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Viticultural forum founded
A need that has been felt in the industry for many years was recently addressed by the official foundation of a forum for viticulturists. The forum will be known as the "South African Forum for Viticulturists (SAFV)".
Need for forum formalised
Although viticulturists have always maintained regular, albeit informal, contact, the need for a formal forum for viticulturists has long been a topic of conversation around braaivleis fires. The foundation of such a forum became official when Francois Viljoen (VinPro), Eben Archer (US), Dawid Saayman (Distell), Jan Booysen (Winetech), Dawie le Roux (Vinewise), Dirk Bosman (Distell), Johan Steenkamp (ARC-Nietvoorbij) and Johan Wiese (Voor-Groenberg Kwekery) convened in Stellenbosch on 29 September 2000 to discuss the merits of such a forum. The idea was accepted in principle and a smaller committee, consisting of Francois Viljoen, Eben Archer and Jan Booysen appointed to formalise the vision, goals, code of conduct and membership of the forum.
Official foundation of the forum
The official foundation of the forum took place in the upper lecture hall of the André du Toit Building in Paarl on 27 October 2000. Forty four viticulturists were invited to the founding meeting. The smaller committee proposed the following to those in attendance:
Vision
The vision of the forum was formulated as follows and accepted by all present at the founding meeting:

"To expand viticulturism to a level of excellence in order to secure a competitive advantage for the South African wine producer"

Goals of the forum
Those present at the founding meeting accepted the following goals as being those of the forum:

to hone members’ scientific knowledge of the vine
to calibrate and achieve uniformity with regard to the viticultural extension message in South Africa
to exchange knowledge and experience
to hone existing technology
to gather and distribute cutting edge technology among all members
to identify and find solutions to pressing viticultural problems
to promote market oriented production among viticulturists
to integrate viticulture with related disciplines such as oenology, pedology, marketing, economics, etcetera
to promote the image of viticulturists and the forum in the production process
to ensure continuity through training of young viticulturists for all spheres of the wine industry
to collaborate with all related bodies in the South African wine industry.
Code of conduct of the forum
Members of the forum undertake to:

promote cutting edge technology in viticulture professionally
be loyal to the South African wine industry
promote viticulture as a career
settle viticultural differences of opinion mutually within the forum to promote consensus in outbound messages and
attempt to attend all forum meetings
Membership
Membership of the forum is defined as follows:

"All persons who develop or transfer viticultural technology and are able to identify with the vision, goals and code of conduct of the forum"

It is clear from the membership criteria that the forum is accommodating and that any number of persons who are able to identify with the vision, goals and code of conduct of the forum may apply for membership.
Membership fee
At the founding meeting the 2001 forum membership fee was set at R500 per person. Membership fees cover the cost of the secretariat, correspondence, remuneration to invited speakers as well as the cost involved in rental of the venue and meals during meetings.
Management of the forum
The founding meeting also saw the election of the forum’s first official management committee. The following persons were elected:
Briaan Stipp (VinPro)
Hannes van Rensburg (Nederburg)
Francois de Villiers (Stellenbosch Vineyards)
At the meeting it was decided that VinPro (SA) would manage the official secretariat of the forum. Francois Viljoen and Johan Truter were appointed by VinPro (SA) as the secretariat.
Dates for meetings
Those present at the meeting expressed the need for four annual meetings. The meetings will take place in the morning and be concluded with a luncheon. Members will be informed of the venue of the meetings in good time.
For 2001 the meetings will take place on the following dates:
20 April 2001
8 June 2001
17 August 2001
14 November 2001 (day before SASEV congress)
Pertinent issues currently receiving attention from the elected management
A number of issues were identified at the founding meeting and referred to the elected management for possible suggestions. In the course of the year these suggestions will be proposed at meetings for approval by members. The issues are as follows:

application procedures for membership
approval of membership
accreditation process for members
behaviour when code of conduct is violated
marketing of the forum
logo for the forum
Application for membership
Applicants for membership may fill in the form below and mail it to the address provided:
Please click here to find printable form
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