An International Symposium on Global Mobilization of Intellectual Resources for the Development and Stability of Africa will be held from 25 to 26 February at Tokyo’s New Otani Hotel, under the co-sponsorship of the United Nations University (UNU), the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA).

The symposium’s aim is to identify effective solutions to the economic and political problems that Africa faces. This will be done in three ways: by critically assessing the state of research now being done in and on the continent; improving this research through increased cooperation and resource sharing initiatives between research organizations; and figuring out how to get more research results into the hands of policy makers.

Representatives from 11 major African research institutes and universities will participate in the discussions, along with the UNU and 14 additional research institutions specializing in African issues from Europe, Japan and other Asian countries.

A report containing the ideas coming out of the symposium will be delivered to the countries and organizations participating in the Second Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD II), which will be held in Tokyo in October 1998. TICAD II will adopt an "agenda for action," which is intended to provide action-oriented guidelines for African development towards the twenty-first century.

Media representatives who wish to attend the symposium are requested to contact the UNU Public Affairs Section by Monday, 23 February 1998.

For more information, please visit the UNU’s homepage at: http://archive.unu.edu/africa/index.htm

* * * UNU Public Affairs:

Tel.: (03) 5467-1243 or -1246
Fax: (03)3406-7346

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