Dear all friends

The Asian Vegetarian Union (AVU), a member of International Vegetarian Union (IVU), was formally launched in Chiang Mai, Thailand, on 14 February 2000. The establishment was planned and decided during the 33rd World Vegetarian Congress in 1999. The Founding President of AVU is late Mr. Jashu Shah from Mumbai, India, and the first Secretary General was Dr. Pichai Tovivich from Bangkok, Thailand. From the list of IVU's organization members in Asia, AVU members include Armenia, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Turkey.

One of the important aims of AVU is to promote vegetarianism in Asian countries and the Pacific regions by encouraging the members to host the Congress every two years. So far, there have been three AVU congresses. The first one was held in Goa, India, 14-20 October 2001; the second in Bangkok, 19- 21 March, 2006; the third in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 3-7 November 2007; and the fourth in Batam Island, Indonesia, 6 - 10 November 2009. All the congresses were successfully organized by the hosts. During the third congress, the AVU committee were thankfully pleased and accepted that the Indonesia Vegetarian Society (IVS) would host the 4^th Southeast Asian Vegetarian Congress in Medan, Indonesia, 19-21 March 2010. We certainly congratulate and gratefully acknowledge the IVS organization.

On behalf of the Asian Vegetarian Union, I would like to encourage all of you to support and join the 4^th Southeast Asian Vegetarian Congress, Medan - Indonesia. Those who have or have not attended the previous congresses must not miss this exciting 4^th Southeast Asian Vegetarian Congress. We whole-heartedly trust and are fully confident that, under the experienced supervision of the IVS President, Mr. Bambang Sumantri, and his energetic team of the IVS Medan, the 4^th Southeast Asian Vegetarian Congress will be another most successful one.

The main purpose and the theme of the 4^th Southeast Asian Vegetarian Congress are to promote and disseminate knowledge about health and environmental merits of vegetarianism, and to discuss on technical issues in promoting vegetarianism from various aspects more efficiently and effectively.

Besides the enlightened scientific topics and well arranged programmes, you will have a real good opportunity to meet vegetarian friends, distinguished delegates and outstanding speakers as well as to enjoy the natural beauty of Indonesia. You can also appreciate a delicious variety of the veggie foods, the traditional culture, and the Indonesian excellent hospitality.

Finally, please make sure that you do not miss the upcoming 4^th Southeast Asian Vegetarian Congress. We kindly recommend that you register your participation now. Your advanced registration will help the host make better arrangement for all. Thank you for your kind cooperation and attention.

We eagerly look forward to meeting you in Medan in 2010.

With my best wishes,


Maitree Suttajit
President of Asian Vegetarian Union (2007-2009)