Call for global sustainable development: TERI's Silver Jubilee Celebrations

The third week of February was a momentous occasion for TERI and marked a major milestone in the history of the Institute. In the period 18?21 February, TERI celebrated its Silver Jubilee by organizing a series of conferences dealing with the most critical issues defining sustainable development. TERI staff have reason to feel satisfied and proud that the occasion was able to attract some of the most outstanding leaders from all over the world, drawn from the fields of science and technology, business and industry, international organizations, governments, academia and the media. The sound of bugles that heralded the arrival of the Hon?ble President of India, Mr K R Narayanan at 5.00 p.m. on Friday the 18th began an exciting and stimulating series of sessions that were based on the knowledge and views of distinguished persons like former Prime Ministers ? Mr I K Gujral of India; Mr Ola Ullsten of Sweden; Mr Ryutaro Hashimoto of Japan ? and Dr Manmohan Singh ? former Finance Minister of India; Mr Robert McNamara ? former President of the World Bank and Mrs Sheila Dikshit, Chief Minister of Delhi. Others among the galaxy of distinguished speakers were Nobel Laureate Prof Sherwood Rowland; Dr Nitin Desai ? Under Secretary General of the United Nations; Prof Klaus T?pfer ? Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme; Mr Gus Speth ? former Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme; Mr Mark Moody-Stuart ? Chairman, Royal Dutch/Shell Group of companies; Mr Roger Beach, Chairman ? Unocal, and several others. TERI staff videotaped the proceedings and two hours after each session these recordings were uploaded on TERI?s web site. Readers are strongly urged to visit TERI?s web site and view and listen to the proceedings of the Silver Jubilee celebrations. However, if you missed these events through your physical absence on this occasion, there is good news for you. TERI plans to make this set of conferences an annual event wherein the same calibre of distinguished persons from round the world would be invited to participate and enrich the debate on the challenge of sustainable development in the 21st century.