final+email+message+to+people

Dear APM Participant,

We look forward to welcoming you to Addis next week for ILRI's Annual Programme Meeting. We now have 195 signed up participants and last minute preparations are being made to programme and venue. There are just a few things to note before you travel:

1. For people needing accommodation, we have allocated participants to three hotels in Addis Ababa: Panorama, Beshale and Intercontinental Hotels. A few participants have been allocated rooms on campus but these were in high demand and we haven't been able to satisfy everyone's first choice - your understanding on this is appreciated. Please avoid requests for accommodation changes since our Liaison and Housing colleagues will be fully occupied in the days leading up to APM. Thanks!

2. For ILRI staff, the accommodation details are available from Thursday 8 April on the APM page on ILRINet; for non-ILRI staff, we will communicate with you directly.

3. As indicated in previous e-mails, please do not arrive at the airport in Addis expecting to get a tourist visa on arrival. We have already experienced difficulty with the immigration authorities in such cases and we cannot guarantee that you will be allowed to enter the country. Please contact Tibebe GebreAmlak in case of queries (t.gebreamlak@cgiar.org) but do this before you travel.

4. Although we will be issuing name badges it would be a good idea for ILRI staff to bring and wear their ILRI ID cards during APM.

5. On the Thursday and Saturday evenings, we will have Ethiopian DJ's playing music. If you have a favorite track, bring the DVD with you.

6. The APM dinner will be on Sat 17th April. We encourage you to **bring national dress** to wear: either your home country or a country in which you have worked - this will add to the occasion.

Travel well!

Alan