Proposal Development & Communications Capacity Building for African Partners - two capacity building workshops are planned for potential participants of the Sub-Saharan Africa Challenge Program (SSA-CP): July, 2005 for West and Central Africa (WCA) and September, 2005 for East and Southern Africa (ESA). The workshops aim to increase the capacity of African NARs and contribute to stronger alliances among the Future Harvest Centers of the CGIAR. The workshops follow the the successful one-week workshop held in South Africa November 2004, organized by the Marketing Group and co-sponsored by the Challenge Program for Water and Food and further supported by The WorldFish Center.

The Japan Forum coordinated by JIRCAS and sponsored by CGIAR will take place in Tokyo on July 14-15, 2005. The Forum will include presentations from Ian Johnson and several Directors General as well as a CGIAR publications display area and exhibition.

European Forum on Agricultural Research & Developmen ( EFARD), April 27-29, 2005, Zurich
International Conference on Agricultural Research for Development: European Responses to Changing Global Needs was the title of the EFARD event held a the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. The CGIAR participated actively in this key event which brought together leading European and CGIAR scientists for discussions, debate and field trips looking at the future of research partnerships for changing global needs. A highlight of the event was a well-attended workshop on CGIAR Challenge Programs. The CGIAR booth of Center and System publications attracted numerous visitors and much interest. Click here for more information and pictures.

G8/ NEPAD, May 4 - 6, 2005, Accra, Ghana
CGIAR's three decades long partnership for African agricultural development was highlighted at a major meeting of the New Partnership for Africa's Development's (NEPAD) and Group of Eight countries held in Accra. The meeting focused on the Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Program (CAADP) implementation roll-out plan. At a side event preceeding the summit, Shellemiah Keya, Director of Research, WARDA, represented the CGIAR. His presentation focused on the strengths of the African-CGIAR partnership and the congruence ofCGIAR-CAADP activities. Thinking proactively, the Marketing Group designed a traveling exhibit for display at major meetings following the Accra summit. Click here for more information and pictures.

Canada Fund for Africa Partners Roundtable, June 6, 2005, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
ILRI represented the CGIAR at this event. The CGIAR exhibit on "Agricultural Research - Impact through Partnership" was displayed at the Roundtable Networking Bazaar, where ILRI colleagues staffed a CGIAR booth distributing system-wide publications and information.

Forum For Agricultural Research Research in Africa (FARA), June 6 - 12, 2005, Entebbe, Uganda - "Innovation to transform agriculture for improved livelihoods and development in Africa" is the theme of FARA's Third Biennial General Assembly. Given the CGIAR's strong partnership with FARA, the work of CGIAR Centers featured prominently in the General Assembly agenda. Professor Uzo Mokwunye, Chairman of the Board, ICRISAT, represented CGIAR. In a keynote speech, he reiterated CGIAR's strong commitment to African agricultural development spanning over three decades, providing examples of partnership and beneficial impacts of Center research, and noting that "CGIAR is here to support an African-led revolution in agriculture." Additional highlights of the meeting were presentations from Africa Rice Center, CIAT, IFPRI, IPGRI, IWMI, ICRISAT, and World Agroforestry Centre. The Marketing Group-designed traveling exhibit "Agricultural Research - Impact through Partnership" fresh from display duty at the G8/NEPAD Summit in Accra and was located prominently in the FARA General Assembly plenary area and received a steady influx of visitors. The Marketing Group collectively thanks CIAT's Roger Kirkby and ILRI's Susan MacMillan and Beatrice Ouma for setting up and staffing this coordinated presence at a major meeting of our partners in the heart of Sub-Saharan Africa. For more information, click here.

Marketing Group Report to Alliance Executive -
the work of the MG was applauded during the recent semi-annual meeting of the Alliance Executive which met at the WorldFish Center in Penang, Malaysia. A presentation by MG Chair, Helen Leitch spawned a lively hour-long discussion by the Directors General. A number of decisions were reached including a small increase in the MG budget for 2005 and a simplification of the governance structure. The MG was requested to present a medium-term plan for the next 3 to 5 years.

Communications Toolkit -
With the aim of sharing best practices for communications related work, the MG is in the final stages of developing a web-based toolkit. The toolkit is available for evaluation and comments at www.waterforfood.org/Next/. Please send comments to Ms. Sanjini de Silva, s.desilva@cgiar.org, Communications Coordinator, Challenge Program for Water and Food, who coordinated this project for the MG.

Meet Ingrid Kirsten joined the International Food Policy Research Institute
(IFPRI) as a donor coordinator at the beginning of this year. Before
that, she worked with the Agriculture Advisor in the position of
research manager at the New Partnership for Africa's Development
(NEPAD). Prior to that, she spent nine years in the Department for
Foreign Affairs in South Africa where she worked as a Foreign Service
official (diplomat) dealing with trade and political issues. She was
posted in Denmark for four years during her nine years in the
Department, where she was the Second Secretary for Politics and Trade.

Meet Nicole Khi: Nicole joined the Marketing Group as a part-time assistant at the end of February, 2005. Nicole is a graduate from the Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang with a BA in English and Journalism. A current focus of her work with the Marketing Group is to revive the Intranet site as well as develop the expertise database. Nicole is also a part-time program assistant with the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA). Her previous experience includes teaching English in a private college and working in a retail bookstore chain.