ICARRD will be held in Porto Alegre, Brazil at the invitation of the Government of Brazil. The city is known worldwide as the host of the World Social Forum and for being a pioneer in participatory processes of local administration. The choice of location goes hand in hand with FAO’s determination to make the whole ICARRD process opened to NGOs, CSOs, the scientific community, farmers’ organizations and international organizations.

The promotion of participation by stakeholders in decision making in agrarian reform and rural development processes is a primary aim of the Conference. To encourage participation, dialogue sessions between representatives of governments and civil society organizations will be organised during ICARRD.

For those interested in participating in the Conference, registration forms are available at: ../en/register.html

In order to participate fully in the conference process it is not essential to be in Porto Alegre.

Since November 2005, the ICARRD website has provided a powerful communication tool to exchange information and encourage participation.

During December 2005 and January 2006, five electronic conferences have gathered
information and ideas on Conference themes.

The documents to be discussed in Conference working groups are the result of wide-ranging consultative processes at global, national and local levels, with concrete case studies prepared by national and international institutions, governments and civil society organizations.

Many cases studies prepared specifically for ICARRD, as well as several national voluntary reports prepared by governments, are also available on the web.

Important note:
ICARRD Secretariat does not have a mechanism to support funding for participation in the conference. However, it encourages everyone to seek resources and channels to fund their own participation through established groupings of civil society, local and national donors, intergovernmental organizations (UN agencies and international financial institutions) working in-country that are interested on the issue of Agrarian Reform and Rural Development.

Note: One official delegate of each of the countries listed below will receive support from the ICARRD Secretariat to participate in the conference. For further information, please contact the
ICARRD-Secretariat@fao.org