Ban Ki-moon Speaks at GDP Center Inaugural Ceremony
The Global Development Policy (GDP) Center, an affiliated center of the the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, hosted Ban Ki-moon, the 8th Secretary-General of the United Nations, on February 28, 2018 to deliver the keynote address at the center’s inaugural ceremony.
GDP Center Director Kevin P. Gallagher and Pardee School Dean Adil Najam welcomed Secretary-General Ban to 121 Bay State Road for a brief meeting before the lecture.
At the lecture, Secretary-General Ban was introduced Boston University President Robert A. Brown and Gallagher who both discussed the mission of the GDP Center and the role it will play as a university-wide research center at BU.
“Secretary-General Ban played key roles in multilateral approaches to mitigating the global financial crisis in 2008-09, he helped usher in the incredible Sustainable Development Goals at the United Nations which in some ways will be a guidepost for our center, and perhaps most significantly he worked on the Paris Climate Agreement that brings all the nations of the world together on a path toward mitigating the global climate crisis,” Gallagher said. “In many ways, there’s no better person on earth that embodies the goals of our Center.”
Secretary-General Ban spoke to the most pressing and immediate challenges in international development and discussed opportunities for university-based research centers, such as the GDP Center, to address these challenges.
“The GDP Center is expected to endeavor to promote important policy-oriented research on essential international issues,” Secretary-General Ban said. “This research includes financial stability, human well-being, and environmental sustainability. I’d like to express my sincere congratulations on this initiative.”
Discussing the establishment of the GDP Center at Boston University, Secretary-General Ban said the need for similar policy-oriented research centers is more important now than ever.
“I applaud the vision and leadership President Brown and Boston University for maximizing its intellectual resources for the benefit of the people in addressing global challenges and creating global public goods through the GDP Center,” Secretary-General Ban said. “The opening of this Center is particularly timely at this particular juncture for our world and collective future.”
Secretary-General Ban said partnerships between international institutions and research centers such as the GDP Center will become increasingly important in the years to come.
“I firmly believe we must remain committed to our international system rooted in multilateral institutions such as the United Nations, with which I have had the privilege and honor to serve. During my tenure as U.N. Secretary-General, I strived to exercise my global leadership duties by leveraging the power of partnership,” Secretary-General Ban said. “I believe that the opening of the Global Development Policy Center is also owing to a great partnership you have been forging. This is important since the U.N. and its member states can no longer bear these responsibilities alone in our rapidly changing world.”
Gallagher moderated a question-and-answer session which allowed students and faculty to ask Secretary-General Ban their most pressing questions on a range of topics including global development and climate change.
You can view the entire speech below:
Following the lecture, Secretary-General Ban delivered additional remarks at a lunch reception. Gallagher moderated another question-and-answer session which allowed guests an additonal opportunity to interact with Secretary-General Ban.
The GDP Center is a university-wide research center in partnership with the Office of the Vice President and Associate Provost for Research and the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies. The GDP Center’s mission is to advance policy-oriented research for financial stability, human well-being, and environmental sustainability.