Official Visit to Japan
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Visits UNU
UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon and UNU rector Konrad Osterwalder at the conclusion of the town hall meeting with UN staff. Rector Osterwalder presented Secretary-General Ban with a selection of books published by UNU Press. Photo: Jeremy Hedley/UNU
2009.07.01 • UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, in Japan at the invitation of the government of Japan, visited UNU Headquarters today as part of his official visit. Secretary-General Ban was warmly welcomed by UNU rector Konrad Osterwalder before meeting with the heads of UN agencies in Japan and speaking at a town hall meeting of UN staff in Elizabeth Rose Hall. The secretary-general also met with UN goodwill ambassadors and supporters and sat for an interview with Aya Takashima of Fuji Television.
The series of meetings provided the secretary-general with an opportunity to highlight the importance for UN agencies to work together as “One UN,” especially when confronted with such critical challenges such as climate change. He reiterated the importance for the international community to “Seal the Deal” later this year in Copenhagen.
Secretary-General Ban had previously met with Japan’s foreign minister Hirofumi Nakasone, and will meet this evening with Japanese prime minister Taro Aso. After visiting Japan, he will visit Myanmar before travelling to Switzerland, Ireland and Italy.
Forecast: warm with a chance of energy savings
“Cool UNU” Campaign Heats Up
UNU rector Konrad Osterwalder at his desk sans jacket and tie for the start of the “Cool UNU” campaign. Photo: Jeremy Hedley/UNU
2009.07.01 • Since 2005, United Nations University Centre in Tokyo has implemented a business casual dress code during the summer months as part of its Cool Biz campaign. From July 1 to September 30 this year, air conditioning thermostats will be set at 28 °C throughout offices and 26 °C in the conference halls.
A “Warm UNU” campaign during the winter, when heating was reduced throughout the building, resulted in a reduction of 5% of electricity usage and 12% of gas consumption. For the summer months, we hope to do even better.
The Cool Biz campaign, proposed by then minister of the environment Yuriko Koike, originated in Japan in 2005 to reduce electricity consumption and the consequent emission of CO2.
Cool Biz (Wikipedia)
Climate Change
The Role of Higher Education in Adapting to Climate Change
Speakers on the first day of the conference (from left, first row): S. B. S. Abayakoon, Konrad Osterwalder, Isao Kiso, (second row) Janette Lindesay, Diqiang Li, Nobuo Mimura, Toshio Koike, (third row) Kazuhiko Takeuchi, Kazushige Taniguchi, Hiroyuki Yoshikawa, and Srikantha Herath. Photos: UNU-ISP
2009.06.29 • Representatives from more than 18 universities and research organizations from across the Asia-Pacific, as well as international and intergovernmental organizations, gathered at UNU headquarters in Tokyo to put higher education on top of the climate change adaptation agenda. The first of its kind in the region, the three-day event entitled ‘The Role of Higher Education in Adapting to Climate Change’ was jointly organised by the UNU Institute for Sustainability and Peace, and the Institute for Integrated Research System for Sustainability Science (IR3S) of the University of Tokyo.
The event successfully established a regional network that will provide the foundations for a comprehensive postgraduate educational programme to produce the necessary students, educators, and research needed for effective adaptation to climate change. More than 100 educators, researchers, policy makers and administrators participated.
World Environment Day
UNU Supports YouTube Think Green
2009.06.05 • In recognition of World Environment Day 2009 today, UNU is collaborating with YouTube Japan to support a special channel called Think Green.
More than 15 million viewers access YouTube each month in Japan. In order to help this community find videos that encourage them to think about environmental topics, YouTube has collaborated with some of its premium partners to create this new channel that will remain active for one year.
In addition to the UNU, partners include NHK, National Geographic, Asahi and Diginfonews. Around one hundred videos are showcased in the channel, including five UNU-produced video briefs published in Our World 2.0.
World Environment Day is one of the principal vehicles through which the United Nations stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment and enhances political attention and action.
The day's agenda is to give a human face to environmental issues, empower people to become active agents of sustainable and equitable development, promote an understanding that communities are pivotal to changing attitudes towards environmental issues, and advocate partnership which will ensure all nations and peoples enjoy a safer and more prosperous future.
Higher education and climate change adaptation
Symposium on June 10, UNU Headquarters, Tokyo
The Financial Crisis and its Impact on Africa
The Tenth UNU Africa Day Symposium
Speakers and panellists at the 2009 UNU Africa Day Symposium held May 25 at UNU Headquarters, Tokyo. From left, first row: Konrad Osterwalder; Jean Christian Obame; Yoshiro Mori; Nobuhide Minorikawa. Second row: Elisabeth Tankeu; Eiji Hashimoto; Nobuyoshi Chihara; Kazushige Taniguchi. Third row: Takeshi Sagawa; June Kunugi; Drine Ime; and Noureddine Hached.
2009.05.26 • The financial crisis and its impact on Africa was the subject of this year's UNU Africa Day Symposium held May 25 at UNU Headquarters in Tokyo. The symposia are organised annually by UNU and the African Diplomatic Corps in Tokyo with support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. This year we celebrated the tenth year of the series.
Coming a year after the conclusion of the TICAD IV conference held in Yokohama, the symposium examined the financial crisis with regard to the role of Japan and the TICAD process. Expert speakers and panellists were drawn from government and the public sector, as well as from the UN system and the private sector.
Yoshiro Mori, former prime minister of Japan and president of the Japan-African Union Parliamentary Friendship Association, delivering his keynote speech at the 2009 UNU Africa Day Symposium. Photos: Jeremy Hedley/UNU
Keynote speeches were delivered by Yoshiro Mori, former prime minister of Japan and president of the Japan-African Union Parliamentary Friendship Association, and Elisabeth Tankeu, the African Union's commissioner for trade and industry.
Speeches and presentation files will be posted shortly to our Priority Africa website.
Biodiversity
José Sarukhán Lectures at UNU
José Sarukhán met with UNU staff at the university's Global Environment Information Centre to discuss biodiversity prior to delivering his lecture on Mexico, biodiversity, and the work of CONABIO (Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad). Photo: Jeremy Hedley/UNU
Interview with Sarukhán
During his visit, Dr. Sarukhán filmed an interview with UNU staff.
Visit the UNU channel for more videos.
2009.05.19 • Renowned scientist and educator José Sarukhán, senior researcher at the Institute of Ecology, National Autonomous University of Mexico, and coordinator of the National Committee on the Study and Conservation of Biodiversity, delivered a lecture at UNU Headquarters on May 18 entitled "Mexico: The Privileges and Challenges of a Megadiverse Country."
Dr. Sarukhán gave an overview of Mexico's biodiversity before introducing the work of CONABIO (the Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad), focusing on the immense data sets the organization has been able to assemble and the uses to which these data are being put.
Before delivering his lecture, Dr. Sarukhán sat for a video interview with the UNU Media Studio (to be posted shortly) and toured the Global Environment Information Centre, a joint initiative of the United Nations University and the Ministry of the Environment, Japan, which is currently staging an exhibition on biodiversity (Japanese) ahead of the International Day for Biological Diversity on May 22.
The lecture was organized by UNU and the Embassy of the Republic of Mexico, which is hosting prominent scientists and artists in Japan to help celebrate 400 years of contact between the two countries.
CONABIO (Spanish)
Mexican Biodiversity
(CONABIO's portal site on Mexican Biodiversity in English)
New from UNU Press
Heads Up! Early Warning Systems for Climate, Water and Weather-Related Hazards
Edited by Michael H. Glantz
Heads Up! provides a useful review of early warning systems in operation today, while exploring a range of hazards including hurricanes, heat waves, floods, droughts, tsunami and volcanoes. With contributions from an international team of scientists, this practical handbook serves as a valuable contribution to our awareness and understanding of the role early warning systems play in disaster avoidance and reduction.
Download the UNU Press 2008-2009 catalogue
(7 MB PDF)
Global Seminar Series
UNU Global Seminars are held annually in Japan and abroad in an effort to increase awareness and enhance understanding of contemporary global issues and the role of the United Nations. This aim is achieved through close interaction of students and young professionals with scholars and experts working in the UNU's global networks.
International Courses
The UNU International Courses (UNU/IC) are organized annually for a select group of postgraduate students and professionals in various occupations in Japan and abroad who wish to pursue careers in international fields in public-service or private organizations
U Thant Lectures
The U Thant Distinguished Lecture Series is a forum through which eminent thinkers and world leaders speak on the role of the United Nations in addressing the challenges facing the world's peoples and nations in the twenty-first century.
UNU Library
The UNU Library plays a vital role in support of dissemination of the knowledge gained in UNU activities and assists learning and research through information resources.
UNU Video Portal
Tune in to UNU events as they happen, and on-demand. Recent additions to the UNU Video Portal:
- GEIC Symposium on Communities’ Responses to Climate Change
- Ecosystem Service Assessment Series: "An Eco-cultural Health Approach to the Assessment of Satoyama"
- International Women’s Day
Financial Assistance
The UNU Financial Assistance Programme is implemented by UNU with the generous assistance of the Government of Japan and JBIC which provides reimbursable funds to self-financed students from developing countries studying at junior colleges and universities in Japan.
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Page last modified 2009.07.03.
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