Ismail Serageldin is director of the Library of Alexandria, a major library, cultural center and successor to the original Bibliotheca Alexandrina located on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea in the Egyptian city of Alexandria. He is also chairman of the board of the seven affiliated research institutes and the three affiliated museums. Dr. Serageldin is a Member of the Senate in Egypt (Majlis Al-Shura), co-chair of the African Biotechnology Panel (with Calestous Juma). He serves as chair and member of a number of advisory committees for academic, research, scientific and international institutions and civil society efforts, including the Institut d'Egypte (Egyptian Academy of Science), Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), the Indian National Academy of Agricultural Sciences and the European Academy of Sciences and Arts. He is the former chairman of Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), founder and former chairman of the Global Water Partnership (GWP) and former chairman of the Consultative Group to Assist the Poorest (CGAP), a microfinance program. Dr. Serageldin previously served as Distinguished Professor at Wageningen University in the Netherlands and has also served in a number of capacities at the World Bank, including vice president for Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development and vice president for Special Programs. He has published over 60 books and monographs and over 200 papers on a variety of topics such as biotechnology, rural development, sustainability and the value of science to society. Dr. Serageldin holds a B.S. in engineering from Cairo University, M.R.P. and Ph.D. degrees from Harvard University and has received 22 honorary doctorates. click here to visit his website click here to listen to his presentation at the June 2009 Salzburg Global Seminar board meeting