The UNEP/AEWA Secretariat would like to inform all participants of the 8th Session of the Meeting of the Parties to AEWA (MOP8) of a change of the meeting venue, as well as an adjusted schedule for the meeting.

The changes come after the UNEP/AEWA Secretariat was recently informed by the Government of Hungary that the AEWA MOP8 could no longer be hosted at the Hungexpo convention centre, as originally scheduled.

The Secretariat immediately informed the Chair of the AEWA Standing Committee (StC) about the new developments, and it was agreed that the Secretariat should do its utmost to find a solution with the host government that would allow keeping the format of an in-person meeting and possibly as well as  the original meeting dates, to the extent possible, because given that many delegates had already done their bookings and the Secretariat (as well as meeting participants) had significantly advanced with meeting preparations, including contracts with report writers, interpreters, sponsored delegates’ travel bookings, etc..

An intense period of consultations with the host government has resulted in the following arrangements which have also been reviewed and approved by the AEWA Standing Committee through correspondence:

The AEWA MOP8 will now be held at the Corinthia Hotel (https://www.corinthia.com/budapest/). This new meeting venue is closer to the city centre. However, as the venue is not available on 26 September, the AEWA MOP8 schedule and planning has to be reshaped. The AEWA MOP8 itself will take place from 27 to 30 September 2022, for shortened duration of four days instead of five days as initially planned. The AEWA MOP8 schedule and planning will be modified as described below:

• On Monday, 26 September 2022 (afternoon) it is planned to hold first regional coordination meetings (EU and Africa); a venue for the coordination meetings still needs to be identified.
• On Day 1 of MOP8 (27 September 2022), the opening ceremony and plenary sessions will be shorter than originally scheduled, and the two working groups (technical & administration and finance), will start in the afternoon already, which is earlier than initially planned.
• Day 2 of MOP8 (28 September 2022) will be fully dedicated to the two working groups.
• On Day 3 of MOP8 (29 September 2022) all delegates will be invited to attend a full day of side-events organized by partners while the Secretariat will prepare the revised meeting documents and draft resolutions for adoption, based on the discussions and deliberations of the MOP on Days 1 and 2.
• On Day 4 of MOP8, 30 September 2022, the MOP Plenary will be reconvened for final discussions and adoption of resolutions.

Under this new schedule, the plenary sessions will be shortened, and thus presentations will need to be concise.

Delegates who have already booked flights and accommodation for the meeting will not need to change their flights but are strongly advised to reconsider their booked accommodation as it may be far from the new venue (Corinthia Hotel). The Expo Hotel will no longer be the most convenient hotel option as it is located some 30 minutes from the new meeting venue.

A revised detailed agenda and meeting schedule will be published soon on the MOP8 webpage.

The UNEP/AEWA Secretariat would like to thank the host government and its dedicated team for its hard work and all MOP8 participants for their understanding and flexibility.