On Wednesday, January 31, 2024, The Rector Dr. Tshilidzi Marwala, and the Senior Vice-Rector Dr. Shirahase Sawako of the United Nations University (United Nations Assistant Secretary-General), together with the Chief of Staff Mr. Michael Baldock of the United Nations University paid a courtesy call on President Inazumi Hiroshige, who took office last December.

The United Nations University Headquarters is located just across Aoyama Street from the main gate of the Aoyama Campus, and has been collaborating with AGU for some time, in areas including the co-hosting of symposiums and joint research.
In a friendly atmosphere, the participants discussed further development of education and research and cooperation.

Rector of the United Nations University, Dr. Tshilidzi Marwala

Appointed the seventh rector of the United Nations University on March 1, 2023, he is the first African-born president. He is an expert on AI and received his PhD from Cambridge University in England. He has served as Vice President of the University of Johannesburg in South Africa, and has also served as a visiting researcher and visiting professor in the USA, the UK, China, and South Africa. He has participated in various world and national-level political bodies, and has worked with UNESCO, UNICEF, WHO, WIPO, and other UN agencies.

• Rector of the United Nations University, Dr. Tshilidzi Marwala

Senior Vice-Rector of the United Nations University Shirahase Sawako, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General

A sociology professor at the Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, the University of Tokyo. After receiving her doctorate in sociology from Oxford University, she joined the University of Tokyo as an assistant professor and became a professor in the Faculty of Sociology in 2010. She served as the vice president of the University of Tokyo in 2018 and as the director and vice president of the University for two years from 2019. She is currently the Director of the University of Tokyo Center for Contemporary Japanese Studies. Her research interests include social stratification theory, demographic sociology, and changes in families and social institutions.

• Ms. Shirahase Sawako, Senior Vice-Rector, United Nations University and UN Assistant Secretary-General

About the United Nations University

The UN University began its activities in 1975 as a global research and education institution with research institutes and programs in 12 countries around the world. The university headquarters is located just across the Aoyama Street from the main gate of Aoyama Campus.
The UN University focuses on providing research, skill development, and political advice. As a think tank for the United Nations system, the University maintains close relationships with other agencies and key research institutions in the United Nations system. The Charter of the United Nations University stipulates that “the University shall devote its work to research into the pressing global problems of human survival, development and welfare that are the concern of the United Nations and its agencies, with due attention to the social sciences and the humanities as well as natural sciences, pure and applied”.

• About UNU
• Rector of United Nations University Dr. Tshilidzi Marwala, Director of UNU-IAS Dr. Yamaguchi Shinobu, and UNU Chief of Staff Mr. Michael Baldock visit AGU.