The Regional Office for the Near East of the Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO/RNE) in collaboration with the Association of Agricultural Research for the Near East and North Africa (AARINENA), the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR), and the International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Lands (ICARDA) will organize a training workshop on "Building National Capacities in Information and Knowledge In Support of Agricultural Research for Development in the Near East Region" from 9.00 a.m. during the period from Sunday 17 till Wednesday 20 May 2009, at Shepherd Hotel in Cairo, Egypt.

The workshop will be attended by senior information/knowledge specialists from agricultural research institutions of twelve countries of the Near East Region: (Egypt, Cyprus, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen), along with representatives from FAO, AARINENA, GFAR, ICARDA and the Arab Organization For Agricultural Development (AOAD).

The main objectives of the workshop are to continue to build the following capacities of the participants who represent the National Information Focal Units of 12 countries in the Near East and North Africa region:

(i) Awareness of strategic aspects of information and knowledge in the context of development of their National Agricultural Information System (NAIS), the Regional Agricultural Information System (RAIS), and the global Coherence in Information for Agricultural Research for Development Initiative (CIARD) Initiative;

(ii) Awareness of the potential for improving linkages and sharing information and knowledge between researchers and other stakeholders using Information and Communication Management tools;

(iii) Ability to identify priorities for early implementation in support of the development of their NAIS;  and

(iv) Understanding and skills in the application of information management systems and tools, featuring the Near East Rural and Agricultural knowledge and Information Network (NERAKIN), to facilitate development of NAIS, including identification of changes to adapt it to the needs of participating countries.

It is worth to note that FAO is providing significant contribution in building information infrastructure and capacity building through distributing NAIS to the 12 countries participating in the workshop.