Programme on Development
Factors unique to UNU Centre re-enforce the value of this African focus to development activities. In late 1998, the heads of African governments, UN agencies and NGOs will be gathering in Tokyo for the second Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD II). The aim of TICAD II has been described as "to produce an action-oriented agenda for African development towards the 21st century". The UNU Centre through its location in Tokyo is in a singular and strong position to promote UNU research on development in Africa and to be at the heart of any relevant actions that emerge from TICAD II. This is particularly important because despite the desire to play a larger role in African development, the research capacity in Japan regarding issues of African development remains relatively weak.
Project: Asia and Africa in the Global EconomyThis work involves the completion of the project initiated in 1997. The project focuses on the specific question of whether and how the Southeast Asian experiences can be applied to benefit future African development. The overriding objective of the project is to generate specific policy recommendations for governments in Sub-Saharan Africa regarding the institutional conditions conducive to improving investment and growth. The research would be carried out in collaboration with the Africa Economic Research Consortium (AERC). The anticipated outputs of the conference are a policy brief on the principal conclusions for marginalized developing countries in Africa, that would be distributed to governments at TICAD II, and an academic book on the topic.
Project: Institutions and Development in Africa
The issue of reducing poverty is one of central importance to countries in Africa and is one of the main themes of TICAD II. The centre-point of this project would be a conference at the time of TICAD II. This would make the event very cost effective and high profile as well as ensure that the output is disseminated directly to African governments and international agencies. In substantive terms, the conference would address ways to stimulate more determined anti-poverty policies in African countries. In particular the conference would look at the ways in which many Asian economies have dramatically reduced the level of poverty and the applicability of these experiences to sub-Saharan Africa.
Links to Internet Resources
For further information please contact Julius Court, The United Nations University, 53-70 Jingumae 5 chome, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, 150, Japan. Email: court@hq.unu.edu.
