Prof. Dr. Konrad Osterwalder, Rector of the UN University, is the recipient of the 2009 Matteo Ricci International Award. Established in 1998 by the Faculty of Political Science of the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Milan), the award recognizes the unique contributions of individuals to bridge cultural and intellectual divides for the betterment of mankind.

The award ceremony, held on 27 Oct., marked the fourth time this award has been bestowed. In his speech, delivered in Italian, Rector Osterwalder recognized the role of dialogue, justice, dignity, risk and responsibility as defining features of humanity. He affirmed that the UNU is uniquely placed to encourage the dialogue of trust among cultures that is necessary to arrive at viable responses to sustainable global development.

In 2006, more than 1 billion cell phones, 230 million computers, and 45 million TVs were sold worldwide. What will be the fate of these complex electronic products when they are eventually replaced or discarded?

The sad fact is that much of the world’s electronic scrap ends up in developing countries, where it typically is incinerated to…

On 6 July, UNU Rector Konrad Osterwalder addressed an audience of almost 1,000 participants from 148 countries at the second World Conference on Higher Education, at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. Attendees included government ministers, university rectors, faculty and students as well as representatives of the private sector and regional and multilateral institutions.

The conference drew on the experiences…

On 1 July, during an official visit to Tokyo at the invitation of the government of Japan, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visited the United Nations University Headquarters. After being welcomed by UNU Rector Konrad Osterwalder, the Secretary-General first met with the heads of UN agencies in Japan.

Secretary-General Ban then spoke at a “town hall” meeting…

Adaptation to climate change has emerged as one of the most important concerns in the global development agenda. However, the knowledge gap on adaptation is vast; knowledge and expertise remains primarily at the international level, and is not reaching those in the developing world who need it most. Higher education institutions can play a critical role…

In the last week of May, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon paid a visit to UNU-WIDER in Helsinki as part of his first official mission to Finland. After greeting members of the UNU-WIDER staff, the Secretary-General was formally welcomed by UNU-WIDER Deputy Director and Officer-in-Charge Professor Augustin Fosu. Following a briefing on the work of UNU-WIDER, the Secretary-General expressed his thanks and pointed out that the institute has a key role to play in the current global turndown.

Secretary-General Ban added that he was looking to research institutes like UNU-WIDER to use their analytical capacity to promote understanding of the multitude of crises facing the world and to stimulate debate on how to assist the poorest and most vulnerable people, particularly in Africa.

To commemorate International Women’s Day 2009, the UNU joined with 15 other UN-related organizations in Japan to hold a public forum at UNU Headquarters in Tokyo on Friday, 6 March. The forum’s theme drew attention to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s multi-year (2008–2015) campaign “UNite to End Violence against Women”.

In a message read at the forum, Secretary-General Ban warned that the consequences of socially ingrained violence against women “go beyond the visible and immediate. Death, injury, medical costs and lost employment are but the tip of an iceberg. The impact on women and girls, their families, their communities and their societies in terms of shattered lives and livelihoods is beyond calculation. Far too often, crimes go unpunished, and perpetrators walk free.”

The strengthening alliance between scientists and curators in the battle to save some of humanity’s greatest art and cultural treasures was the focus of a four-day international conference in Caracas, co-sponsored by UNU-BIOLAC.

“Storing and protecting entire collections safely has become a priority and scientists have a key role: developing techniques and procedures that are fundamental to heritage conservation,” said UNU-BIOLAC Director José-Luis Ramirez.

Many of the world’s cultural treasures are made of organic materials such as paper, canvas, wood and leather which, in prolonged warmth and dampness, attract mould, micro-organisms and insects, causing decay and disintegration. Biotechnology techniques discussed at the conference include the use of micro-organisms to remove fungus on paintings, photos, documents and masonry.

On 1 January 2009, the United Nations University combined the UNU Environment and Sustainable Development Programme and UNU Peace and Governance Programme to create the UNU Institute for Sustainability and Peace (UNU-ISP).

While there are many peace institutes and environmental institutes around the world, UNU-ISP is unique in that its innovative approach to sustainability combines both topics. UNU-ISP aspires to achieve a greater understanding of the broad, intersecting themes that extend across three of the most-pressing issues on the UN agenda: (i) global change and sustainability, (ii) international cooperation and development, and (iii) peacebuilding and security.

A new coordinated international set of rules to govern commercial and research activities in both polar regions is urgently needed to reflect new environmental realities and to temper pressure building on these highly fragile ecosystems, according to experts attending a UN University-affiliated conference in Iceland marking the International Polar Year. At the conference, leading scholars detailed fast-emerging issues in international law and policy in the polar regions, identified priorities for law-making and research and offered advice to decision makers.