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Dear IAALD member,<br><br>
I hope that many of you have found your way to the IAALD congress web
site at:<br>
<a href="http://iaald-afita-wcca2008.org/" eudora="autourl">
http://iaald-afita-wcca2008.org/</a><br><br>
<br>
1. Registration<br><br>
It is already possible to register, to submit a paper or poster, and to
book a hotel. A special site has been set up at:<br>
<a href="https://entry.jtb.ne.jp/me/registrye/registrye.asp?id=0955" eudora="autourl">
https://entry.jtb.ne.jp/me/registrye/registrye.asp?id=0955<br><br>
<br>
</a>2. Call for papers and posters<br><br>
The organizers are calling for papers and posters related to the general
theme: "‘<i>advancing information and communication management,
knowledge creation and sharing, and the application of information
technologies in agriculture." <br><br>
</i>We expect the scope of the congress to cover information
technologies, information knowledge and communication activities related
to the applied life sciences, including: agriculture, food from
production to marketing, natural resources, fish and wildlife,
environment, extension, communication, and education <br><br>
See
<a href="http://afita.ac.affrc.go.jp/wcca2008/paper.html" eudora="autourl">
http://afita.ac.affrc.go.jp/wcca2008/paper.html</a> for more
information<br><br>
Submit abstracts of your proposals at:
<a href="https://entry.jtb.ne.jp/me/registrye/registrye.asp?id=0955" eudora="autourl">
https://entry.jtb.ne.jp/me/registrye/registrye.asp?id=0955<br><br>
<br>
</a>3. Pre-Congress Workshops<br><br>
Sunday 24 August will comprise a series of workshops organized by members
and partners of IAALD, AFITA and the other organizers. These already
include 'Adoption of ICT-enabled information systems'; 'rural
telecentres'; 'semantic problems and solutions', 'image management'; 'RSS
feeds'. More are being planned.<br><br>
<br>
4. Special Congress Sessions <br><br>
Within the main congress, there will be the usual mix of plenary and
parallel events. One plenary forms part of the e-agriculture initiative
led by FAO. We will also organize several thematic sessions - on aginfo
developments in Africa (led by the IAALD Africa chapter); on experiences
in the 'Pacific islands' ; on forest information (with IUFRO); on open
access; and on research/science information systems.
<br><br>
<br>
5. Logistics, Accommodation, etc<br><br>
To participate in the pre-congress workshops, we recommend that you plan
to arrive in Tokyo on Saturday 23 August. And to depart on Thursday 28
August. The congress site allows you to register and to book a
hotel.<br><br>
Many people are of course worried about stories of a very expensive
Japan. In fact, since we are meeting on the outside of Tokyo at the Tokyo
University of Agriculture, the prices are in general less than they were
for our 2005 Congress in Kentucky.<br><br>
To help you plan, we have compiled the following guidelines (based on 5
nights in Tokyo):<br><br>
Congress registration per person will be EUR 225 (early bird). -
$330. This includes almost all lunches, all breaks, and most
dinners<br><br>
Hotel cost is between EUR 50 and 65 per night (single room) [it is
between 40 and 55 per person in a twin room]<br><br>
Other costs for 5 days - local travel, breakfasts, incidentals, approx
EUR 100 ($150)<br><br>
- For MORE COSTLY hotel, estimate approx EUR 100/day per person plus EUR
225 registration plus any visa costs plus flights.<br>
Total, approx: EUR 725 / $ 1100 / GBP 550<br><br>
- For LESS COSTLY hotel, estimate approx EUR 75/day per person plus EUR
225 registration plus any visa costs plus flights.<br>
Total, approx: EUR 600 / $ 900 / GBP 450<br><br>
- there is also a shared dormitory room option at the University, for
which we await further details.<br><br>
These costs EXCLUDE flights and possible visa costs (depending on your
nationality).<br><br>
We look forward to seeing many of you in Tokyo!<br><br>
Best wishes<br><br>
Peter<br><br>
<br>
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Peter Ballantyne<br>
President of the International Association of Agricultural Information
Specialists (IAALD)<br>
addr - P.O. Box 63, Lexington, KY 40588-0063,
USA<br>
email - peter.ballantyne@iaald.org<br>
skype - peterballantyne<br>
web -
<a href="http://www.iaald.org/" eudora="autourl">http://www.iaald.org<br>
</a> tel - +31 70 3509982 [the
netherlands]<br><br>
Join IAALD - "The leading global community of practice for
information specialists serving agriculture" -
<a href="http://www.iaald.org/" eudora="autourl">www.iaald.org<br><br>
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