ICTP co-sponsored the Third Latin American School in String Theory (LASS2003) from 1 to 20 December 2003, marking the concluding event of ICTP's 2003 calendar year. The school was held at Universidade Estadual Paulista, Institute of Theoretical Physics, in Sao Paulo, Brazil. ICTP staff scientists Kumar Narain, Seifallah Randjbar-Daemi and George Thompson gave lectures. Previous editions of LASS were held in Cuba (1998) and Mexico (2000). On 5 January 2004, the ICTP held its first activity of the new year: a Workshop on Accounting for the Urban Environment, organised by the Ecological and Environmental Economics programme. The 'itinerant' workshop, which includes lectures and study visits, is taking place in the Ethiopian cities of Nazareth, Addis Ababa and Bishangari. A joint workshop will also take place with the Ethiopian Development Research Institute (EDRI) to launch the Environmental Economics Policy Forum. The forum is designed to bring together developing world scholars and policy makers interested in sustainable economic development.