A notable event: From 6 to 8 March 2020, decision-makers and thought leaders from the international halal industry will meet at HALAL HANNOVER to discuss the latest trends and challenges facing the sector. In particular, they will explore issues of certification and quality assurance for halal-compliant products, as well as the retail/wholesale trade, logistics, travel and Islamic banking.
Hannover, Germany. A notable event: From 6 to 8 March 2020, decision-makers and thought leaders from the international halal industry will meet at HALAL HANNOVER to discuss the latest trends and challenges facing the sector. In particular, they will explore issues of certification and quality assurance for halal-compliant products, as well as the retail/wholesale trade, logistics, travel and Islamic banking. Staged in Hall 19, the three-day conference will be opened on Friday, 6 March 2020 at 1:30 p.m. by Belit Onay, Lord Mayor of Hannover, capital of the German state of Lower Saxony, as well as by Dr. Andreas Gruchow, Member of the Managing Board of Hannover-based Deutsche Messe, and Aiman Mazyek, Chairman of the Central Council of Muslims in Germany, based in Cologne.
Program highlights on Friday, 6 March 2020
The program of presentations on the first day of the fair will be kicked off by Professor Ir. Sukoso, Director General of the Halal Product Assurance Agency BPJPH, Indonesia. His keynote talk will cover the new halal legal regulations in Indonesia, which impose stricter rules on producers and suppliers of food, cosmetics and medicine.
Afterwards Ihsan Övüt, Secretary General of the Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries SMIIC (OIC), Turkey, will speak on halal standards and the establishment of a global halal quality infrastructure.
In addition, Abdulrazak Kattan, CEO of Nosor Baladna, Turkey, will report on aspects of production, export and marketing, as experienced by his halal food production firm. Active across Europe, the company supplies halal food produced in conformance with Muslim purity laws to wholesalers and retailers.
The first session of the conference concludes with a presentation on Islamic banking: Emre Akyel, CEO of INAIA from Reutlingen, a provider of Islamic financial services in Germany, will inform his audience about the various options available for Islamic-compliant financial and savings products.
A highlight of the three-day conference consists of the Global Islamic Economy Summit (GIES). The international round table on the Islamic economy is being held for the first time in German-speaking Europe. Well-known figures, thought leaders and decision-makers from the international halal industry will meet in the afternoon of the first day of the fair in Hall 19 to discuss the benefits, opportunities and challenges of Islamic business on international markets.
Program highlights on Saturday, 7 March 2020
The second day of the conference will be headed by Ferhat Aslanoglu from the KT Bank, Frankfurt/Main, who will speak on the market potential and outlook for Islamic banking. KT Bank offers financial products and services according to the principles of Islamic banking in Germany.
The following presentations will focus on halal certification and quality assurance. Norbert Kahmann, strategic halal representative of the fragrance and flavoring manufacturer Symrise, based in Holzminden, will deliver a talk on “The Search for the Right Certifier”. This will be followed by a presentation by Günther Ahmed Rusznak, (CEO) of the Austria-based Islamic Information, Documentation and Certification center (IIDC), focusing on the significance of, and differences between, halal certification standards. Cem Kosnak, SGS Germany, will speak on the topic of manufacturer-independent halal certification, markets, brands and consumers in a presentation titled “Neutrality Creates Trust”.
Halal food must not only be produced correctly, but its transport and storage are also subject to Islamic law. Therese Puetz from Caravan Consulting will be examining this topic in detail, while Professor Dr. Yvonne Ziegler from the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences will explore the topic from the angle of halal air freight logistics.
And what does halal mean for retailers? Maik Wettengel, head of the Edeka Sonnenallee store in Berlin, will shed light on this in his talk. Halal-compliant sweets are the focus of a presentation by Nadia Doukali, founder and creative mind at Honeyletter Productions, Frankfurt/Main. What is the behavior of Muslim consumers in Europe and what are the main trends? Those are the questions to be answered by Javier Albarracin, from Barcelona Halal Services, at the end of the second day of the conference.
Program highlights on Sunday, 8 March 2020
Peter Z. Ziegler, Journalist and Senior Consultant from Switzerland, will speak on the third day of the conference on the impact of Muslim travelers on tourism, as the tourist industry continues to adapt to the growing trend towards halal travel – including in Germany.
What does halal actually stand for and what does it mean today? This will be explained by Dr. Talat Kamran, Managing Director of the Islamic Council of Mannheim Institute.
And once again, the focus will be on the topic of certification. Dr. Aldin Dugonjic, CEO at the Center for Halal Quality Certification in Croatia, will speak on the contribution halal is making to tourism in Croatia. Dr. Barbara Hayat Ruiz-Bejarano, Director of International Relations, Halal Institute of Spain in Cordoba, will deal with halal and Muslim-friendly certification processes.
The conference will offer visitors an opportunity to learn about the latest developments in the industry and share ideas with experts from eight different nations. The presentations will be offered in German or English. Further information on the conference program can be found at https://halal-messe.de/de/ausstellung/kongress/ .
