Contacts
In Rome: Christian Hofer – World Bank (+1) 202 458-0936
chofer@worldbank.org
Germán Rojas – FAO ( +39) 06 57053963
german.rojas@fao.org
In Canada: Warren Feek – CI (+1) 250 588-8795
wfeek@comminit.com WASHINGTON/ROME/VICTORIA, October 18, 2006– The World Bank, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and The Communication Initiative are organizing the World Congress on Communication for Development (WCCD). Hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of Italy, the event will take place in the headquarters of the FAO in the ancient city of Rome. Key topics on the agenda include communications challenges related to Health, Governance and Sustainable Development (see full agenda at www.devcomm.org/agenda). For the first time on such a large scale, many of the world’s most influential development and communications leaders will gather in Rome, Italy, to discuss how to increase the success rates of development programs through more effective and widespread use of Communication for Development. All sessions are open to the media. If you are interested in attending the congress as a media professional, please visit our website at www.devcomm.org/media, and request your accreditation by sending an email as soon as possible to: iride.boffardi@fao.org. Due to limited space, not all interested parties will be granted complete access; however, plenary sessions will be broadcast live on our website (www.devcomm.org). When: Wednesday, October 25 – Friday, October 27, 2006 Where: Headquarters of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, Rome, Italy. There will be two press conferences. The first press conference will take place on Wednesday, October 18, 2006, 11:00 am, at the Foreign Press Association in Rome, and the closing press conference will be held on Friday, October 27, 2006, 10:30 am in the FAO in Rome. Separate media advisories will be sent out for each event. Background Communication professionals engaged in development initiatives, senior policymakers, development practitioners, donor and civil society organization representatives, community representatives, and academics from around the world will meet to share knowledge and ideas pertaining to Communication for Development. Discussions and presentations will focus on what works, why it works, and how Communication for Development contributes to more effective and successful development. The WCCD will demonstrate the value of Communication for Development and supply evidence of its central role in increasing the impact and sustainability of development initiatives. It will provide a platform to convincingly argue that Communication for Development should become an integral part of the planning and implementation of development initiatives if the world is to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and other promises made in the past years to the billions of people living in poverty. The world has committed itself to an ambitious agenda that seeks to end extreme poverty, grapple with the intertwined issues of poverty and sustainability, ensure wide access to health and education, and strengthen the institutions and policies that form the basis of government accountability to their citizens. Effective communication is at the heart of this agenda. Communication that leads to successful and sustainable development places the people who are most affected at the centre of the discussions and decisions that will ultimately have an impact on their livelihoods.
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