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The 2nd FAO/CBD/OECD webinar on International Databases on Biosafety

Good practices for effective national communication mechanisms

Now available: Webinar Report

27 May 2015

Background

On 12 November 2014 the Webinar on the International Databases on Biosafety was jointly organized by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). During the webinar, the mandate, scope and activities of the FAO GM Foods Platform, the Biosafety Clearing-House (BCH) of the CBD and the OECD BioTrack Product Database were discussed. One of the key points discussed was the importance of national focal/contact points for three databases working together in close collaboration. Although the participants of the webinar widely acknowledged this need, many participants stated that they are in need of establishing and/or improving effective communication and coordination mechanisms.

The upcoming webinar will provide a forum to facilitate the discussions among the focal points of the three databases on biosafety (FAO, CBD and OECD) and the sharing experiences and good practices in establishing/improving national communication mechanisms on the topic of biosafety. The webinar will provide participants with a training oppurtunity on how to increase the effectiveness of these mechansims at the national level. The final report and the YouTube videos of the first webinar is now available here.

Online discussion

In preparation on the webinar, a joint online discussion forum for focal points and contact points of the database wasorganized to share their views on the challenges and experiences they faced in establishing and maintaining effective inter-agency communication, at the national level, on biosafety-related issues. This discussion was held between 27 April – 10 May 2015 and will be hosted by CBD. The draft summary of the online discussion can be found here.

Agenda

Presentations

Organizers

                    

From left to right and above to below:

Ms Masami Takeuchi, the manager of the FAO GM Foods Platform (http://fao.org/gm-platform), Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO).

Mr Ward Hermans, the FAO GM Foods Platform (http://fao.org/gm-platform), Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO).

Ms Manoela Miranda, Biosafety Clearing House (bch.cbd.int), United Nations Environment Programme – Convention on Biological Diversity (UNEP-CBD).

Mr. Peter Kearns, BioTrack Product Database (http://www2.oecd.org/biotech/default.aspx), Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Mr. Bertand Dagallier, BioTrack Product Database (http://www2.oecd.org/biotech/default.aspx), Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Mr Takahiko Nikaido, BioTrack Product Database (http://www2.oecd.org/biotech/default.aspx), Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

No Picture:

Ms. Dina Abdelhakim, Biosafety Clearing House (bch.cbd.int), United Nations Environment Programme – Convention on Biological Diversity (UNEP-CBD).

Recordings of the Presentations (available through Youtube)

Please click on an image below to access the recording:

   
   
  
  
 
If you are interest in attending future participants it is possible to subscribe to our emaillist by sending a message to: [email protected].

Practical information

Date

Wednesday, 27 May 2015

Time

Two sessions were held (Use Time Converter to calculate the time difference between your location and Rome, Italy): 

  • Session 1: 09:00 Rome time
  • Session 2: 16:00 Rome time

Registration

The session is open to all users and contributors of the three databases mentioned above, however places are limited. If you are interested in attending the webinar, fill out the Registration Form and send it to [email protected] by no later than 24 May 2015.

How to join the webinar

Once you have successfully registered, you will receive a confirmation e-mail. You will receive another e-mail on the 25th of May 2015 (2 days before the event), which provide a link to access the webinar. One hour before the webinar session you have registered, you will receive the final e-mail with the same link as a reminder.

You will need to have a good internet connection to join the webinar. The use of your headphone/microphone is strongly recommended. Your browser must be the latest version with Adobe Flash Player properly installed. We suggest you to click on the link when you receive it on the 25th of May so that you can check if your browser and Flash are up to date.

Questions?

Send your questions at [email protected] 

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