The colloquium will be organized around four overarching, crosscutting topics: Health, Education; Infrastructure, and Food Security (including water). H.E. M. Nathanial Barnes, Ambassador Plenipotentiary to the US from the Republic of Liberia, will offer an overview of current prospects for sub-Saharan African countries and peoples.  Other outside participants will include Dr. Robert Bollinger of Johns Hopkins University, videolinked to colleagues at the JHU-Makarere University Public Health facility in Uganda; Dr. Romain Murenzi, former Minister of Education and Presidential Adviser on Science and Technology, Republic of Rwanda and current joint Fellow at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (International Section) and the UM Institute for Advanced Computer Studies; and Dr. Tag Demment, Director of the Global Livestock Collaborative Research Support Program (GL-CRSP) and Professor of Ecology in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the University of California-Davis (past President, Association for Agriculture and Rural Development [AIARD] and chair, International Agriculture Coordinating Committee of the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities [APLU {formerly, NASULGC}])  By the end of this day of information sharing and networking, we hope to have produced the kernels of working groups and, most importantly, identified next steps to be taken by those groups to explore possible collaborations.

Up to date details on the day's program (including additional speakers) can be found at the following website: http://www.international.umd. edu/oip/9830.  A pdf general flier for the event is also attached to this message. We encourage you to share this information with you own networks of contacts, however, to be certain that the announcement reaches as many interested parties as possible.

Please note that the colloquium includes lunch. IF YOU OR COLLEAGUES PLAN TO PARTAKE, PLEASE REGISTER (FREE OF CHARGE) BY THURSDAY, APRIL 22  (campus catering requires considerable lead time...).  Registration by phone: 301-405-8535; email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .