A three-day conference which launched a long term programme of interest in Lebanese Emigration and brain drain issues. The programme developed to include several publications and the Transfer of know-how through Expatriate Nationals (TOKTEN) project in collaboration with UNESCO and UNDP. The conference brought together an international group of scholars to discuss the history of Lebanese emigration as well as the present circumstances of the Lebanese. Members of the group had done academic studies in the field of Lebanese emigration from Australia, Canada, Europe, Latin America, Lebanon and the United States. After giving an overview of emigration and setting the historical background, the conference covered Lebanese emigration in the USA, Australia, Latin America, Mexico and the Caribbean, and West Africa.