PREPARATIONS FOR FORMAT NATIONWIDE EVENTS

Information for Core Participants

By Musa N. Omare

I am writing to you concerning events FORMAT plans to hold in eight different towns in the country between September and November 2003. The list of local organizers and target towns is given in Table 1. You should have received a copy of previous communication from Dr. Woomer to all local organizers of the various events. Given your participation in the previous FORMAT events, you were selected to exhibit, present talks and conduct demonstrations at all eight events. FORMAT will provide funds for your participation as follows:

    Exhibit preparation                             Sh. 7200

    Per diem (accommodation, other)      Sh. 36000

    Total                                                  Sh. 43200

These are the only funds that will be availed to you to participate in all the events. Transport between events will be provided by FORMAT and reimbursements made for traveling to-and-from events. A two-day Planning Meeting is organized for 25 and 26 August 2003 at the Village Market Conference Room for all Core Exhibitors and local event organizers. We expect you to arrive a day before (24 August). Funds for the preparation of exhibits will be paid to all exhibitors at the planning meeting and remaining balance paid to you a week before the first event. Transport and other expenses to the Planning meeting will be paid to you at the meeting. To confirm your participation in all the eight events and planning meeting, sign the attached form and send it to FORMAT secretariat immediately. We also ask you to come to the planning meeting ready to prepare your posters and other informational materials.

What we expect of all exhibits. FORMAT will provide up KSh. 7200 to each exhibitor to assist in preparation of your exhibit and in return we expect you to prepare and present an excellent exhibit. An ideal exhibit will consist of products, posters and information leaflets. Posters can be photographs with captions, drawings/graphics and text (explaining your exhibit/product/process). We encourage exhibitors to give out information about the technologies, products and services to the members of the public during the events. We ask all of you to prepare these informational materials and they may include posters, leaflets and oral presentations. Remember to include your contact address in these informational materials. The secretariat will assist you to prepare these materials. Exhibitors who would like to be assisted should contact or submit their information to the Secretariat by 19 August 2003. I attach a photo (Picture 1) of an exhibit from a previous event to clarify the above requirements. We anticipate that you will present a similar or better exhibit in all the events and it has to be well preserved until the last event.

As you can see from the schedule of the events and from the letter sent to you earlier, there will be one-day and two-day events and have been organized to follow each other to save on cost and time of travel. Exhibitors will be expected to arrive a day in advance to set up their exhibits. We ask you to prepare well for the events because the events will involve a lot of travel and exhibit occupy up to 60% of the program to allow members of the public to interact with exhibitors and various organizations at the event. Unlike previous FORMAT events, the countrywide events will be fully open to the members of the public. That implies exhibitors will have “a lot of talking and showing to do”. We have contacted local organizers concerning the dates and venues for their respective events and following confirmation of all the dates and venues, we intend to post an advert in the Nation Newspaper about the events. There are no contest or awards planned for the events.

Feel free to contact me for any clarifications. The secretariat will keep you updated on the preparations. If you feel that you may not be in a position to participate in these events, contact the secretariat immediately so that we seek a replacement. We expect to receive a confirmation from you by 15 August 2003.

The exhibit of the Kenya Resource Centre for Indigenous Knowledge (KENRIK) of the National Museums of Kenya describing the conservation of traditional foods.  This exhibit,  presented by Ms. Maryam Imbumi, is one of twelve exhibits targeted for countrywide exposure.