IAALD NEWS 
 Central and Eastern Europe
Report on the planning meeting of the GBDL/ IAALD/ CTA/ NitraNet International Conference in Freising
Tatiana Kobidova, Secretary of IAALD Central and Eastern European Chapter
 
    At the end of November together with Mr. Michal Demes, President of IAALD Central and Eastern European Chapter, I took part in the planning meeting for the GBDL / IAALD / CTA / NitraNet International Conference "The Role of Agricultural Information in Decision Making in Research and Practice" directly at the conference site in Freising, Germany. Freising is a lovely historical town, and the residence of the agricultural faculty of the Munich University of Technology (TUM). The campus is called Weihenstephan. It also houses another faculty of the TUM - brewery - and a number of other agricultural institutions. For this reason it's called the 'Green Centre'. The conference venue is located in the town centre.
    Freising is approx. 40 km from Munich, the centre of Bavaria, a very nice modern city with a peculiar atmosphere and folklore. The connection by S-Bahn to Freising is quick, comfortable and punctual, which is what Germans are famous for. I believe Freising will provide very pleasant and suitable conditions for the conference work and excursions.
    The 2nd Planning Meeting took part at the Data Processing Unit of the TUM. Its director, Prof. Dr. Precht, was designated the conference chairman. The Organising Committee comprises Dr. Jan van der Burg, the President of IAALD, Dr. Roy Ackmann, Nutrition Information Centre at the University of Giessen, Dr. Birgid Schlindwein, Information Specialist, Munich University of Technology at Weihenstephan, and Michal Demes. Dr. Roy Ackmann as Committee chairman led the meeting and co-ordinates the preparation. The meeting was run in a friendly and creative atmosphere. Its main issues were the program and keynote speakers, the budget and the responsibilities of the respective Committee members.
    NitraNet will organise the participation of attendees from Central and Eastern Europe, from 22 countries. The Subregional Office FAO in Budapest will sponsor the conference fee of one participant or half the registration fee of two participants from each of these 22 countries, as well as part of the travel (bus) expenses. The bus capacity of about 50 people will decrease expenses for those who find it convenient to get on and off anywhere along the route Nitra - Budapest - Vienna - Freising (and back).
    Registration must be sent to Mrs. Birgid Schlindwein . However, we here in NitraNet will handle the paperwork regarding the bus transportation, so those enquires must be sent to us.
    The first day of the conference, 1st June, for CEE participants is given over to the session "The Development of WAICENT and AGRIS / CARIS Centres, Depository Libraries and AGLINET". The session will give the opportunity for participants to deal with problems common to these countries.
    The more detailed programme and information can be found in the second Call to Conference in February, when the submission of applications and summaries of proposals is expected. A homepage with the latest information has been established with the URL http://hal.weihenstephan.de/GBDL/Conference98
    Those from Central and Eastern Europe who are interested in the conference can address directly the Secretary of IAALD Chapter:

Tatiana Kobidova, e-mail: kobidova@uvtip.sk, fax: 421 87 52 52 75, or telephone 421 87 522 185.
I look forward to our meeting in June in Freising.