The United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability Operating Unit Ishikawa-Kanazawa (UNU-IAS OUIK) held an International Symposium titled “The Ishikawa – Kanazawa Biocultural Region: A model for linkages between biological diversity and cultural prosperity” on 28 May 2015 in Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. The event was held to mark the UNESCO Creative Cities Network Meeting in Kanazawa, held from 25 to 27 May, and served as a first step in establishing the Ishikawa – Kanazawa area as a model for biocultural diversity.

All three of the keynote speakers at the symposium were from IPSI members. Mr. John Scott from the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (SCBD) and Dr. Ana Persic from UNESCO both spoke from the perspective of the UNESCO-SCBD Joint Programme on the Links Between Biological and Cultural Diversity, and Dr. Mauro Agnoletti from the University of Florence, Italy spoke about the creation of the Florence Declaration on Biocultural Diversity. Other speakers also were from IPSI partners and friends including the United Nations University, Kanazawa University, Ishikawa Prefectural Government, and others.

More information on the event can be found at the UNU-IAS website here.