In October, the UNU held sessions of its Global Seminar series in Namibia and Ghana. The former considered “Africa’s Natural Resources: From Conflict to Sustainable Development” while the latter focused on “Strategies for Sustainable Development and the Pressures of Globalization”.

As part of the UNU’s continued focus on Africa, Prof. Mohamed H.A. Hassan and Prof. Joseph O. Malo delivered lectures on “Science and Technology: The African Perspectives” at UNU Headquarters in Tokyo.

This year marked the 25th anniversary of the UNU Global Seminar – Shonan Session. Under the theme of “Global Challenges and East Asian Responses”, the 2009 seminar addressed the impacts of globalization on the region and the initiatives being taken by various actors in response.

On 26 August, a group of about 50 students from Kunitachi City visited UNU Centre – Tokyo, where they heard an information briefing about the UN and UNU enjoyed a show on climate change presented by Oriental Land.

The topic of the 3rd Charles Cooper Annual Memorial Lecture, on 24 June at UNU-MERIT, was “Science and Technology in South Africa: Past Performance and Future Prospects”.

UNU, in collaboration with the UN OSAA and OHRLLS, held a side event on 25 June at UN HQ in New York in conjunction with the UN Conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis and its Impact on Development.

UNU Rector Osterwalder delivered a keynote address at this June forum in Beijing, which was co-organized by the UNU.

At the 2nd German-Indian Conference on Research for Sustainability. organized and co-hosted by UNU-ViE, policy makers and scientists discussed topics of sustainability science.

At a UNU-WIDER seminar on the impact of the global recession on the poorest countries, UNU-WIDER Senior Researcher Wim Naudé painted a grim portrait of the consequences of ignoring Africa.

On 18 May, renowned mexican scientist and educator José Sarukhán delivered a lecture at UNU Headquarters in Tokyo on the benefits and chaallenges of preserving biodiversity.

A seminar held on 22 April at UNU-IAS in Yokohama examined the intersection of peacebuilding, environmental change, and natural resources, and their linkage to conflict.

Two Japanese government ministries and the Japan Foundation for UNU hosted a reception on 26 March to celebrate the establishment of the UNU Institute for Sustainability and Peace.

In late February, African and Japanese university-based experts in teaching sustainable development met in Tokyo to launch a UNU project on Education for Sustainable Development in Africa.

The three-day international conference on sustainability science focused on topics critical to the promotion of sustainability science, including climate change, food and water, and sustainability education.

This 21 January symposium highlighted the need for reform of international institutions to better reflect 21st-century realities and more effectively deal with evolving threats.

On Friday, 16 January 2009, the UNU Office of Communications held the fifth in its ongoing series of Media/NGO Gatherings.

In a lecture at UNU Centre, Colombian vice president Francisco Santos discussed the devastating effects that cocaine production has on the environment of Colombia.

The focus of the 2008 UN Day celebrations, in Tokyo on 24 October, was on the range of activities by which the United Nations is addressing the many problems of climate change.

At the 4th Tokyo International Conference on African Development, UNU Rector Konrad Osterwalder served as moderator and lead speaker during the Adaptation and Disaster Prevention segment of a breakout session on Addressing Environmental Issues/Climate Change.

At TICAD IV, UN University convened an official side event to introduce the “Innovative Centre on Education Support in Africa” project, a joint initiative by UNU and the Japanese Government, seeks to contribute to African development by helping higher education institutions.

At the fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV), UN University convened an official side event on “Capacity Development and Policy Needs for Environment Management Technology Development in Africa” that focused on the critical need to improve local capacities.

At the fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV), UNU Institute of Advanced Studies (UNU-IAS) convened the official side event “Education for Sustainable Development: Focus on Regional Centres of Expertise in Africa”.

At the fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development, UNU-IAS convened a seminar on “Critical Intersection: Climate Change and Security” to examine the impact of various aspects of climate change on human security, with a particular focus on the challenges facing sub-Saharan Africa.

UN University convened an official high-level panel on “Science and Technology for Africa’s Sustainable Development” at the fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV). The focus was on areas where Japanese and international expertise can be applied to African efforts to establish policies and programmes that support sustainable development.