Special Message from the Director General, Dr Emile Frison
I am pleased to inform you that IPGRI's Board of Trustees has recently selected and approved a new name for the organization - "Bioversity International" or "Bioversity" for short. Please note that the name is Bioversity (not Biodiversity) which means to change the way of life.
Bioversity International echoes our new strategy, which focuses on improving people's lives through biodiversity research.
The new name will take effect from 1st December 2006.
IPGRI's agenda has evolved over the
past 10 years. At the end of 2004, IPGRI developed a new strategy
entitled 'Diversity for Well-being: Making the Most of Agricultural
Biodiversity'. IPGRI then decided to review ways to better reflect its
focus and work through its branding, which includes a name change.
In particular, IPGRI's new strategy recognizes the following changes:
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IPGRI no longer focuses just on plants but on biodiversity that can benefit people. IPGRI will continue to have its core strengths in plants but will apply its skills and knowledge to a broader range of biodiversity for improving people's well-being.
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Our new strategy focuses on people and their livelihoods rather than on genetic resources per se. The paradigm has shifted from one in which our success is measured by the achievement of conservation targets to one where impact on people's well-being is the yard-stick.
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IPGRI has moved from a focus on ex situ conservation of plant genetic resources to a wider agenda including the use of biodiversity to improve livelihoods.
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IPGRI has taken a stronger international role in supporting decisions and policies that impact on better conservation and use of biodiversity.
I would like to thank many of our donors, partners and colleagues who contributed towards the surveys we conducted over the last year. The surveys were an important input into how IPGRI can better portray its strategic focus.
I look forward to our new focus having a positive impact and
leading to new opportunities to improve the lives of people around the world.
Yours sincerely
Emile Frison
Click here for a copy of the new
strategy.
| Food
Composition and Biodiversity
First West African Graduate Course 12-27 February 2007 Ibadan, Nigeria |
| Food Composition and
Biodiversity 2007 is a graduate training course organized by The
International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, The Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and
AFROFOODS/INFOODS, in co-operation with the Department of Human
Nutrition University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria. The course is intended for lecturers/trainers in the field of food composition, and for those involved, or who will be involved, in Food Composition database programmes as analysts or compilers, or as food data generators. The course will also be valuable to those teaching nutrition and nutritional aspects of food chemistry, as well as users of food composition data. Click here to download the course brochure and application form. |
| The Vavilov-Frankel Fellowships for 2007 are announced |
| The Fellowships
are supported by the Grains Research Development Corporation
(GRDC), Australia and Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc.,
United States, a DuPont Company. The Vavilov-Frankel
Fellowship Fund aims to encourage the conservation and use
of plant genetic resources in developing countries by awarding
Fellowships to outstanding young researchers to carry out
relevant innovative research at an advanced research institute
outside their own country for a period of between three months
and one year. The closing date for applications is 6 November
2006. [more]
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Technical/Scientific |
|
FAO/IPGRI Plant Genetic Resources Newsletter - No. 145, March
2006
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| Recent Training materialss |
|
Law
and Policy of Relevance to the Management of Plant Genetic
Resources - Learning Module with Review of Regional Policy
Instruments, developments and Trends: 2nd Edition |
| IPGRI news |
Plant Genetic
Resources in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)
PGR Newsletter Portal
Articles of the Plant Genetic Resources Newsletter last and
back issues are available online in English, French or Spanish
New platform on
Plant Genetic Resources in Central & West Asia and North Africa
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| Alliance News |
|
World Food Prize Awarded to Food Policy
Leader
Per Pinstrup-Andersen, the Director General of the International Food Policy Research Institute, a Future Harvest Center, will receive the 2001 World Food Prize for his work that has resulted in better access to food supplies for millions of poor farmers and consumers in the developing world. For more information, visit theWorld Food website and [click here] For a short biography of Per Pinstrup-Andersen, [click here]
New Report Calls for Renewed Vigilance to
Reduce Childhood Hunger
Food Outlook: Trends, Alternatives, and Choices, a new report from the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) finds that, without aggressive measures, progress against child malnutrition is likely to slow over the next two decades. If current trends hold, child malnutrition will decline by only 20 percent and will increase in Sub-Saharan Africa. To read the full news release, visit the Future Harvest website and [click here] |
