Announcements

Honors

• The US Congress recently voted to award the Congressional Gold Medal, the country's highest civilian award, to Nobel Laureate Norman Borlaug, one of the architects of the Green Revolution.
• The CGIAR is the recipient of the prestigious Gold Mercury Award for Cooperation and Development in recognition of its contributions to bettering the living standards of local people in developing economies. Gold Mercury International is an independent global think tank and award organization founded in 1961 specializing in global governance and ethical leadership. Gold Mercury is committed to promoting peace, understanding and cooperation throughout the world. For more information, click here: http://www.goldmercury.org/
• The Africa Rice Center (WARDA) has been selected to receive the 2006 United National Award for South-South Triangular Partnership in recognition of its New Rice for Africa (NERICA). For more information, click here: http://www.warda.org/warda/newsrel-UNAward-dec06.asp

Appointments

• Kanayo Nwanze, former Director General of the Africa Rice Center has been selected as the new Vice President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

Welcome to New Board Chairs

• Andrew Bennett, CIFOR, succeeding Angela Cropper
• Ross Garnaut, IFPRI, succeeding Isher Ahluwalia
• Lynn Haight, ICRAF, succeeding Eugene Terry

Obituaries

• We are saddened to inform you that C.H.H. ter Kuile, former Chair of INIBAP's Board of Trustees, passed away in Ottawa on September 27. He made a valuable contribution to the integration of INIBAP into the program of Bioversity International (formerly IPGRI).

SAVE THE DATES for future CGIAR Meetings

• ExCo 12 will be held May 15-16, 2007. Venue to be announced.
• ExCo 13 will be held in mid-October 2007. Venue to be announced.
• AGM07 will be held on December 3-6 in Beijing, China.