Voices from the field: how climate changes agriculture in rural ACP countries

In the context of the European Development Days 2007, DG Development of the European Commission, CTA, UNITAR, Euforic, and IIED will organise a parallel event on the challenges of climate change for development with particular reference to the ACP countries. Session 1 will examine: “The challenges of climate change for agricultural policy and some adaptation strategies” highlighting adaptation strategies in Nigeria, Mali and Malawi. Session 2 will focus on “Increasing knowledge and sharing best practices” introducing approaches and tools to enhance information flows and access to the knowledge base.

Objectives of the workshop are to:
- Raise awareness on the potential impacts of climate change on the agricultural sector and rural communities;
- Exchange information and expertise sharing among policy-makers, researchers and practitioners;
- Provide updated information and a platform of discussion on the various experiences on the field through Information and Communication Technologies.

Target audiences are ACP-EU policy makers, civil society groups, researchers and development practitioners. An emphasis will be made on giving the voice to the experts in the field.

Input and comments will be included in the Briefings blog: http://brusselsbriefings.net/.
More information on the EDD website.

Wednesday 7th November 2007, 14h00 – 18h00
Faire Internacional de Lisboa
Rua do Bojador, Parque das Nações -Lisbon
Room 4 (French and English interpretation provided)

Advancing the ST&I Policy Dialogue: Increasing Performance and Impact

6th meeting of the Advisory Committee on S&T for ACP Agricultural and Rural Development
12 – 16 November 2007

The meeting will focus on ST&I policy implications and strategies for: addressing emerging technologies and issues for capitalizing on product/market opportunities and enhancing innovation and improving performance of ACP agriculture. The Advisory Committee will also deliberate on lessons learned in mainstreaming the innovation systems approach, strategies for improving the ASTI system performance and proposals for monitoring and evaluating the performance of the ASTI system with emphasis on identifying indicators for national ARD organizations.

For more information, visit http://knowledge.cta.int/en/content/view/full/5635

CTA among the World Summit Award Winners of 2007

An international grand jury evaluated 650 nominations from 160 countries in the context of the Global World Summit Award (WSA) 2007. The Jury selected the five most outstanding products in eight WSA Categories.

Awards will be handed out on 5 November 2007 at the World Summit Award Gala Celebration by high-level dignitaries including H.E. Stipe Mesic, President of the Republic of Croatia and Dr. Alfred Gusenbauer, Federal Chancellor of the Republic of Austria. The WSA Gala Celebration is a unique international ceremony to honour excellence in multimedia and e-Content creation and has been held within the framework of Global Forum 2007 “Global Convergence 2.0” an event dedicated to the trends and development of the New Information Society at the Fondazione Giorgio Cini in Venice, Italy.

Participatory GIS practice (PGIS): winner in the e-culture category

Participatory 3D Modelling for Resource Use, Development Planning and Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage in Fiji has been proclaimed as one of the five winners in the e-culture category.

PGIS is the result of a spontaneous merger of Participatory Learning and Action (PLA) methods with Geographic Information Technologies (GIT) to compose peoples’ spatial knowledge in the forms of virtual or physical, 2 or 3 dimensional maps used as interactive vehicles for discussion, information exchange, analysis and as support in advocacy, decision making and action taking. PGIS practice is usually geared towards community empowerment through measured, demand-driven, user-friendly and integrated applications of GIT, where maps become a major conduit in the process.

Participatory 3D modelling (P3DM) is a method which is part of the PGIS family. P3DM integrates people’s knowledge and spatial information (contour lines) to produce stand-alone scale relief models that have proved to be user-friendly and relatively accurate data storage and analysis devices and at the same time excellent communication media. P3DM works best when used jointly with Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

In 2005, CTA initiated and supported the introduction of P3DM in the Pacific region. A first exercise was conducted on Ovalau Island, Fiji. The exercise, lead by the Fiji Locally-Managed Marine Area (FLMMA) Network resulted in the participatory construction of a scaled 3-dimensuional model of the island and surrounding waters and later on in the development, adoption and implementation of community-based plans aimed at sustainably managing the natural resources and cultural heritage of the island and islanders respectively.

The deployment of P3DM and its adaptation to the Fijian context has been strongly appreciated by the local, national and international stakeholders.

Ensuing publication:
Rambaldi G, Tuivanuavou S., Namata P., Vanualailai P., Rupeni S. And Rupeni E. 2006. Resource Use, Development Planning, and Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage in Fiji. PLA 54:28-35, IIED, London, UK

The Future of the Book, Open Seminar at CTA - 19/11/07

The Future of the Book
From the Perspective of an Institutional Publisher

Presentation by Dirk Koehler, Head of Publishing – WORLD BANK

Publishing or the process of production and dissemination of information is a key activity for development organizations aiming at increasing information availability in Southern regions.
Traditionally, the term refers to the distribution of printed works such as books. With the advent of digital information systems and the Internet, the scope of publishing has expanded to include electronic resources. The book is not anymore the only final outcome of the publishing activity but one step in a complex chain of information which is currently under mutation. Additionally, the mutation is not only about the Media but about its “use” and there is a growing demand for literature based on mix Media.

To understand these mutations, it is worth describing what makes a book, what is the current trend transforming its process of production and how the market is evolving. Development publishers, indeed, have to adapt their strategies to face the difficult challenge of integrating continuous demand for published material in a sector where public funding is certainly not increasing. Eventually all these mutations impact the future of the book and it is worth giving a thought as this conditions the way we try to make this world a better place.

Main threads of the presentation
• What makes a book (print, audio, ebook, etc.)?
• What is changing in how a book is written, edited, and reviewed and what is the impact of Web2 technology?
• What is changing in how a book is produced?
• How are the markets changing and what is changing in how a book is "read"/used
• How does this impact the future of the book?

Open seminar:
Monday 19 November 2007 - 10h30- 13h00
Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Co-operation
Agro Business Park 2, NL 6708PW Wageningen
The Netherlands

Free entrance
Please let us know if you wish to attend either by mail at hoek@cta.int or by phone 0031 317 467 175.

CTA celebrates World Food Day, 16 October 2007

CTA joins our partners around the world to celebrate World Food Day. We bring to your attention a recent article on the right to food in our magazine, Spore.

http://spore.cta.int/spore128/pdf/spore_128_en_page1.pdf

CTA's Strategic Plan, 2007-2010

CTA's Strategic Plan for 2007-2010 is now available. Please click here to see it.

ACP agricultural statistics

Key facts & figures - 2007 edition

This report was compiled by Jean Claude NDABANANIYE (CERDI, France) during an internship at CTA from 17 April to 22 August 2007.

• ACP agriculture: key facts and figures
• Figures and tables
• Spreadsheet database (Excel)

Editorial Consultation Meeting

Second Version of the Smart Toolkit
Bonn, Germany, 29 - 31 October 2007

Over the past nine years CTA, in collaboration with key development agencies, has been actively involved in developing and promoting the use of methodologies for monitoring and evaluating information products and services in an effort to improve project management both in-house and among its partners. In 2005, CTA along with KIT, IICD and a host of other institutions and individuals from African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries, EU, Canada, Sri Lanka and the United States produced the first version of the Smart Toolkit for Evaluating Information Products and Services.

The Toolkit is an innovative product and since its publication, has proved to be most popular among our ACP clientele. It focuses on the evaluation of information products and services and how to improve project management practices and develop a culture of evaluation. It also provides practical and cost-effective methods for planning, monitoring and evaluating information developed, promoted and disseminated.

Currently, the toolkit is being revised taking into account feedback from participants at the workshop to officially launch the Toolkit in Tanzania in 2005 and subsequent users.

Further details.