rities from around the world will meet in Tokyo to discuss these crucial questions. "On the Threshold: The United Nations and Global Governance in the New Millennium" will be held at the United Nations University (UNU) Centre. This landmark three-day conference, organized by the UNU, is sponsored by the United Nations Development Programme with support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Ministry of Education of Japan, and Asahi Shimbun.

The conference will take stock of key international trends relating to peace, development, governance and the environment, and their implications for the United Nations and its Member States. Across these themes, conference participants will discuss the key challenges of the new millennium and seek to identify: how national governments and the international community might more broadly address these challenges; what comparative advantage the UN might have in working with the international community in addressing the challenges; the potential for partnerships among states, international and commercial organizations, and civil society actors to collectively address the challenges; and the potential impact of processes such as globalization and possibly unforeseen developments.

The conference will provide a forum for broad and substantive dialogue on major trends and consequent policy implications/recommendations. Conference papers will serve as an intellectual resource base for preparation of the UN Secretary-General's Millennium Assembly report, while workshop conclusions will feed into the broader UN policy discussions leading up to the UN Millennium Assembly in the fall of 2000.

UN Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette will deliver the conference's keynote speech. Other speakers will include former UN Under-Secretary-General Yasushi Akashi; Indian Member of Parliament Yoginder Alagh; Univ. of the Philippines Professor Walden Bello; Nobel prize winner Paul Crutzen; International Peace Academy President David Malone; environmentalist M.S. Swaminathan; Weseda Univ. Professor Makoto Taniguchi; Japan House of Representatives member Akiko Yamanaka; and University of Tokyo Professor Yozo Yokota.

A copy of the conference programme is attached. Additional information is available online at http://archive.unu.edu/millennium/.

Media representatives who would like to attend the conference or who wish further information may contact the UNU Public Affairs Section.