[A2k] Fifteen Candidatures Received for Post of Director General of WIPO; Construction of New WIPO Building to Start in April.

[Barbara Stratton]

1.Fifteen Candidatures Received for Post of Director General of WIPO.
Geneva, February 13, 2008
PR/2008/535
http://www.wipo.int/pressroom/en/articles/2008/article_0005.html

Fifteen candidatures for the post of Director General of the World Intellec=
tual Property Organization (WIPO) were received by 5 p.m. (Geneva time) on =
February 13, 2008, the deadline fixed for the submission of names. The WIPO=
 Coordination Committee, which is composed of 83 member states, will meet o=
n May 13 and 14, 2008 to nominate a candidate for appointment to this posit=
ion by the WIPO General Assembly, which is scheduled from September 22 to 3=
0, 2008.

The candidates are (in alphabetical order of names of candidates):  Mrs. Al=
icia Adamczak (Poland), Mr. Toufik Ali (Bangladesh), Mr. Jorge Amigo (Mexic=
o), Mr. Jos=E9 Gra=E7a Aranha (Brazil), Mr. Gjorgji Filipov (The former Yug=
oslav Republic of Macedonia), Mr. Francis Gurry (Australia), Mr. Masood Kha=
n (Pakistan), Mr. Enrique A. Manalo (Philippines), Mr. Mauro Masi (Italy), =
Mr. James Otieno Odek (Kenya), Mr. Philippe Petit (France), Mr. Bojan Pretn=
ar (Slovenia), Mr. Boris Simonov (Russian Federation), Mr. Yoshiyuki Takagi=
 (Japan), and Mr. Jos=E9 Delmer Urbizo (Honduras).

The process of selecting a Director General is governed by the Convention E=
stablishing the World Intellectual Property Organization and "The Procedure=
s for the Nomination and Appointment of Directors General of WIPO," adopted=
 by the General Assembly of WIPO in September 1998.


2. Construction of New WIPO Building to Start in April.
Geneva, February 11, 2008
PR/2008/534
http://www.wipo.int/pressroom/en/articles/2008/article_0004.html

Two contracts relating to the construction of a new administrative building=
 to extend the premises of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WI=
PO) headquarters in Geneva, were signed on Friday, February 8, 2008, with t=
he Swiss firm Implenia Entreprise G=E9n=E9rale SA, as general contractor, a=
nd a syndicate of two banks: Banque Cantonale de Gen=E8ve and Banque Canton=
ale Vaudoise, for part of the project's financing. The construction of the =
new administrative building, comprising 560 work places, will start along t=
he Route de Ferney in early April 2008.

The general contractor and the banks were selected by a board composed of r=
epresentatives of WIPO member states.

Burckhardt+Partner SA, a Swiss firm specialized in the management of large =
construction projects, was previously selected as pilot of the project thro=
ugh a similar tendering exercise.

Construction work is expected to start in early April 2008 and to last appr=
oximately 30 months. Once completed, the Organization will be able to regro=
up all staff in a single building complex, just off the Place des Nations.