News Stories
Global meet on information communication management
by Seniorl Anzu (18/12/09)
An international consultation on ‘Information and Communication Management (ICM) and Agricultural Research for Development and Innovation: Addressing emerging challenges and exploiting opportunities through Information and Communication Technologies’ was held for senior researchers, academics and information specialists in agricultural and rural development from around the globe. The meeting was staged at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in Hyderabad, India, during December 7-11, 2009.
The purpose was to generate ICM inputs for the upcoming Global Consultation on Agricultural Research for Development (GCARD) in France in March 2010; to support the processes related to FAO programme on Coherence in Information for Agricultural Research for Development (CIARD), a new initiative for information and knowledge sharing; and to share experience and insights in ICM with the Asia-Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutes (APAARI) and partners of Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).
The week-long occasion, which attracted over 50 participants from 28 countries, began with a blend of marketplaces, “world café” discussions, workshops, and symposia/presentations, and commissioned papers. The consultation identified and deliberated various areas of action in addressing emerging challenges and exploit opportunities for ICT in support of ARD with ICM stakeholders playing the critical, bridge-building role. Specifically, the event drew heavily on the outputs of the workshop held at the Science Forum in June 2009 on “ICTs transforming agricultural science, research and technology generation”. The June workshop identified trends, opportunities and challenges, and then went on to define options for future directions in investment, institutions, and innovation.
The outcomes of the action agendas will be linked to major development goals in agriculture, highlighting the specific role/contribution to be made by information and communication management, bringing together all appropriate categories of actors. They will feed into the GCARD2010 process of global consultations.
During the occasion, CIARD) was also introduced and discussed. CIARD (www.ciard.net) is a global initiative working to make agricultural research information publicly available and more accessible to stakeholders.
The Pacific region was represented by Fiji’s Secretariat of the Pacific Community and NARI in which Communications Officer Seniorl Anzu participated. The event was organised jointly by the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR), FAO, APAARI, and CGIAR through ICRISAT.
