CIAT continues celebrating its 50 years of history

El CIAT continúa celebrando sus 50 años de historia

CIAT has been celebrating its 50 years all year long in 2017 through various activities that have brought together partners, donors, retired Center staff, and current work teams. Along with the office in Managua (Nicaragua) next week (click here to see the agenda), that will make three regional events (Hanoi and Nairobi previously) which have been held this year. Now is the time to announce the celebrations in its main headquarters in Cali, Colombia, on 8 and 9 November.

The CIAT Board of Trustees and the CGIAR System Council will be attending the CIAT’s 50th anniversary at its main headquarters. In addition, the event will feature the participation of representatives from important institutions, such as the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), as well as other academic and research entities.

Likewise, Colombian institutions – CIAT’s traditional partners – such as Corpoica, the Biopacific Park, Fedearroz, and others will be participants in this meeting which, above all, seeks to be a space for dialog about the present and future of agricultural research in the world.

For that reason, the agenda includes panel discussions with important themes, such as:

  • Latin America and the Caribbean as a model for agricultural development and sustainable food systems
  • Building a sustainable food future
  • The future of climate change research
  • Aligning public and private interest to scale up and deliver impact
  • Sustainable food systems

During the second day, 9 November, various group discussions will be held to reflect on CIAT’s work throughout its 50 years of history and its way forward.

Also, a guided tour will be conducted through the CIAT installations and there will be six interactive stations designed so that the visitors may learn more details about CIAT’s work.

“This event is an opportunity to recognize the marvelous work that we have carried out thanks to the support of our strategic partners. A plaque will be presented to 12 institutions, and the road that links CIAT with Corpoica will be inaugurated,” said María Fernanda Reyes, assistant to the Board of Directors and coordinator of the celebration event.

Parallel to the event, CIAT’s Board of Trustees and the CGIAR System Council will hold meetings to learn about the advances in our research and to hold dialogues about institutional initiatives. The meetings will also focus on a review of legal documents, policies, and CIAT’s business plan, as well as other aspects including resource mobilization, administrative management, HarvestPlus’s strategy for reaching the objectives proposed for the year 2030, distribution of the funds for the CRPs, and the proposed budget for the coming year.

If you are interested in seeing the panel discussions and dialogs that will be held during the event, you will be able to do so in the Tropics room, which will be set up for direct video transmission of the celebration.

We invite you to watch for other activities that will be held in headquarters to mark the fifty years. Save Friday, 15 December, in your agenda, as other news will be coming as well.

Check here the complete agenda.