Greetings from Bangladesh

Greetings from Bangladesh, where an AuthorAID workshop will begin tomorrow (Sunday). I arrived a few days early, in order to give a session at an INASP country coordinators’ meeting.

As you may know, INASP (the International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications) is the organization at which AuthorAID @ INASP is based. INASP has many activities to promote the communication of scholarly information, especially in developing countries.

The country coordinators’ meeting brought together people from more than 20 countries. Most were from developing countries in Africa, Asia, or Latin America. Some INASP staff members and other people also participated.

Some attendees were people whom I had met at AuthorAID workshops in Africa or Latin America. I was happy to see them again and to meet new people.

My session was on preparing grant proposals. It included a presentation similar to one that I give at AuthorAID workshops. It also included a small-group exercise. My slides for the session have now been posted in the AuthorAID resource library.

People worked hard at the country coordinators’ meeting. However, there wasn’t only work. One afternoon we went sightseeing; despite heavy rain, we had a good time. The last evening of the meeting, we enjoyed a dance performance and a banquet. Also, at various times, some of us went shopping.

The day after the workshop, some of us did more sightseeing. For example, we visited the University of Dhaka, which has a beautiful campus. Now I’m trying to catch up on e-mail and other items before the AuthorAID workshop begins.

Then, onward to the workshop!