Professional development and education committee report Jan. 14, 2006 Berlin Members of the professional development and education committee who attended the executive meeting in Berlin (JoAnn Alumbaugh, USA; Lelio Bernardi, Italy; Fuat Memeli, Albania; Hans Mueller, Switzerland; Owen Roberts, Canada [chair]; and Marina Tell, Sweden) had a full and productive meeting. The committee made two recommendations to the IFAJ executive, both focused on member benefits, and both of which were endorsed: 1. Pilot project with the AgriculturalCommunicationDocumentationCenter (ACDC), University of Illinois - The PD&E committee recommended IFAJ support a one-year pilot project with the center. The recommended and approved sum was US$2,000. ACDC will provide special orientation to help IFAJ members gain easy and effective online access to information. Center staff will do so through web site enhancement, "how to" features in the IFAJ web site and IFAJ News, online searching demonstrations and other opportunities planned with the IFAJ professional development committee. IFAJ will designate members to serve on an ad hoc International Advisory Council to strengthen the international content, focus and usage of ACDC resources and services. Rationale: The ACDC is already the world’s most comprehensive source for agricultural communication information, comprising 28,000 documents from more than 100 countries. With agricultural reporting becoming increasingly global, access to such a collection of material gives IFAJ members a wealth of new information. As well, access to IFAJ members gives ACDC the opportunity to significantly expand its outreach. 2. Support for translation for Star Prize entries - The PD&E committee recommended IFAJ subsidize translation costs for member countries entering the Star Prize contest. The recommended and approved sum was 100 Euro per entry, to a maximum of 1,000 Euros per year. Rationale: All Star Prize entries must be made in one of the IFAJ’s three official languages (English, German or French). Concerns have arisen that the cost of translation may be preventing some member countries from entering the competition. This subsidy is meant to help remove that barrier for countries requiring translation services. TOP