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figures, it is not surprising that the exercise was repeated in 1997.
The educational value was borne out by some of the comments made to the Communicators during the two exhibitions. "I sometimes think--as many people probably do--about the fact that we have so much food in one part of the world, and yet there are so many people starving in other parts of it. It is good to know that there are people like you working to improve this situation," said Robert I. King, one of the 1996 visitors.
This time, CGIAR staff from ICARDA, CIMMYT (Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maiz y Trigo), IITA (International Institute of Tropical Agriculture) and CIP (Centro Internacional de la Papa), were joined by university lecturers from the USA, Vietnam and Uganda. They acted as Communicators for displays on agricultural research and development in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the USA. Each display showed structures and crops associated with traditional agricultural systems and practices, along with scientific advances in crops, machinery and disease management. To make the exhibits really authentic, some 70 crops were grown on-site.
ICARDA Communicator Mazen Al-Jarrah was involved in the Asia display, which highlighted the efficient use of water in irrigation systems. He and his partner in the display, Puong Thang, from Ho Chi Min University in Vietnam, attracted guests by encouraging them to pump water using a traditional 'tapak-tapak' water pump.
Mr Al-Jarrah is a wheat breeder, and is well-qualified to brief people about the environmental challenges of growing food. Back home in Syria, he works with ICARDA colleague Dr Habib Ketata on the ICARDA/CIMMYT winter and facultative bread-wheat program, breeding lines for high-altitude environments such as the Atlas Mountains, the Anatolian Plateau and mountainous areas of Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The varieties they are developing must be able to cope with temperatures that plummet to 12oC in winter, yet may reach 35oC in summer. They must also identify sources of resistance to diseases like yellow
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rust, a pathogen that mutates with frightening speed so that breeders must remain one step ahead year by year. Mr Al-Jarrah took advantage of his stay in the USA to visit some plant-breeding centers and compare notes with North American colleagues. In addition to giving visitors information on the work of the Centers and the problems in the areas they cover, the Center staff also spent time at Disney learning public-awareness skills to help them communicate effectively.
The messages being communicated this year included: why we all need to be concerned about the global challenges of feeding future generations; how the use of good farming practices sustains the natural-resource base and allows the production of healthy food; the central role of women in agriculture; and the vital role of science in producing food and managing pests and diseases in ways that do not destroy the environment.
The communicators at each display developed an entertaining 15- to 20-minute presentation, which they gave four times a day. The figures for total attendance at the
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exhibition were, once again, extremely impressive. For both the daily attendance at the 20-minute presentations and the informal discussions between the guests and the communicators, there was more than a doubling in numbers of guests exposed to these messages (37,400 to 90,000) between 1996 and 1997. Approximately 750,000 guests went through the displays, and 5000 copies of a 48-page interactive workbook were provided to guests, in addition to public awareness material from the various Centers represented--including ICARDA's Caravan.
As the official report from the World Bank says, "The Communicators from all around the world were the highlight of the event. They brought authenticity to the four daily demonstrations and the displays. In fact, it was suggested that the greatest emotional attachment and take-away for the guests comes from their interaction with these individuals." Indeed Mr Al-Jarrah, according to one of the organizers, "brought much warmth and spirit to the Asian exhibit and presentation."
The positive view of the event was shared by World Bank delegates who attended a Communication Workshop at Disney in Orlando on 30 and 31 May. Their task was to examine the value of communicating sustainable development challenges in the developing world to the general public more effectively. The delegates reviewed the current partnership with Disney and came out fully in favor of it.
It could be even better. The organizers suggest the need for improved forward planning; better selection of candidates to ensure that the maximum use is made of the communications training; and a key contact person at each Center to ensure that the displays are designed to best communicate the work--and the challenges of the Centers.
Mazen Al-Jarrah himself suggests there might also be room for the Center staff to participate in some of the experiments being conducted within Epcot--such as the NASA/ Land project, which is looking at growing field crops in space. Perhaps the environmental challenges there would be less than in the world's dry areas...
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