Professor Adil Najam, the Director of the Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future and CAS Professor of International Relations and of Geography & Environment, has been invited to join the Advisory Panel for the 2011 Human Development Report, produced by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
“The Human Development Report is an independent publication commissioned by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Its editorial autonomy is guaranteed by a special resolution of the General Assembly (A/RES/57/264) that recognizes the Human Development Report as “an independent intellectual exercise” and “an important tool for raising awareness about human development around the world.” Contributors to the report include leading development scholars and practitioners, working under the coordination of UNDP’s Human Development Report Office. From the beginning, the report has been a pioneer of methodological innovation and development thinking. The Human Development Report is translated into more than a dozen languages and launched in more than 100 countries annually.” (From http://hdr.undp.org/en/)
The role of the Advisory Panel is to provide intellectual advice and guidance to the team involved in preparing the report. The Advisory Panel includes eminent thinkers and practitioners with diverse expertise on different aspects of development. The 2011 report will focus on the theme of growing environmental unsustainability alongside advances in other dimensions of human development. Professor Adil Najam is a leading authority on issues related to sustainable development. He also serves on the UN Secretary General’s Committee on Development Policy, was recently elected a Fellow of the Human Development and Capability Association (HDCA), and serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Human Development and Capabilities.
The Pardee Center at Boston University has been focused on issues related to human development from its very inception, as was reflected in the choice of Nobel-winning economist Amartya Sen as the very first Pardee Visiting Professor in 2001-02. That commitment to the concept of human development and its actualization remains central to the Pardee Center’s mission and research and is reflected in most of the research and activities undertaken at the center.