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No. 50 - March-April 2011
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New staff member |
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A new copyright law in Moldova |
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New links to sustain library learning game |
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New staff member
Rebecca Neilson joined EIFL on March 1. She will be working in Rome as Program Assistant. Rebecca comes to us with over six years of experience in office administration and project management and she has a strong personal interest in working internationally. She lived in Ghana, Duayaw Nkwanta (close to Kumasi) for three years as a Peace Corps volunteer teaching high school science.
In her last position, she was coordinator of a department of an NGO based in Rome (The Glocal Forum), where she provided assistance to the CEO and founder as well as managing projects and staff in over five countries, including Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, Rwanda and Palestine. Join us in welcoming Rebecca to EIFL!
EIFL GA 2011 Update
We have selected a theme for this year’s GA: Reaching out to our end users – sharing best practices and ideas. We are building the agenda now and it promises to be interesting and thought provoking. We are planning to have external speakers, unconference sessions, ‘speed-dating’ with publishers, and presentations by our partner countries on their activities, challenges and lessons learned related to creating user-centered services.
Please visit our GA 2011 page to stay informed.
Spotlight: 3 library consortia celebrating 10 successful years
In 2011, three EIFL partner consortia will celebrate their first ten years. First up in January is Electronic Resources for Moldova - Resurse Electronice pentru Moldova (REM). In October, the Serbian Library Consortium for Coordinated Acquisition, known as KoBSON, will reach its tenth year followed in December by the Lithuanian Research Library Consortium (LMBA). Read more.
Lithuania
Lithuanian Consortium reports on e-resource training and OA
Lithuanian Research Library Consortium (LMBA) presented at the Vilnius Book Fair which was held on February 17-20 in Vilnius.
On the 17th, they organized two events. During the first, LMBA presented on their recent training of over 1000 researchers and 84 librarians and on the databases to which LMBA subscribes.
The second event was ‘Open access: how to increase visibility, usage and citations of the research output of Lithuanian scientists?’
Presentations (in Lithuanian) are available on the LMBA website.
More details about their training and an interactive ebook that they created on how to use electronic resources are available here.
Lithuanian Research Library Consortium (LMBA) general meeting
On 22 February 2011, the General Meeting of Lithuanian Research Library Consortium (LMBA) members was held at the Lithuanian Library of the Blind. At the meeting, t
he annual report for 2010 was presented. Among the major achievements was the addition of two new member institutions to the LMBA Consortium: Panevezys College and Vilnius College of Design. At present, there are now 48 members. Learn more about LMBA.
Photo caption: Emilija Banionyte, the President of LMBA Consortium.
LMBA is featured in our latest issue of Spotlight. Read more
Moldova
Please join EIFL in congratulating the Moldova consortium that recently celebrated their 10th anniversary and launched their new name: REM - Resurse Electronice pentru Moldova – Electronic Resources for Moldova.
In 10 years, they have achieved a great deal, including a successful campaign which resulted in a significant increase in the use of e-resources by faculty, and the consortium has led the way in the areas of open access and copyright and libraries. As a consortium, they are a model for others to follow. We look forward to working with REM for many years to come!!
Watch a short video of their celebration
REM is featured in our latest issue of Spotlight. Read more
March - April
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1 Mar |
IT and Human Resources for Health conference in Mali organized by the Malian Medical Informatics Association. Abdrahamane Anne, Consortium Malien des Bibliothèques (COMBI) and EIFL-FOSS country coordinator, will be a guest speaker and will present "Role of Open Access in strengthening human resources for health ". |
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15-18 Mar |
EIFL-Uzbekistan team and Uzbekistan National Library will hold the 3rd international seminar and presentation “Technologies of Scientific and Educational Information Development and Use in the Network of Electronic Libraries” in Tashkent and Urgench cities, Uzbekistan Republic. More details available here. |
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2 Mar |
Use of electronic licensed resources for three American Corners in Moldova, organized by REM (Resurse Electronice pentru Moldova – Electronic Resources for Moldova) and American Resource Center (ARC) at the U.S. Embassy, Chisinau, Moldova. |
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16 Mar |
Open Access to Scientific Information seminar organized by UNESCO, jointly with the Centre for Internet Society at the India International Centre in New Delhi, India. Iryna Kuchma, EIFL-OA programme manager, will present Global Trends in Open Access: Policies, Repository Infrastructures and Coordination. |
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21-25 Mar |
Open Access and Digital Libraries using DSpace Software workshop in Vientiane, Laos. Laos Library and Information Consortium (LALIC), National University of Laos and EIFL will host a 5-day training session to be held at the Central Library, National University of Laos. Among the presenters are Iryna Kuchma, EIFL-OA programme manager and Amar Gurung, EIFL-FOSS programme coordinator. |
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28-28 Mar |
Confederation of Open Repositories (COAR) General Assembly in Debrecen, Hungary. Iryna Kuchma, EIFL-OA programme manager will chair a COAR working group meeting Repository and Repository Networks Support & Training and will participate in the General Assembly of COAR at the University of Debrecen. |
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(date in March to be scheduled) |
Training on the establishment and functioning of an Institutional Repository at the Academy of Economic Studies of Moldova organized by REM (Resurse Electronice pentru Moldova – Electronic Resources for Moldova) |
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12-14 Apr |
Annual regional conference organised by The Library Association of Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Hezegovina and the National and University Library of Serbia in Trebinje, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The theme for this year is "Old Habits, New Challenges".Breda Karun, EIFL-PLIP programme manager will be attending and the EIFL-PLIP project from Serbia “Agrolib” has been invited to share their experiences in implementing innovative services for farmers. Learn more at the conference website |
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13 Apr |
IFLA Committee on Copyright and other Legal Matters (CLM) annual mid-term meeting in the Hague, Netherlands. Teresa Hackett, EIFL-IP programme manager, and Mariana Harjevschi, Moldova EIFL-IP Coordinator, will be attending. |
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14-15 Apr |
IFLA Presidential Meeting 2011, Libraries driving access to knowledge: Action for Europe in The Hague, Netherlands. Teresa Hackett, EIFL-IP programme manager, Mariana Harjevschi, Moldova EIFL-IP Coordinator, will attend and Iryna Kuchma, EIFL-OA programme manager, will take part in a panel discussion, ‘Open Access and the Changing Role of Libraries’. |
| 19 Apr | EIFL-PLIP meeting with TNS Research International to discuss findings of the Study of Perceptions of Public Libraries in 6 African countries (Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe) in Rome, Italy. |
New agreements
Oxford Handbooks Online
We have signed a new agreement for Oxford Handbooks Online until 31 December 2012.
Oxford Handbooks Online provides access to the full text of over 80 titles published as part of the prestigious Oxford Handbooks series, plus specially commissioned keywords and abstracts.
Four individual subject modules are available - Business & Management, Philosophy, Political Science, and Religion.
• Find out more about the EIFL agreement for Oxford Handbooks Online
Oxford Textbook of Medicine (Fifth Edition)
We have signed a new agreement for the Oxford Textbook of Medicine until 31 April 2013 which offers access free of charge to institutions in the following countries: Albania, Armenia, Cambodia, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Maldives, Nepal, Palestine. This access is supported by The Wellcome Trust.
The online edition of the Oxford Textbook of Medicine offers comprehensive coverage of the scientific aspects and clinical practice of internal medicine and its subspecialties.
• Find out more about the EIFL agreement for the Oxford Textbook of Medicine
Wiley-Blackwell Standard Journal Collections
We have signed a new 1-year pilot agreement for the Wiley-Blackwell Standard Journal Collections from 1 January 2011 – 31 December 2011.
The Full Collection offers access to 1,341 journals covering science, technical and medicine, humanities and social sciences. Individual subject collections are also available.
• Find out more about the EIFL agreement for the Wiley-Blackwell Standard Journal Collections
Renewals
IOPscience
We have signed a 3-year renewal agreement for IOPscience from 1 January 2011 – 31 December 2013.
IOPscience includes access to 45 high impact journals in a wide range of areas in science and engineering.
• Find out more about the EIFL agreement for IOPscience
Oxford Journals Collection
We have signed a 3-year renewal agreement for the Oxford Journals Collection from 1 January 2011 – 31 December 2013.
The Oxford Journals Collection offers access to 230 high quality online journals in medicine, life sciences, mathematics and physical sciences, law, the humanities and social sciences.
Find out more about the EIFL agreement for the Oxford Journals Collection
EIFL-OA Advocacy page
We created a new page on the EIFL website about Open Access Advocacy with information about open access policies (mandates) that have been adopted by 24 institutions in the EIFL network and about other open access policy initiatives that have been discussed and implemented on the national level.
And we have released videos in which EIFL partner countries share their advocacy efforts. Access the videos.
We want to keep this Open Access Advocacy page useful for you, so looking forward to receiving your feedback. Please contact Iryna Kuchma, EIFL-OA Programme Manager at iryna.kuchma[@]eifl.net.
EIFL and SPARC Europe responded to Slovenia public consultation
EIFL and SPARC Europe responded to the public consultation on the Research Infrastructure Development Plan 2011-2020, announced by the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology. In our response, we expressed our support for the establishment of a national open data and open publications infrastructure and mandatory deposition of publicly funded data and publications. We provided evidence for the benefit of open access policies and guidelines for how to best structure them. You can read our submission here
Results of the SOAP Survey: A Preliminary Overview of the Situation in EIFL Partner Countries
The SOAP (Study of Open Access Publishing) project conducted a large-scale survey of researchers regarding their attitudes of and experiences with open access publishing. SOAP released the data publicly and encouraged further analysis by others. We created an overview of data from 11 EIFL partner countries: Bulgaria, China, Egypt, Nigeria, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, South Africa, Thailand and Ukraine. Summary: http://bit.ly/ihzhlA and full text: http://bit.ly/edYeY6. We encourage you to re-use the data collected by the SOAP survey to make your own analysis for your countries and regions.
One more Armenian open access journal in DOAJ
One more Armenian open access journal has been registered in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ): Proceedings of NAS RA: Mechanics, published by the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia.
It became the third Armenian open access journal registered in the DOAJ together with the Armenian Journal of Mathematics and Armenian Journal of Physics, which were registered in 2008.
Check the DOAJ for open access journals published in your countries. And if you are the editor/owner of, or otherwise affiliated with an open access journal and you can't find it in the DOAJ please suggest it for registration here. DOAJ will be used to build The Open Access Map and we need your journals visualised there!
Open access policies now at Covenant University, Nigeria, Strathmore University, Kenya, and University of Johannesburg, South Africa
Covenant University, Nigeria, Strathmore University, Kenya, and University of Johannesburg, South Africa, introduced open access mandates. Read Covenant University policy a Harvard-style Strathmore University Open Access Policy and University of Johannesburg open access mandate. With these policies, there are now 24 open access policies across EIFL partner countries.
Your wish list for Open Access Week
On February 22 SPARC organized a webcast “The (OA) Week ahead: Getting started on Open Access Week 2011 – How to deepen faculty engagement on your campus”. Heather Joseph and Jennifer McLennan, representing the OA Week organizing coalition (SPARC), presented participant feedback from last year and invited suggestions on how to take the Week to yet another level in 2011.
OA Week is organized to raise awareness, celebrate the progress, share experiences and inspire wider participation. Open access is the free, immediate, online access to the results of research, coupled with the right to use those results in new and innovative ways. And this year’s focus is on how does open access facilitate/enhance the conduct and communication of science and scholarship?
The OA Week organisers encouraged exploring open access impact on
- Generation of results
- Generation/sharing of articles (and/or books and other text/packets), etc.
- Generation of nontraditional outputs/cultural heritage objects, etc.
- Translation into the teaching/learning process
- The communication of the above material/information to the public
- The interaction of the public with this material
- The creation of innovative opportunities for new science/scholarship, new businesses.
In 2010, OA Week was the largest and most successful yet. With just under 900 participants in 94 countries, a lot of enthusiasm, creativity and innovation last year’s event was three times larger than it was just a year before. Learn more about what worked well, what to avoid, and visions for OA Week 2010.
We will be happy to assist you in your preparations to OA Week 2011. Just let us know your wish list. EIFL Partner Countries, please contact Iryna Kuchma, EIFL-OA Programme Manager at iryna.kuchma[@]eifl.net.
News from EIFL-OA partners
EIFL-OA works in partnership with the following three organizations to promote the adoption of open access policies and practices. Together we are expanding open access in EIFL partner countries.
The Right to Research Coalition
Students are a powerful, natural ally in promoting Open Access on campus. Students feel the effects of limited access to journals everyday while conducting research and can become very effective partners in engaging a campus community, whether that’s advocating for an open-access policy or simply raising awareness of the issue.
Students are a force multiplier in starting conversations, identifying and recruiting allies, and raising general awareness of Open Access. They can talk to other students, faculty, and administrators, write articles for the campus newspaper, co-sponsor events and more – not to mention the incredible energy they bring.
The Right to Research Coalition’s website has information and a number of resources for students, librarians, and professors, including. Interested student organizations and student governments are encouraged to join the Right to Research Coalition and become a part of the global student movement for Open Access.
E-LIS, E-prints in Library and Information Science
Established in 2003, E-LIS is an international Open Archive for Library and Information Science (LIS). Over 11,500 papers have been archived to date. It is freely accessible, aligned with the Open Access (OA) movement and is a voluntary enterprise. E-LIS has grown to include a team of volunteer editors from 44 countries and support for 22 languages. The development of an international LIS network has been stimulated by the extension of the OA concept to LIS works and facilitated by the dissemination of material within the LIS community. These are some of the reasons for the success of E-LIS.
Stay connected with E-LIS
Learn more about E-LIS activities, challenges and the rich repository they have built and are growing.
Join NDLTD and participate in ETD 2011
We invite individuals, academic libraries, universities, and other organizations involved in disseminating and archiving electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs) to become members of the NDLTD.
All new-joining institutions that send a member to ETD 2011 will get free membership for a year.
ETD2011 - 14th International Symposium on Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 13-17 September 2011, Cape Town, South Africa:.
Read more about benefits of membership, membership types and ETD 2011.
A new copyright law in Moldova
A new copyright law came into force in Moldova on 1 January 2011. Thanks to the advocacy of the library community, working with EIFL, the new law contains some favourable provisions that will support libraries in Moldova in their work over the coming years. The provisions include the ability to make digital copies for preservation and replacement, the ability to create student course packs for short periods for education and classroom teaching, reproduction for research or private purposes, and the adaptation of materials for persons with a visual impairment and other reading disabilities.
Since 2008, REM (Resurse Electronice pentru Moldova – Electronic Resources for Moldova) together with the library association, has led a campaign to raise awareness among the local library community of copyright issues, and to advocate for a fair and balanced copyright law by providing comments and recommendations for improvements, with the assistance of international experts. During this time libraries built a relationship with the State Agency on Intellectual Property (AGEPI), and were recognised as stakeholders - whose knowledge and views were appreciated - thus increasing the professional standing of the library community. Several key EIFL-IP resources were translated, including the EIFL Handbook on Copyright and Related Issues, and novel promotional materials were developed e.g. the 12 principles from the EIFL/IFLA/LCA statement of principles on library copyright exceptions and limitations were printed on a mug, to ponder while drinking coffee!
The leadership and commitment of Mariana Harjevschi, EIFL-IP librarian and Silvia Ghinculov, EIFL country coordinator, together with the local team is a great example of what can be achieved. EIFL was delighted to support REM, and we will be glad to share our experiences with other consortia. The legal changes were prompted by the EU-Moldova European Neighbourhood Policy Action Plan. Even if there are no plans to update your copyright law right now, it is always good to be ready. We join others in congratulating REM on their 10th anniversary, and are looking forward to more achievements in the future.
More on the project “Advocacy for Fair Copyright Laws in Moldova”
Text of the new copyright law (original language)
Teaching the next generation about copyright and access – Polish translation
“Copyright for Librarians”, the online open access curriculum developed by EIFL and Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society aims to inform librarians about copyright law in general, as well as the aspects of copyright law that most affect libraries, and how librarians in the future can most effectively participate in the processes by which copyright law is interpreted and shaped.
In February 2011, the Student Scientific Group of Law of New Technology at Nicolaus Copernicus University (UNC) in Torun, Poland, together with the UNC Library, began a project to translate the curriculum into Polish with the idea to spread knowledge about copyright and open access principles. The instigator is Ms Bożena Bednarek-Michalska (EIFL Open Access coordinator), and the project advisor is Dr Monika Wałachowska. The translation will be available under a Creative Commons licence, the aim is to complete the first three modules by the end of the March 2011.
EIFL warmly welcomes this initiative, and looks forward to the next generation of legal experts and librarians supporting the mission of libraries in providing access to knowledge!
More information
Availability of books – supporting libraries in India
EIFL expresses solidarity with libraries in India
The Copyright (Amendment) Bill, 2010 currently before the Indian Parliament amends the Indian Copyright Act, 1957. In February 2011, EIFL and Corporación Innovarte, an NGO working with librarians in Latin America and internationally to promote balanced intellectual property laws in support of development, jointly wrote to the Minister for Human Resource Development in connection with the new Bill, expressing our concern about the implications for the availability of books for libraries in India and the need to allow parallel importation.
Many books that libraries wish to provide for their users are not available locally, and so must be purchased from abroad. Therefore, being able to directly purchase books from abroad, and import them, is crucial in order for libraries to meet user needs. The principle of “parallel importation" allows libraries, and others, to obtain copyright-protected goods directly from authorised overseas sources, rather than through local suppliers or agents. We believe it is essential that copyright law does not create a monopoly on importation, and that competition for the legal purchase of books is encouraged. This not only helps to prevent abusive pricing, but also promotes a healthy, open book market for the benefit of libraries and society as a whole. In addition, libraries with foreign titles in their collections could be exposed to claims of copyright infringement because they have no way of knowing if each and every book was originally legally imported or not, this placing an onerous burden on libraries.
Parallel importation is permitted by the WTO TRIPS agreement, as well as by the WIPO Copyright treaty. We hope that the Indian copyright bill will allow for parallel importation, and that libraries in India will be able to choose and buy books required by their readers from any country that best meets their needs.
More information
- Copyright (Amendment) Bill, 2010, bill tracker
- Centre for Internet & Society: Analysis of the Copyright (Amendment) Bill, 2010 and Blog
Themed Weeks a big success
EIFL-FOSS Programme launched its Themed Weeks series in January. They are designed to provide the most up-to-date information on FOSS tools and be a venue for sharing activities and knowledge.
January Themed Week: Disability tools
The week kicked off with a remote presentation attended by 25 people from Africa, Asia and Europe. They learned about the most commonly used and easy to install FOSS tools that support users with disabilities. Watch the full recording of the session.
The FOSS computer-based tools focused on during the presentation can help thos
e who are 'print impaired'; that is, blind, visually impaired, dyslexic, or colour-blind. Without such tools, persons with disabilities are effectively locked out of the access to valuable online resources. Libraries learned during the presentation that with minimal effort on their part they can open up a world of possibilities for their patrons with disabilities.
There are a range of tools available, among them are those that magnify the screen, change the font colours, allow users who cannot use a keyboard to navigate with a mouse only, and screen readers that read the pages out loud.
Resources
- Access the session recording
- EIFL-FOSS Disability Tools information page
- List of all of the tools covered in the session, case studies, and a Q&A section.
February Themed Week: Shibboleth - enabling access to e-resources
Libraries in many EIFL countries are unable to get access to commercial e-resources because 
they don't have static IP addresses or are accessing the internet via a public or shared IP address. Many others are unable to offer their users remote access to commercial e-resources.
To address these issues, EIFL-FOSS and EIFL-Licensing organised the second EIFL-FOSS Themed Week for 2011 about Shibboleth, an open source technology that has been widely adopted by academic institutions worldwide to facilitate anytime/anywhere access to commercial e-resources.
Over 40 people from 20 EIFL countries attended the session. It was clear that there is a high level of interest in Shibboleth across the network, and there has been lots of activity on the wiki. As a result, EIFL-FOSS and EIFL-Licensing will be planning a series of follow up initiatives.
Guest speakers at the session included Mark Williams, Access Management Officer at JISC Collections in the UK, and Brook Schofield, Project Development Officer at TERENA. Sania Battalova, EIFL Country and FOSS Coordinator for Kyrgyzstan, also shared her experience of implementing Shibboleth.
Resources
- EIFL-FOSS Shibboleth page
- Access the Shibboleth session recording
- View the wiki
- Shibboleth information sheet
- Why Shibboleth?
New links to sustain library learning game
The Utena A. and M. Miskiniai Public Library is holding high-level meetings with government 
officials to ensure sustainability and expansion of the ‘Play to Study’ project, which uses a new computer game to motivate reluctant children to go back to school.
In February, the library presented their innovative game, Iššūkis (The Challenge), to education experts and government representatives, including the ministries of Education and Science, Culture, Social Security and Labour.
“The purpose of the presentation was not only to spread the information, but also to find potential partners and resources for its expansion,” said the head of the library’s Information Department, Ms Laima Lapiniene.
The presentation at the Education Development Centre of Lithuania led to lively discussion and positive responses. The library has set dates in March for more formal discussion with the Ministry of Education and Science.
With EIFL-PLIP support, the library created Iššūkis to encourage teenagers who were resisting going to school, but who were happy to come to the library, to reconnect with their teachers and school subjects. The game was launched in November 2010, and after only four months 775 children have registered to play. According to teachers, the most popular subjects the children are ‘playing to learn’ are mathematics and languages. Read more...
Library web portal boosts farmers' sales
Sales of honey, quinces and traditional cheese produced in villages around Jagodina in central Serbia have increased, thanks to the Radislav Nikčević library’s AgroLib-Ja project.
AgroLib-Ja has created a web portal (www.agrolib.rs – in Serbian and English) where farmers are now posting articles about agriculture, sharing information and marketing their produce. More and more farmers are using the site.
Five months ago, dairy farmer Mr Dejan Stankovic was only marketing his cheese through the fresh produce market in Jagodina. The AgroLib-Ja team taught him about the value of online marketing.
“I was very surprised when people who saw me on the Internet started getting in touch with me. I also found new customers. I think that the Internet is a good way of associating farmers and a good way of exchanging experiences,” he said.
Members of the beekeepers association of Bagrdan village say that interest in their honey has increased since advertising on the web portal. They have also benefited from the AgroLib-Ja projects lecture series, which aim to improve farming methods and create opportunities for networking.
“We met the representative of local self-government who will provide transportation to Belgrade for the Beekeeping Fair.” Next year, they will receive support to organize a beekeeping fair in Jagodina.
The AgroLib-Ja team invited Mr Zoran Milošević, an agricultural engineer who farms quinces to join the online market. Almost immediately, Mr Milošević sold 1,500 kg of quinces. “I got important contacts, and I think I will easily be able to sell the entire amount next season,” he said.
Public Library Radislav Nikčević has made three short films about how their project is improving farmers lives.
Read more and watch the videos.
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Events
EIFL at eLearning Africa 2013
30 May 2013
WIPO Diplomatic Conference for VIPs
16 Jun 2013
