Centers' and Members' Day,
2005
This year, the theme of Centers and Members Day focused on
collective action by the 15 CGIAR Centers. In welcoming
participants, Uzo Mokwunye, Chair of the Alliance Board (formerly
the Committee of Board Chairs), stressed the great opportunity for
Centers to present some of the most important and exciting areas of
their work so that Members can gain a deeper understanding of the
successes of, and challenges to the system. The day was structured
around an opening plenary session followed by parallel sessions
that demonstrated inter-Center collaboration.
On behalf of ICARDA, the host Center, Adel El-Beltagy,
introduced participants to the Central West Asia and North Africa
(CWANA) region, and welcomed participants to the first meeting of
the CGIAR to be held in the region. "CWANA is the birthplace
of agriculture," said El-Beltagy, "but, unfortunately,
now has the unenviable reputation as the world's largest
importer of food." He noted that CGIAR Centers have forged
strong partnerships with national agricultural research systems and
are in a unique position to produce international public goods to
assist the poor.
William Dar, Director General, ICRISAT, and the outgoing Chair
of the Alliance Executive (AE), outlined the milestones achieved
during 2005. "This has been a watershed year for the
Alliance," said Dar. "The Alliance of 15 Centers will
build on existing governance mechanisms and promote synergies and
efficiencies between Centers, thereby creating new partnerships
that benefit poor people."
The incoming AE Chair for 2006, Joachim Voss, Director General
of CIAT, focused his presentation on the continuing work of the
Alliance Executive in 2006 and beyond. New opportunities include
working together to realign research to focus on issues of climate
change in order to help farmers be better prepared for the global
changes. Research on high-value products is another opportunity
where the Centers will focus their energies in the coming months,
he said. Ways to make this Science Council priority a reality to
benefit the poor is an important area for future consideration by
the Centers.
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