On 1 August 2013 I arrived in the USA as Provost of AUSN. This follows up the visit made in the spring 2013 to develop the plans for AUSN.

The work to develop further the curriculum, materials, documentation and schedules to enroll students in 4 Masters and 5 certificate programs to start classes in 2013 accelerated, and the Dean and Provost work in unity with each other and in close connection to the Faculty and Boards to make AUSN a world class university.

My experience as UNESCO Regional Adviser for Social and Human Sciences in Asia and the Pacific, also heading UNESCO Regional Unit for Social and Human Sciences in Asia and the Pacific (RUSHSAP), UNESCO Bangkok from 2004 to early 2013, and the previous work for UNESCO in the 1990s as a member of the inaugural UNESCO International Bioethics Committee considering the ethics of human genome research and ethics of biotechnology are valuable. That work also involved collaboration with indigenous persons around the world, and now at AUSN I can focus back to some of these networks.

I also continue to serve as Affiliated Professor, Department of Philosophy, University of Kumamoto, Japan (since 2007); Visiting Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Advanced Studies, United Nations University (UNU-IAS), Yokohama, Japan (since 2010); and Director, Eubios Ethics Institute, (Christchurch, New Zealand; Thailand and Japan (since 1990). In 2013 I was appointed a Research Fellow at the Center for Ethics of Science and Technology, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand. I am also the Secretary of the Asian Bioethics Association.

In addition to the degree and certificate programs, I am preparing research proposals with the newly founded Institute of Indigenous Peoples and Global Studies. AUSN has a global agenda, as well as one targeted on some urgent issues for Native American Indians and indigenous persons globally. AUSN welcomes prospective students for the 4 Masters and 5 Certificate courses to apply for admission for the 2013 Academic Year.

Japanese Youth Peace Workshop: Bioethics for the Future,
27 August 2013, Venue: United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies (UNU-IAS), 
Yokohama, Japan.
Organised by: United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies (UNU-IAS), American University of Sovereign Nations, Arizona, USA; Eubios Ethics Institute, Tsukuba Science City, Japan; Japanese Youth Peace Ambassadors.

Japanese Youth Peace WorkshopThis forum on 27 August 2013 brought together youth from across Japan who have been involved in the Youth Peace Ambassadors International programme started in 2010 that included the collaboration between Eubios Ethics Institute and Fulbright Academy of Law, Peace and Public Health. The Youth Peace Ambassadors International programme is run by Eubios Ethics Institute, and is now in cooperation with AUSN.

Speakers included: Mr. Tsuyoshi Sotoya, Japanese Youth Peace Ambassador, KU Leuven, Belgium; Dr. Jose Puppim de Oliveira, Deputy-Director, UNU-IAS; Prof. Darryl Macer, Provost, AUSN and Director, Eubios Ethics Institute; Dr. Ryo Takahashi, Nippon Care-Fit Service Association, and Visiting Professor, AUSN; Prof. Richard Evanoff, School of International Politics, Economics, and Communication, Aoyama Gakuin University; Ms. Kayo Uejima, Graduate School of Social and Cultural Sciences, Kumamoto University; Mr. Ibuki Yamane, Youth Peace Ambassador, Sophia University; Mr. Keiichi Kurosawa, Youth Peace Ambassador, Hiroshima University; Ms. Mizuki Yata, Youth Peace Ambassador, Kobe University.

Picture of four of the Japanese Youth Peace Ambassadors answering questions on public policy to reduce the poverty gaps between rich and poor and global energy questions (Mr. Tsuyoshi Sotoya, Mr. Keiichi Kurosawa, Mr. Ibuki Yamane, Ms. Mizuki Yata)