Communication Channels and Services

• Regional cooperation
• Web portals and e-communities
• Seminars and study visits

Regional cooperation/partnerships

Promoting a regional perspective on development and decentralising activities to regional bodies are two important aspects of our work. The regional cooperation programme seeks to strengthen ACP regional bodies so they can more effectively generate and exchange information through the integrated use of communication channels, training, and technical back-up.

We have partnerships with about 20 regional organisations and networks involved in research, policy, trade, natural resource management and information dissemination. We give special attention to women's and youth organisations and networks.

The Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) and the Institute for Research, Extension and Training in Agriculture (IRETA), house our Regional Branch Offices (RBOs) in the Caribbean and the Pacific, respectively. In Africa, we work through organisations and networks covering the four ACP regions - West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa and Southern Africa.

LINKS
• CTA Partnerships Programme
• CARDI website
• IRETA website

• Map

Web portals and e-communities

The Internet provides great opportunities for information exchange and services, and CTA exploits these to the full. CTA set up its first web portal - Agritrade - in 2001, and now manages other portals devoted to key issues in agricultural and rural development including ICT Update, Knowledge for Development and Anancy. CTA set up its first web log for reporting on the CTA Seminar in 2002 and currently runs 2 web logs – CTA Brussels and Live from CTA.

Creating e-communities is another way we seek to strengthen the participation of ACP stakeholders in key events and activities affecting their lives. E-forums are often used to support information exchange before, during and after seminars and workshops to allow more people to join in the discussions and be part of the event and its outcomes. For information on current e-forums see CTA Announcements.

LINKS
• Agritrade
• Anancy
• ICT Update
• Knowledge for Development
• CTA Brussels
• Live from CTA
• How to join a CTA e-forum

Seminars and study visits

Our seminar programme has four facets:

• the annual CTA seminar and the seminars coordinated by our Brussels Antennae
  seminars co-organised with regional and international organisations (co-seminars)
• support for seminars organised by other organizations
• study visits coordinated by CTA which allow participants to draw lessons from successful case studies, which may be applicable in their specific circumstances.

For more detailed reports on these programmes, see our Annual Report.

CTA Seminar
The annual CTA seminar is the Centre’s premier meeting, bringing together a wide range of experts to discuss agricultural and rural development topics of interest to CTA’s ACP membership. The seminars also help CTA to formulate strategies and activities on these topics.

The annual CTA seminar focuses on a priority ACP topic selected in consultation with our partners. In 2002 it was trade; in 2003 it was soil fertility; in 2004 it was the role of information tools in food security and in 2006, it was the role of information and communication in the development of small and medium agrifood processing units in Africa. In addition, we co-organise about six co-seminars each year, allowing us to cover a broad range of topics. Generally held in October or November, the seminars, sponsored by CTA, are by invitation only.

Seminar Support Programme
Through our seminar support programme, we sponsor ACP nationals to attend seminars relevant to their field of work. The programme allows us not only to assist ACP countries but also make sure that ACP views are expressed in international fora.

Study visits

We arrange two or three study visits a year on different topics, to stimulate discussion and the exchange of experiences in the field. Usually 15-20 ACP nationals are selected from about six countries.

LINK
• The annual CTA seminar
• How to get CTA support to attend a non-CTA seminar