I C A R D A    N e w s

INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH IN THE DRY AREAS

P.O. Box 5466, Aleppo, Syria
Phone: (963-21) 2213433, 2213477, 2225112, 2225012
Fax: (963-21) 2213490, 2225105;
E-mail: ICARDA@CGIAR.ORG
Website: www.icarda.cgiar.org
For more information contact: Dr Surendra Varma (s.varma@CGIAR.ORG)
 
 
29 September 2005
Meeting Reviews Progress in Partnership between the Agricultural
Libraries of Egypt, Sudan and ICARDA
Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy (second from right), Director General, welcomed the Sudanese and Egyptian delagations to ICARDA. Seated with him are: Prof. Dr Mohamed A. Nour (center), Chair of the Executive Committee; Prof. Dr Abdel Wahab Abdel-Hafez (right), Ain Shams University, Cairo; Prof. Dr Azhari Abdelazim Hamada (second from left), Director General of ARC, Sudan; and Dr Ibrahim Saeed Ibrahim (left), Deputy Dean, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Khartoum.
In response to a proposal from Prof. Dr Mohamed A. Nour, former Director General of ICARDA, a Twinning Agreement of Cooperation was signed between the agricultural libraries of Egypt, Sudan and ICARDA early this year. The objective of the initiative is to promote the use of modern information technology in Egypt and Sudan, and improve the access of national researchers to current literature in agricultural research, with support from ICARDA. The project will have spillover benefits for other countries in the region. The first meeting of the Executive Committee of this project was held on 2–4 April 2005 at the University of Khartoum in Sudan.

The second meeting of the Executive Committee of the project was held on 19–20 September 2005 at ICARDA headquarters in Aleppo. The objectives of the meeting were to evaluate progress made during the last six months and to develop a work plan for 2006.

Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy, Director General, opened the meeting. He welcomed the participants to ICARDA and stressed the importance of the Twinning Agreement between the libraries of the University of Khartoum and the Agricultural Research Corporation (ARC) in Sudan, and the Egyptian National Agricultural Library (ENAL) in Egypt, with ICARDA library. He emphasized that the agreement can provide the basis for improvement of all participating libraries, thereby improving their capacity in supporting their user communities. He also gave a brief history of the project and the rationale behind it.

Prof. Dr Mohamed A. Nour, Chairman of the Executive Committee, thanked ICARDA and Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy for hosting the meeting and for the valuable and continuing support provided to the libraries in Sudan and Egypt. He also mentioned the importance of having a Center such as ICARDA to coordinate the project. Statements were also made at the opening session by Prof. Dr Azhari Abdelazim Hamada, Director General of ARC and head of the Sudanese delegation; and Prof. Dr Abdel Wahab Abdel-Hafez, Ain Shams University, head of the Egyptian delegation. They both thanked ICARDA for hosting the meeting and for its contributions to the project.
Members of the Sudanese and Egyptian delegation with Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy (center), ICARDA Director General, and senior staff who participated in the Executive Committee meeting. Standing fourth from right is Prof. Dr Mohamed A. Nour, Chair of the Executive Committee.
It was evident from the proceedings of the meeting that major progress has been made in Sudan by way of setting up of a modern local area network (LAN) and improving the functionalities of the University of Khartoum and ARC libraries. Through the project, a professional website was developed for each library, which is now accessible to the research community, students and other users. The project has, thus, succeeded in making the electronic exchange of information possible among the participating libraries.

A number of recommendations were made on how to improve the usefulness of the project outputs, including the need to re-draft the project proposal on the University of Khartoum Virtual Library with the aim of separating its components into smaller well-focused sub-projects.

The Sudanese delegation at the meeting included Prof. Dr Azhari Abdelazim Hamada, Director General of ARC, and delegation leader; Dr Ibrahim Noureldin Elzein, Deputy Director, ARC, Wad Medani; Dr Ibrahim Saeed Ibrahim, Deputy Dean, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Khartoum; and Dr Abdel Karim Hassan Awad, Deputy Dean, University of Khartoum Library. The Egyptian delegation included Prof. Dr Abdel Wahab Abdel-Hafez, Ain Shams University, and delegation leader; and Mr Magdy Abdelrahman Ibrahim; while the ICARDA delegation included Dr Zaid Abdul-Hadi, Head of CBSU; Dr Suren Varma, Head of CODIS; Dr Nihad Maliha, Manager, Library and Information Services; and Dr Samir Ahmed, Head of HRDU.

About ICARDA: Established in 1977, ICARDA (www.icarda.cgiar.org) serves the entire developing world for the improvement of barley, lentil, and faba bean; and dry-area developing countries for the on-farm management of water, improvement of nutrition and productivity of small ruminants (sheep and goats), and rehabilitation and management of rangelands. In the Central and West Asia and North Africa (CWANA) region, ICARDA is responsible for the improvement of durum and bread wheats, chickpea, pasture and forage legumes and farming systems; and for the protection and enhancement of the natural resource base of water, land, and biodiversity.

The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) (www.cgiar.org) is a strategic alliance of countries, international and regional organizations, and private foundations supporting15 international research centers that mobilizes cutting-edge science to promote sustainable development by reducing hunger and poverty, improving human nutrition and health, and protecting the environment.
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