1) The document introduces IAALD, an organization that connects information specialists working in food, agriculture, and the environment through meetings, knowledge sharing platforms, and collaboration. 2) IAALD's mission is to enable its members to access and apply agricultural information to achieve sustainable land and resource use. It does this by connecting members worldwide and organizing meetings for information exchange. 3) The document outlines IAALD's priorities which include strengthening its membership, facilitating professional development, expanding partnerships, and improving communication and events for members.

1. Introducing IAALD CGIAR InfoManagers Meeting Aleppo, 2-7 October 2005 Peter Ballantyne

2. Vision the leading global community of practice for information specialists* in food, agriculture and the environment * people and institutions who create,capture, access (acquire, store, archive, digitize), share (disseminate, exchange, publish) or utilize information and knowledge concerning agriculture and rural development.

3. Mission IAALD enables its members and partners to mobilize, access and apply information to achieve a more productive and sustainable use of the world’s land, water, and renewable natural resources.

4. What we do IAALD connects agricultural information specialists worldwide providing platforms and spaces for information dissemination, exchange and knowledge sharing IAALD convenes agricultural information specialists worldwide organising meetings and catalyzing dialogue among all agricultural information stakeholders

5. What we do IAALD communicates knowledge and information to its members and others improving the status and practice of agricultural information management and dissemination IAALD collaborates in joint activities with members and other partner organisations facilitating and catalyzing collaboration across agricultural information communities

6. … to be properly knowledgeable, the centres and the peripheries need to be in conversations with the other … Wendell Berry Convening and connecting

7. Guiding principles Serve and engage members [private goods] Contribute to general agricultural information ‘public good’ Leverage impact through partnerships and members Focus on information exchange on and about information and communication management in agriculture

8. Priorities Strengthen the membership base Engage the members Facilitate professional development for members Expand and deepen partnerships and alliances Hold events and workshops Inform and communicate with members and the wider agricultural information community Establish a sound organizational financial base Reorganise the IAALD business practices

9. Plans Africa Conference, May 2006 World Congress, 2010 Regional meetings – links with AIBDA, USAIN, INFITA, IFLA Associations and chapters ? Vitalize information and communication ? Professional development ? certification?

10. iaald web directory orgs & people events calendar qb offline iaald listserv blog news social bookmarking photos iaald events partner journals partner events qb online OA archive partner webs partner lists arizona ncsu icarda institutional archive Infocomms Strategy

16. blog news aginfo feeds event feeds directory updates photo feeds qb articles feed repository feed Multisearch Pulling it together

17. Getting involved? For members, by members Volunteering Recruiting, promoting, marketing, … Organizing activities, events, or joint ventures Contributing your news, your views, … Writing, reviewing, editing - for the QB, the web site, the blog, … discussing, sharing, connecting on the listserver

18. The New Committee Peter Ballantyne (The Netherlands) Vielka Chang-Yau (Panama) Debbie Currie (USA) Michal Demes (Hungary) Elizabeth Dodsworth (UK) Elizabeth Goldberg (Italy) Toni Grieder (USA) Barbara Hutchinson (USA) Nick Maliha (Syria) H.V. Mote (India) Dorothy Mukhebi (Kenya) Shuchun Pan (China) Takashi Nagatsuka (Japan) Stephen Rudgard (Italy)

19. More? www.iaald.org http://iaald.blogspot.com www.flickr.com/photos/iaald http://del.icio.us/tag/information+ agriculture http://pkp.sfu.ca/ojs/