The International Bureau of Exposition (BIE), an international organization responsible for coordinating world expositions, was officially founded in 1939 and headquartered in Paris, France. Sixty-six year-old Danish citizen Mr. Ole Philipson, the current chairman of BIE, was elected to his post in December 1993. BIE's permanent office is the Secretariat, with the secretary general acting as the leading official responsible for routine work. The organization's current secretary general is 50-year-old Spanish citizen Mr. V•G•Loscertales, who took on his post starting in December 1993.
BIE is responsible for the application and management of the BIE Convention; it manages and approves the planning of international expositions; and directs and supervises exposition operations.
BIE has currently 47 full member states including Asian countries China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, the Philippines and Lebanon; European countries Germany, France, Austria, Belgium, The Republic of Belarus, Bulgaria, Denmark, Spain, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Monaco, Norway, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Ukraine; African countries Morocco, Nigeria, Tunisia as well as four other South African countries; American countries the United States, Argentina, Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Haiti, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela; and Oceania country Australia.
The Association Internationale des producteurs de 1'Horticulture (AIPH), an international association made up of professionals from its member countries, aims to maintain the prosperity and development of horticulture as the cooperative relationship between the economy, society and culture becomes more integrated due to the effects of internationalization. The Association is headquartered in Hague, the Netherlands, and its official working languages are English, French and German.
The president is the top executive of AIPH. Dutch citizen Mr. Doeke Faber currently acts as president of the organization. The secretary general -- Mr. Doeke Faber, also a Dutch citizen, is AIPH's current secretary general – and is responsible for routine work. The internal organizations of AIPH consist of: (1) the Representative Committee, AIPH's top executive authority ; (2) the Review Committee, made up of AIPH member leaders and representatives and responsible for reviewing membership types and international events related to horticulture; (3) and the Council, made up of the president, vice president, etc, which acts as the top policy making body for AIPH.
The goals of AIPH are to get in touch with local and international groups or authorities by convening various meetings, promoting advertising campaigns, holding international essay contests and hosting a wide array of exhibitions; reward professionals or organizations for their outstanding contributions to technical R&D and popularization of technical expertise; improve awareness of plants, vegetables, fruits and seeds and advance the overall development of international horticulture; and represent the common interests of international-level professional horticultural producers. According to AIPH's regulations, all commercial institutions or organizations are entitled to submit a membership application, as are commercial horticultural institutions without specific domestic supervisory departments and organizations that cover different regions, use different languages and represent horticultural interests. More than one organization in a single country can become a member. Membership categories include regular members, associate members and customer members. Which kind of membership an organization is eligible for is discussed and decided by the Review Committee based on relevant regulations.