Event: International Youth Day Seminar 
Theme: “International Youth Day: Inspiring the Next Generation of Researchers in Sustainability” 
Date/Time: Friday, 12 August 2011 (International Youth Day), 10:00 AM–6:00 PM
Venue: United Nations University Headquarters, Tokyo 
Organizers: United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies (UNU-IAS), Hosei University and iuventum
 

• Since the UN General Assembly proclaimed in 1999, in its resolution 54/120, that 12 August be　established as International Youth Day, public information activities are organized around the world to support youth activities and promote youth-focused causes.

• UNU-IAS, Hosei University and iuventum, a German-based NGO, will collaborate in this one-day seminar to promote sustainability-related educational practices and research activities that stimulate the next generation to be active in contributing to building a more sustainable future.

• This seminar, in celebration of International Youth Day, aims to inspire students (high school,　undergraduate and graduate students) whilst offering reflections upon how practical activities may be developed within students’ own spheres of influence and how a career in research can contribute to this effort.

• The seminar will focus on academic work relevant to raising awareness, and it will also demonstrate that young individuals can identify robust solutions for the collective problems faced by humanity, with hopes of inspiring the next generation to engage with sustainability research.

• The afternoon portion will be dedicated to activities related to the 2011 ProSPER.Net Young Researchers’ School, hosted by Hosei University, with the support of UNU-IAS.ProSPER.Net (the network for Promotion of Sustainability in Postgraduate Education and Research) is an alliance of universities in the Asia–Pacific region committed to integrating sustainability into their curriculums and activities.

• The Young Researchers’ School is an annual event hosted by different member universities with the purpose of exposing doctoral candidates to sustainable development challenges and solutions related to local problems. This year’s school will focus on the Japanese experience in urban sustainability, welcoming students from all over Asia who will transfer their acquired knowledge and experiences to their own realities. The school will also nurture a network of researchers working with sustainable development issues across Asia and the Pacific.

• At the seminar, participants of the 2011 ProSPER.Net Young Researchers’ School will share their experiences as research scholars and the opportunities presented to them. The event also aims to sharpen students’ communication skills by providing them with an occasion for delivering clear-cut explanations of their own research projects to a broad audience.

Media representatives are cordially invited to attend. To confirm your attendance, or for more 
information, please contact Ayako Shimura of UNU-IAS (tel: 045-221-2366; shimura[at]ias.unu.edu). 

Download the media release