Members of the CGIAR Marketing Group held their annual meeting on the ILRI campus in Nairobi last week. Each CG center can send two representatives, usually one from the fundraising side and the other from communications. This year CIMMYT was represented by Daisy Ouya, our writer/ editor based in Nairobi. During the business meeting, the group examined possibilities for improving its own profile and addressed the problem of getting more active representation from the fundraising / donor relations side of the group.
Several invited speakers, including Joachim Voss the DG of CIAT, and CGIAR consultant Howard Elliott, stimulated discussion. Romano Kiome, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture in Kenya (and a member of the CIMMYT Board of Trustees) in his talk asked the question “How can we make agriculture relevant again?” He challenged the group to engage more in dialogue if it is to achieve greater clarity about the CG’s diverse audiences.
The group decided on a set of priority activities for the coming year to help promote the CGIAR and its member research centers. Projects will include the creation of a traveling exhibition / museum highlighting the CG’s work, and the production of a short video about the CGIAR.
Capacity development 