IPPC Secretariat bids farewell to an extraordinary 2020.

Rome, 22 December 2020, The IPPC Secretariat staff meeting successfully took place to close this exceptional year on a high note and ushers in 2021 with renewed hopes. Due to the restrictions imposed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic the event had to be held online. Mr Avetik NERSISYAN, IPPC Officer-in-Charge for daily matters, opened the meeting by greeting the staff and praising them for the work delivered during what he terms, in many ways, happened to be a unique year globally. Mr NERSISYAN also clarified objective of the meeting as being an opportunity for all to share their 2020 positive experiences and to accumulate energies for the year to come.

On this note Mr Jingyuan XIA, Overall IPPC Secretary Officer-in-Charge and newly appointed NSP Director, joined Mr NERISYAN’s in praising the IPPC community’s work and proceeded by listing the IPPC highlights for 2020, such as the successful implementation of the International Year of Plant Health (IYPH) and its potential legacies, the ePhyto initiative and the recent webinars on Fall Armyworm, with hundreds of participants. Mr XIA underlined successes in both communication and partnerships and concluded by sharing a presentation on his 2020 experience using the Chinese calendar, wishing everyone an enjoyable new year, leaving the floor to the IPPC Secretariat leads for their remarks.

All attending participants shared some insights regarding the way each has lived through 2020, noting how challenging, tiring, strange, worrisome and interesting this year was. Each speech shared how 2020 was marked by personal growth, struggles and successes. Mr Avetik NERSISYAN invited everyone to raise glasses for a collective virtual toast for succeeding in such an exceptional year and wished for enjoyable holidays and “to start the new year with the positive memories to enable a strong development”.