By Laura Arcari
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The banner for the forum outside the conference room ©IFAD |
On 11-12 February 2013 IFAD headquarters in Rome will be opening its doors to the Indigenous Peoples' Forum.
The first global meeting of the Forum will bring together 29 indigenous peoples' representatives from Africa, Asia and the Pacific and Latin America and the Caribbean as well as other Board members and representatives from communities of national and regional indigenous peoples' organizations.
As of last December 2012 the IFAD Administrative Visa Section, in close collaboration with the Policy and Technical Advisory Division responsible for Indigenous and Tribal issues, have been actively networking with embassies to ensure that visas for entrance to Rome, Italy will be obtained in time to allow the participants to travel. Some of the participants may have never traveled outside their regions or have any experience with the cumbersome bureaucracy involved and our staff took the extra mile to provide a personalized service and ensure that each case was closely monitored and followed up especially from countries where the situation may be complex. In anticipation of emergencies that may possibly arise, the visa section was prepared to expect the unexpected and to be creative with alternative solutions as was the case when the political outburst in Mali prevented visas to be obtained through the Embassy of France, Italy's liaison. In conjunction, 63 additional visas were being processed for high level dignitaries and officials who will be attending the 36thSession of IFAD's Governing Council.
The countdown is final and planes are being boarded on their way to Rome as this article comes out.