SURVEY - MASS. MANUFACTURING PRODUCTIVITY
The Mass. Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MassMEP) has launched a research study to assess progress of Mass. manufacturers in adopting strategies to win in the global economy. The Next Generation Manufacturing Study (NGM) is the first step in a long-term effort to help state manufacturers weather the recession and improve competitiveness. The free, web-based survey is confidential and will take 30 minutes to complete. Participants will received a customized benchmarking report comparing their progress to overall results as well as to other respondents of similar revenue and number of employees. For more information, call 508-831-7020 or email gregoryk@massmep.org. To access the survey, visit the website below.

Visit www.NGMStudy-NewEngland.com

EVENT: Mar. 12, Thurs. - “Obama Administration & Russian Public Opinion,” 8am, Boston
The US-Russia Chamber of Commerce of New England presents this breakfast seminar featuring Andrei Zolotov, Founding Editor of Russian Profile, and currently a Nieman Fellow at Harvard. The meeting will be held at McDermott Will & Emery, 28 State St., Boston, from 8-10:30am. Cost is $25. On-line registration available.

Visit http://www.usrccne.org/events.phtml?n=146

EVENT: Mar. 16, Mon. - US & Asia - The Role of Indonesia, 12 noon, Boston
WorldBoston presents His Excellency Sudjadnan Parnohadiningrat,
Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to the United States, at a luncheon on Mar. 16. The Ambassador will present a timely briefing on relations between Indonesia and the US and will also reflect on Secy of State Hillary Clinton’s recent visit to Indonesia. Luncheon location is Hampshire House, 84 Beacon St., Boston. Cost is $50 for WorldBoston members; $75 for non-members. Please RSVP to Ilya Lozovsky at 617.542.8995 x101 or wb@worldboston.org.

Visit www.worldboston.org

CONFERENCE: Mar. 18-20 - “CONECT’s Northeast Trade & Transportation Conference, Newport, RI
CONECT (Coalition of New England Companies for Trade) presents its 13th annual conference featuring a number of panels on imports, exports, compliance, logistics and supply chain. Friday’s keynote speaker is Mortimer Downey III, Chief Transportation Policy Advisor to Obama Presidential Campaign and the Obama Transition Team. Luncheon keynote speaker is Mr. Tay Yoshitani, CEO, Port of Seattle. Location of conference is Hotel Viking, Newport. For pricing information and to register, contact Stefanie Jessiman at 508-481-0424 or email conectoffice@charter.net.

Visit www.CONECT.org

EVENT: Mar. 18, Wed. - New England Latin America Business Council Networking Evening, 5:30pm, Cambridge
NELABC presents a free event to introduce its 2009 event offerings. Location is Lingo Bar & Grill, inside the EF Education Building, One Education St., Cambridge. Event begins at 5:30pm and ends at 7:30pm. For questions, contact NELABC at 781-330-9345. RSVP at info@nelabc.org.

Visit www.nelabc.org

EVENT: Mar. 19, Thurs. - “Private Equity Investing in China,” 7am, Boston
ACG Boston presents this “dealmakers breakfast” featuring Kevin Qian, Partner, MWE China, and Steve Waters, Founder, Compass Advisers. These two China veteran M&A professionals will discuss what’s going on in China now, how the worldwide recession has impacted China, and what the Chinese government is doing to continue to make China a good place to invest. Co-sponsored by Asia-America Chamber of Commerce. Breakfast location is Seaport Hotel Plaza Ballroom, Boston. Event begins at 7am. Cost is $55 ACG members, $105 non-members. Contact info@acgboston.org or call 781-213-9990. Register on-line.

Visit www.acgboston.org

EVENT: Mar. 20, Fri. - “Francophonie Week Opening Gala,” 7pm, Boston
The Quebec Government office in Boston and several partners are organizing Francophonie week in Boston, Mar. 19-29. The Mar. 20 opening gala will feature a buffet from many French-speaking regions, and a jazz concert by Annie Comtois. Tickets are $80, of which $10 goes to a humanitarian organization that helps the education of young Haitian students. RSVP for the gala by calling 617-482-1193 or emailing qc.boston@mri.gouv.qc.ca.

Visit www.franco-newengland.org

EVENT: Mar. 24, Tues. - "New Medical Technology - The Frugal Swedish Way, " 12 Noon, Cambridge
The Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce of New England presents this lunch event featuring Bengt Hermanrud of Zoe Medical. Hermanrud will demonstrate how Zoe Medical has been able to rapidly develop new systems that are federally regulated, meet strict quality requirements, and are also developed at low cost. For further information,
email info@sacc-ne.org.

Visit www.sacc-ne.org

CONFERENCE: April 16, Thurs. - “US-Canada Technology Business Forum,” 11am, Boston
The New England Canada Business Council presents its 10th annual business forum, where US and Canadian technology companies gather with business, financial and economic development entities to explore opportunities for cross-border business expansion. Location is Colonnade Hotel, Boston. Event runs from 11:15am-7pm. Cost is $150 for NECBC members and partner organizations, $190 non-members. Call 781-801-4310 or email ellenrota@aol.com.

Visit www.necbc.org

NEW MASSPORT SHIPPING SERVICE to Kingston, Jamaica
Massport announces that CMA CGM (America) LLC will begin shipping service on March 23, 2009, to and from Kingston, Jamaica. The route rotation is Kingston-NY-Boston (Conley Terminal)-Halifax-Kingston. For further information, contact Massport or call CMA at
877-556-6308.

Visit www.massport.com

ENERGY 2009--April 20-24, Hannover, Germany--energy, power generation, transmission & distribution

HOSPITALAR 2009--June 2-5, Sao Paulo, Brazil--health care

LASER 2009--June 15-18, Munich, Germany--optical & photonics technologies

DSEi2009--Sept. 8-11, London, UK--digital solutions, trends & innovation

Your notices of events and suggestions for topics are always welcome.

Massachusetts Alliance for International Business (MAIB) is grateful to the Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MassMEP) for their financial support.

Visit the MassMEP