ICARDA
News
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
Role
of Technical and Professional Education and Training in Rural Development
The symposium brought together over 35 experts and officials in technical and professional education and training in rural development from Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Palestine, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia and Yemen; from UNESCO, ICARDA, International Labor Organization (ILO), United Nations Economic and Social Commission for West Asia (ESCWA), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Arab Federation for Technical Education (AFTE); representatives from the Agricultural Industry and production sector; and NGOs from Lebanon and Syria.
The inauguration ceremony started by observing a one-minute silence in memory of the late President Hafez Al-Assad of Syria, as well as of a symposium participant, Mr Issam Al-Zaien, Head, Department of Technical Cooperation in the Lebanese Ministry of Education, who passed away upon his arrival in Aleppo as a result of a sudden heart attack. This was followed by the Syrian national anthem.
Dr Suleiman Suleiman, on behalf of UNESCO, thanked the Syrian Minister of Education for his support to the symposium, and Prof. Dr Adel Beltagy, Director General of ICARDA, for the dedicated efforts of the Center and for providing the necessary technical and administrative support for holding the symposium. He then welcomed the participants to the symposium, and highlighted the objectives of the symposium and anticipated results to help the national programs in developing their plans for rural development.
Prof. El-Beltagy, Director General of ICARDA, welcomed the participants to ICARDA and highlighted the value and importance of both technical and professional education and training in rural development. He also stressed the role of ICARDA in human resource development and capacity building, especially in the Arab region. He thanked the participants from different countries and regional and international organizations for their participation, and wished them success in meeting the objectives of the symposium.
The Syrian Deputy Minister of Education, H.E. Mr Samir Hababa, in his address, thanked UNESCO and ICARDA for their support to the symposium and highlighted the ongoing developmental achievements in Syria under the leadership of President Bashar Al-Assad, and the special attention and support that technical and professional education is receiving in the country. He reminded the audience of what Dr Bashar Al-Assad emphasized when he took the oath as President: "we must give education and training special attention in all aspects and at all levels." He also encouraged and called on the people of Syria to benefit from the worldwide experience available at the Arab and international institutions in order to keep up with the spirit of this era "an era of science and technology." He then thanked the Director General and staff of ICARDA for their outstanding efforts and support that brought this symposium to a reality. He also thanked the representative of UNESCO, Dr Suleiman Awad Suleiman, for his strong support to the symposium and wished all participants success in achieving their objectives.
After watching a video on ICARDA's different research and training activities, the participants, led by Dr Samir El-Sebae Ahmed, Head of HRDU, toured the Center's facilities including laboratories, the central library, and the research farm.
The symposium included presentations from the participants, which generated stimulating discussion. ICARDA's experience and its role in enhancing the process of rural development, through training and capacity building, was highlighted by Dr Samir El-Sebae Ahmed, who cited several examples of success, such as the Southern Regional Agricultural Development Project (SRADP), the Khanasser Valley and Jabal El-Hoss Project in Syria, the Matrouh Resource Management (MRMP) Project in Egypt, the GAP Project in Turkey, the World Bank Project in Yemen, and the Mashreq & Maghreb Project in Syria, Lebanon, Jordon, Iraq, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and Libya.
The recommendations of the different working groups were reviewed by the Organizing Committee and presented during the closing session for discussion and approval. The organizing committee agreed to prepare full proceedings of this symposium in Arabic with an English translation of the executive summary and recommendations.
In closing ceremony, and on behalf of Prof. Dr El-Beltagy, Dr El-Sebae thanked all the participants, UNESCO, and the Syrian Ministry of Education for their effective collaboration with ICARDA in holding the symposium. He also thanked all ICARDA colleagues involved in the symposium, as well as the Syrian media representatives for their interest. The symposium activities were well covered in the Syrian media. On behalf of UNESCO, Dr Suleiman Suleiman also thanked the participants and both ICARDA and the Syrian Ministry of Education for making this symposium a success.
The symposium was a result of a meeting in late 2002, when Dr Samir El-Sebae Ahmed (ICARDA), Dr Suleiman Suleiman (UNESCO) and Dr Hazwan Alwaz (Syrian Ministry of Education) were nominated as the organizing committee members for this regional symposium.
ICARDA's (www.icarda.org) mission is to improve the welfare of people and alleviate poverty through research and training in dry areas of the developing world by increasing production, productivity, and nutritional quality of food, while preserving and enhancing the natural resource base. ICARDA is a Future Harvest Center.
