At the end of June a new page was turned when six founding member states came together in Johannesburg / South Africa to bring to life the African Packaging Organisation (APO). Tasked with improving the cause of packaging throughout the continent, including by building packaging capability and raising trade activities, the new group will apply to become a member of the World Packaging Organisation (WPO, Stockholm / Sweden; www.worldpackaging.org) at its second annual meeting, held at the end of November 2012. APO has adopted the slogan: “A world of quality packaging for Africa”.

APO’s founding members include the Institute of Packaging Professionals (Nairobi / Kenya; www.ioppk.com), the Packaging Council of South Africa (Bryanston; www.pacsa.co.za), the Tanzanian Institute of Packaging (Dar es Salaam) as well as the Institutes of Packaging in Ghana (Tema; www.iopg.org.gh), Nigeria (Lagos; www.iopnigeria.org), Tunisia (El Khadra) and South Africa (Pinegowrie; www.ipsa.org.za). Looking towards the future, APO said it will accept only constituted organisations representing packaging interests as members.

At the founding meeting, Joseph Myongesa of Kenya’s Institute of Packaging Professionals was elected AOP president, with Ahmed Alex Omah of Nigeria’s Institute of Packaging appointed vice president. Roger Cary-Smith of South Africa’s Institute as Packaging is to serve as general secretary.