This project, convened by EARTH College and the Salzburg Seminar, in cooperation with Noragric, Centre for International Environment and Development Studies at the Agricultural University of Norway, was initially conceived by a group of international participants attending Salzburg Seminar Session 338, Sustainable Agriculture, in July 1996. At that session, the experiences of EARTH College, represented at that session by its president, Dr. Jose Zaglul, were presented and discussed among the participants. Many participants were intrigued by the presentation of the EARTH model and were interested in exploring the possibility of finding a way to replicate or transfer some aspects of the EARTH model to other regions of the world. Since that time, extensive conversations have taken place between individuals at EARTH and the Seminar in discussing next steps. We are interested in learning about and from other successful models which address education, in all its forms, and which offer alternatives for the education and training of agriculture and sustainable development professionals in the tropics. Our intention has been to design a project that will provide a forum enabling people from all over the world to better understand the problems facing the tropics, and to look at how education, particularly innovative educational models, can assist in solving these problems by creating capable and creative leaders.