A Virginia Tech program that is helping to train the next generation of agricultural professionals in developing countries is holding a symposium on improving capacity in agriculture education at the George Mason University Conference Center Sept. 18-20.

This event will focus on identifying strategies to meet capacity-building challenges in three areas: gender equity, interventions in post-conflict environments, and rural youth workforce development.

“The symposium will serve as a forum for gathering input on agriculture education issues in developing countries, and will help us build a community of practice,” said Tom Hammett, director of the Innovation in Agricultural Training and Education program

Educators from  Mozambique, Liberia, Rwanda, South Sudan, Guatemala, Peru, Cambodia, and the Netherlands are expected to attend. Featured presenters include Her Excellency, Ambassador Faida Mitifu of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Paul Weisenfeld, assistant to the administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development Bureau for Food Security

The program is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development and managed by Virginia Tech’s Office of International Research, Education, and Development.

Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech takes a hands-on, engaging approach to education, preparing scholars to be leaders in their fields and communities. As the commonwealth’s most comprehensive university and its leading research institution, Virginia Tech offers 240 undergraduate and graduate degree programs to more than 31,000 students and manages a research portfolio of $513 million. The university fulfills its land-grant mission of transforming knowledge to practice through technological leadership and by fueling economic growth and job creation locally, regionally, and across Virginia.

Written by Edin Simms
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