Politecnico University of Milan, is since several decades the centre of refrigeration worldwide recognized for the biennial conferences organised by UNEP-IIR-AREA-CSG. On 10th-11th June the signature between the representatives of the 2 continents for developing the refrigeration sector, partnership, technology and capacity buildings.
One-third of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted globally, which amounts to about 1.3 billion tonnes per year. Food is lost or wasted throughout the supply chain from initial agricultural production all the way to final household consumption (FAO). In many areas of sub-Saharan Africa, the Cold Chain is now completely inadequate, if not even non-existent, with the exception of some industries that export their products.
In 2020 AREA has welcomed and helped the establishment of the new Pan-African Association U-3ARC with the President Madi Sakande who joined AREA General Assembly together with 2 Members of the Board. AREA had the hospitality returned having participated to the ceremony of the first GA of U-3ARC held in Burkina Faso where with a speech AREA opened its arms to cooperation with the 39 African Associations. Taking inspiration from the European model of AREA (the European Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Association, chaired by Mr Marco Buoni) and also thanks to its support, Mr Madi Sakandé, the first President of U-3ARC and expert trainer for Centro Studi Galileo, reached the incredible goal of bringing together 39 national associations, all coming from different African countries; this ambitious project will guarantee fruitful future perspectives to the growth of the RAC sector in the continent, with positive consequences on health and living standards for its citizens.
The memorandum of understanding is agreed by U-3ARC and AREA, both Parties sharing common goals and objectives and wish to collaborate with transparency and efficiency in areas of mutual concern, in the development of initiatives and activities of joint interest within their respective mandates and governing regulations.
AREA & U-3ARC through the MoU have both decided:
➢ To work jointly in areas of mutual interest in the field of RACHP
➢ To exchange information on best practices followed by Contractors in their respective locations, & the prevalent Performance Standards with the prescribed Code of Ethics.
➢ To jointly work, where possible, on Education & Training and Certification of manpower engaged in RACHP Industry.
➢ To exchange information on action plans to phasedown HFCs and on the international technical evolutions in this field.
➢ To corroborate efforts in the field of Environmental protection & Energy Efficiency
The appointment is fixed for the 11th of June in the Polytechnic University of Milan, a date to remember for the development of the cold chain for food and for vaccines and the relationship between Europe and Africa in the HVAC/R sector.
More info about the XIX European Conference will be available in the website https://www.centrogalileo.it/convegni-2/ More info about AREA and U-3arc can be found in the respective websites http://www.area-eur.be e http://www.u-3arc.org
AREA is the European association of refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump (RACHP) contractors. Established in 1989, AREA voices the interests of 25 national associations from 22 countries representing 13,000 companies employing 110,000 people based on an average of 8 employees per company.
U-3ARC (Union of Associations of African Actors in Refrigeration and Air Conditioning) has been created during the General Assembly held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso on September 24, 2020 and counts 39 associations of refrigeration and air conditioning actors from 38 countries. U-3ARC represents more than 18,000 formal and informal businesses employing nearly 250,000 peoples at the date of its creation.