ABOUT THE MEETING

On behalf of the United Nations Mine Action Team (UNMAT), we are pleased to announce that the Eleventh International Meeting of Mine Action Programme Directors and UN Advisers will be held from 13 to 18 April 2008. The Meeting will begin with a reception in Ljubljana, Slovenia on the evening of Sunday, 13 April 2008 and conclude in Šibenik, Croatia on Friday, 18 April 2008. 

This annual meeting is a significant one for the mine action community. It represents an opportunity for stakeholders to meet and assess the progress and challenges of the sector. Participants will include senior officials from mine action programmes, colleagues from United Nations departments and agencies, international non-governmental organizations, experts from donor governments and other mine action implementing partners. 

The Eleventh Meeting will be the first to be held in a mine-affected region. A new approach this year is to combine plenary sessions with on-site demonstrations of mine action operational capacities.
In preparing for this meeting, the UNMAT has extended its usual partnership with the Geneva International Centre for HumREGISTRATIONanitarian Demining (GICHD) to include the International Trust Fund for Demining and Mine Victim Assistance (ITF), and the Croatian Mine Action Centre (CROMAC). The CROMAC and ITF are assisting with all planning arrangements, as well as contributing their substantive expertise in mine action. We also appreciate the support being provided by the Slovenian and Croatian authorities in preparing this Meeting. 

The agenda is currently being developed and will be sent with other relevant documents in due course. In the meantime, if there are any questions about the Eleventh Meeting, please contact Ms. Maria Vardis (vardis@un.org) of the United Nations Mine Action Service who is coordinating the Conference Secretariat.

With the help of the ITF, we have established this website through which invitees make and confirm all registration and administrative arrangements for the Eleventh Meeting. This site will also include information on the venues and hotel accommodation being used for the Meeting, visa requirements, and a preliminary schedule of the events for the week. Please check back for latest developments as they are posted.

If you have received an invitation, please proceed with the registration process by following the step-by-step instructions, beginning with the REGISTRATION. We would appreciate if all forms can be completed as soon as possible and latest by 15 February 2008.

We look forward to seeing you at the Eleventh Meeting.

Maxwell Gaylard
Director
United Nations Mine Action Service