You may find more information on the First Scientific Conference of the Global Cassava Partnership for the 21st Century, 21-25 July, 2008, Ghent, Belgium, here.
The conference represented the first opportunity for exchanging expert and scientific information about cassava from the field to the plate - in particular for the global South and it facilitated the discourse amongst key cassava stakeholders like end-users, researchers, the private sector and donor agencies. It aimed at raising awareness of the importance of cassava in the world, reviewing recent scientific progress, identifying and setting priorities for new opportunities and challenges as well as facilitating access to information for donors and policy makers of the European Union in Belgium.
The First GCP21 Scientific Conference has been recognized with IPBO (International Plant Biotechnology Outreach) from Ghent University, and was graded as a "highly successful or very successful" venue by 95% of the attendants who responded to the survey. GCP21 has published eProceedings in the form of a DVD that was send to more than 1000 people in 66 countries in the world, and they can also be found here
The First GCP21 Scientific Conference was sponsored by several donors and the information can be found here