled for Barcelona, Spain

The second Board Meeting of 2013 of WPO (World Packaging Organization) will take place in Barcelona, Spain, and will be hosted by the local member, Graphispack. Besides the various committee meetings and the Board Meeting, the representatives of packaging associations, from 22 countries, will also select WorldStar Awards 2014, to be awarded during Interpack, in Düsseldorf, next May. In total, 249 packaging will participate in the competition this year, in 08 categories, representing 35 countries. Voting session is scheduled for November 7.

One of the main topics to be discussed in the Board Meeting will be packaging education programs that have been successfully carried out during the last year by WPO and several of its members, especially from India and countries in Africa. “Going forward, it is our intention to fine-tune the existing programs and to bring them to other regions of the world. We also intend to spread the concept of e-learning courses as a way of delivering knowledge to distant regions at a lower cost”, explains Thomas Schneider, WPO President.  “In order to accomplish these goals, WPO will need more sponsorship funding support.”

Schneider also highlights the importance of packaging education as a way of “showing the importance and value of effective packaging cross all cultures”. “It is well known that packaging is fundamental to guaranteeing safe food and clean water to people and that it is a key issue in avoiding food wastage, especially in developing countries. Through our programs and our website (www.worldpackaging.org), we expect to shine a bright light on packaging as an invaluable social and economic tool.”

The countries that have already confirmed participation in next Board Meeting are: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Czech Republic, Nigeria, India, China, Finland, Turkey, South Africa, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Croatia, Spain, USA, UK, Lebanon, Russia, Switzerland and The Netherlands.