Space beekeeping: 3Bee's beekeeper event

Saturday 19 November was a special day for the beekeepers in our network. The Space Beekeeping event took place in Milan in the "Hive" exhibition space of the Mind Innovation District. A special place because it recalls the cells of a beehive. We decided to organise this event completely dedicated to beekeepers and farmers of biodiversity with the main aim of helping them in their activities. We brought back experiences and new views of the beekeeping sector; a synergy between experts from the world of bees and biodiversity. The entire event is available on our Facebook page.

The first part of the day was dedicated to providing beekeepers with concrete examples of social projects they can undertake by exploiting their activity. For the occasion, we invited the Cooperative Andirivieni, which works to professionally educate and thus integrate people in difficulty, e.g. with physical or mental disabilities. With this aim in mind, MyPolly, a home for lone bees (or wild bees), also in need of protection, was born. Through the construction of these Bug Hotels, people with mild disabilities (autistic spectrum, short mental retardation) have been able to work and develop their own independence, as well as get involved in nature conservation. The association also welcomes people in various situations of hardship, e.g. family or economic, and chooses practical trades for them, so that they finally feel useful (beekeeping, agriculture, viticulture).

A great opportunity for every beekeeper can be to start telling about their work and educating, children and adults alike, about the very important world of pollinators. Ariele Muzzarelli, beekeeper since 2015, shared her experience in beekeeping. Founder of the apiculture Apes, she decided to push her limits to convey the passion behind her work, teaching what it is all about, why bees are important and what can be done to protect them. Ariele gave plenty of advice on how to communicate her knowledge, what materials to use and how to carry out theeducational activities according to the target audience. One example given was the event organised forIren, where children discovered the world of pollinators and tried their hand at creating simple bee-shaped ornaments.

Our Brand Manager Marta Toppan, who has been working closely with the beekeepers in the network since the beginning of 3Bee, expounded on and extolled the communication power that each beekeeper could harness by using, for example, the Social Media. The collaboration between 3Bee, beekeepers and companies is precisely based on the latter's need to make sustainability and communicate the dedicated project. For us at 3Bee communicating beekeeping means talking about the real work involved, telling the truth by telling the stories of the beekeepers and the timing of the beekeeping. It is precisely these aspects that make our world fascinating. That is why being present on social media with your beekeeping is a great advantage.

It is important not to fall into a miscommunication, to be present on social media in an aseptic manner and without bringing real content. Again, the secret is to step out of your comfort zone. One tip is to try out new platforms besides Facebook, such as Instagram and TikTok. One has to convey the passion and uniqueness of one's beekeeping through content designed to make people who look at it decide to support the activity. An example could be asking questions to understand what your actual and potential customers want or prefer, interacting. Content planning is also essential, until it becomes routine. A final practical tip is that if you choose to create profiles on different social media you should always use the samename, so as not to create confusion. It's time to get involved!