10 August 2011: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon spoke to the UN Academic Impact Forum, a group of teachers and university leaders, urging them to contribute practical ideas to sustainable development, climate change and food security.

The Forum took place on 10 August 2011, in Seoul, Republic of Korea, following the launch of Academic Impact in November 2010. Academic Impact seeks to align higher education institutions with the UN to support human rights, literacy, sustainability and conflict resolution, among other goals. Participating in the initiative are 670 academic institutions in 104 countries, including 47 from the Republic of Korea.

Ban noted the relatively new view that governments cannot do everything alone, and said the academic community is among their key new partners. As an urgent issue on which the academic community could make a difference, Ban emphasized a focus on sustainable development as well as climate change. He said sustainable development has been his top priority, and called for a focus on the links among hunger, water and energy. He asked the academic community to bring its ideas to the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20) in 2012.

Finally, Ban drew attention to the conflict and drought in the Horn of Africa, and said food and nutrition security are additional areas where academia could support governmental and intergovernmental efforts, through a focus on the underlying causes of the catastrophe, and practical measures. [Statement by UN Secretary-General] [UN News Centre Story]