Ten international experts led the four-day training course that combined theoretical presentations with practical case studies to highlight the importance of copyright law enforcement as well as the detrimental consequences of intellectual piracy. 

The session was designed to be highly interactive for the 34 participants from 10 countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), namely Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.  Included in the programme was a visit to a customs' office where they were asked to distinguish between genuine and pirate DVDs, thus putting the knowledge they had acquired into practice. 

Participants are now expected to organize training sessions in their own countries, passing on what they have learned to their colleagues but adapting this to their respective national frameworks.

During the opening ceremony of the workshop, the Namibian Minister of Broadcasting and Information, Ms Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, officially launched the Namibian Reproduction Rights Organization (NAMRRO), the second collective management society in the country.  Speaking in the presence of Mr Olav Stokkmo, Secretary General of the International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organisations (IFRRO) and Dr Claudia Harvey, Director of the UNESCO Cluster Office in Windhoek, Ms Nandi-Ndaitwah stressed the need for intellectual property protection in order to stimulate economic growth and development. 

The training session was principally funded by the Spanish Agency for International Co-operation and run jointly by the UNESCO Copyright Programme and the UNESCO Cluster Office in Windhoek with the support of the UNESCO Cluster Office in Harare.  The Namibian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting as well as IFRRO also contributed significantly to the organization of the workshop.

Other partners included the International Publishers Organisation (IPA), the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), the Southern African Federation Against Copyright Theft (SAFACT), the Business Software Alliance (BSA) and the Recording Industry of South Africa (RISA).

The establishment of NAMRRO was made possible thanks to the joint efforts of UNESCO, the Namibian copyright administration and IFRRO. The board of directors include: Ellen Namilah, Pieter Reinard, John Max, Shimi ya Shimi, Tarah Shinavene and Moses Moses. 

Further reading: IFRRO October 2006 Newsletter (PDF)