Twentieth anniversary (1984-2004)

Time and place

December 3, 2004, Brussels, Palais des Académies

Organisers

Nutrition Third World & Royal Academy of Overseas Sciences of Belgium

Financial sponsors

Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique (FNRS) & Fonds voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (FWO-VL)

Keynote address

Mr. Armand De Decker, Minister of Development Cooperation. The Minister emphasized the originality of the meeting and showed how it fitted the Belgian policy of development aid.

Three objectives

- To improve the understanding of the concept of “applied nutrition research”

- To show that good research in that area is actually performed successfully in the South by local scientists

- To give those scientists the opportunity of expressing their perceptions and expectations regarding the difficulties of research in their countries.

Scientific programme

Part 1. Presentations

Six scientists, present or past grantees of NTW, presented their research, answered questions and briefly commented on their challenges and expectations.

The symposium was unusual in that all invited speakers were researchers from developing countries endeavoring to answer the challenges posed by the different forms of malnutrition prevalent in their countries. In the ample time foreseen for questions and discussions the public participated actively.

Part 2. Round Table

NTW grantees and members of NTW exchanged views, which they shared with the public during a lively discussion.

Attendance

About 80 participants from public and private organisations active in development (including NGO's, foundations, universities, private companies, Belgian and foreign researchers on the subject). High level of attendance by researchers and students from the Third World, 31 of whom represented 20 different countries.

Proceedings

The Symposium's proceedings were published in 2005 by the Academy (see “Proceedings”).