12 May marks International Plant Health Day (IDPH) worldwide, an important occasion to raise awareness on how plant health safeguards human, animal and environmental health.
This year's celebrations include a high-level hybrid event that will be held from 09:00 to 11:00 CST / 17:00 to 19:00 CEST (Rome time) in San Salvador, El Salvador, with FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu's keynote address, followed by keynote speeches and technical presentations by leading plant health professionals.
The event will also see the announcement of the winner of the EUPHRESCO III 2025 plant health video contest (a joint CIHEAM Bari, PBRI-Australia and CABI-International initiative), which promotes creativity and awareness on plant protection issues.
Spyrioula Dimitropoulou, Research Associate at the Agricultural University of Athens (AUA), is the winner of the Plant Health TV Video Contest 2025, organized by the FAO and the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC). Her video, "Saving Greece’s Plane Trees: Digital Technologies for Early Detection of Ceratocystis platani", effectively highlights the vital role of plant health research, in line with the theme of the International Day of Plant Health, celebrated on 12 May. Congratulations to Spyrioula on this outstanding achievement!
FAO encourages everyone to participate by registering online and sharing their activities and celebrations, which will be presented in the IDPH Impact Report 2025.
This year's International Day of Plant Health also paves the way for an important upcoming event: the 17th International Congress of the Mediterranean Phytopathological Union (MPU), which will be hosted by CIHEAM in Bari, Italy from 6 to 10 July 2025. The Congress will bring together scientists, institutions and stakeholders from across the Mediterranean region to address emerging plant health challenges, promote sustainable agriculture and strengthen cooperation in the field of plant pathology and protection.
For more information, please visit the CIHEAM Bari webpage dedicated to the International Day of Plant Health and the MPU 2025 Congress webpage.
