A group of 42 information specialists from various organizations participated in the course on 'Open Archives for Development' held June 11 through 13, 2007, organized by AGRORED Perúand coordinated by AIBDA Peru and E-LIS Peru with the collaboration and technical support of FAO AIMS. Representatives of the FAO and IICA Country Office in Peru also participated in the course.



Participants from Lima and the provinces gained innovative technical knowledge on Open Access (OA) from Ms Imma Subirats, Information Management Specialist at FAO Headquarters in Rome, founder and coordinator of E-LIS, and a distinguished expert in the field. 

The course helped set the groundwork for technical knowledge on the principles behind Open Access to scientific and technical information, and placed particular attention on how important it is for participating organizations to promote the Open Archives Initiative (OAI). The course program included the following subjects: the OA movement, timeline, path models (gold and green color codes), main features of repositories, new visions on architecture for open networks for science and technology, among others.



According to Franz Martin, FAO Information Management Officer for Latin America and the Caribbean, this course – which is unique in the region - was “a key activity for building the capacities and skills needed for the work underway in conjunction with the AGRORED-Peru National Network. The idea is that the network eventually relies on the new architecture model for open networks that we consider a forerunner approach in the region's agriculture sector.”



The participants, who were gathered in room Z101 of Peru’s Pontificia Universidad Católica resourcefully presented the 'DECLARACION Z101' (Z101 Declaration) at the end of the course as testimony of their commitment to the global Open Access movement. This is now being promoted throughout Latin America and the Caribbean through the 'Z101' Collective in Peru. A free association membership group was created for this purpose, moderated by the members of AIBDA PERU:http://groups.google.com/group/z101?hl=es



An international 'e-forum' on Open Access for information specialists and for those who work in organizations involved in agricultural research and innovation in Latin America and the Caribbean is also being planned in cooperation with this collective.



News published by IAALD Blog at http://iaald.blogspot.com/2007/06/agrored-peru-specialists-endorse-good.html