Open Letter of Farewell by Founding Director of UNU-EHS and Vice Rector a. i. of UNU

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Colleagues and Friends!

Prof. Bogardi

By 31 July 2009 the most exciting chapter of my – up to now – 40 year-long professional life came to a close. After having served almost six years as founding director of the United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) and more than two years as Vice Rector a. i. of UNU I have retired (following the UN age limit regulation) from the UN system.

It is my pleasant obligation to thank all of you for the unique opportunity to serve science and to promote the objectives of the United Nations simultaneously. Donor ministries, my superiors, colleagues and collaborators of UNU, UN colleagues and many many scientific partners from universities, research institutes and governments gave their best to help UNU-EHS from its first steps to become within a short period of five years a trusted partner and a recognized scientific institution.

I am proud to claim that we do not only talk about partnerships; UNU literally lives networking. Thus our success and recognitions are shared by our partners in research, education and awareness raising. I admit without false modesty that looking back gives me a certain satisfaction. Looking forward fills me with great expectations.

UNU-EHS with its interesting scientific mandate and research portfolio as well as with its brilliant and dedicated staff is very well placed to generate new knowledge, develop human capacities and effectively assist major adaptation processes and preparedness to master the rapid and complex environmental and socio-economic changes humanity is experiencing.

Retiring from the UN system means neither retiring from science nor leaving entirely. Following the invitation of the Earth System Science Partnership (ESSP) and the University of Bonn I took up recently my new assignment as the executive officer of the Global Water System Project (GWSP) hosted by the Center of Development Research (ZEF) of the University of Bonn.

Working now at a key partner of UNU-EHS (the University Bonn is an associated institution of UNU) on a topic of high relevance for UNU gives me the welcome opportunity to explore in the near future collaborative research endeavors.

I wish Dr. Reza Ardakanian, vice rector a.i. and Dr. Fabrice Renaud, director a.i. of UNU-EHS, who took over ad interim the leadership of UNU in Bonn, all the best. I am sure that they will very successfully lead the further development of what has been started five years ago.

Janos J. Bogardi
Bonn, August 2009