Letter of Welcome

Welcome to Tokyo!

As a Japan-based organisation, we are very happy to be welcoming you to our home, and when it is at its best, during the spring flowering of the cherry blossoms, known in Japanese as sakura. We are particularly happy to be able to host people from all over the world, and for the first time in four years, due to the global pandemic.

The International Academic Forum (IAFOR) is dedicated to encouraging interdisciplinary discussion, facilitating intercultural awareness and promoting international exchange, principally through educational interaction and academic research, and we expect this Japanese spring conference series in late March and early April will see more than 500 delegates from sixty different countries.

Through conferences, we expand ourselves and our horizons, our network and our partners. These events offer a remarkable opportunity for the sharing of research and best practice, and for the meeting of people and ideas working in and across different countries, cultures and disciplines, and the nurturing of professional and personal collaborations.

I encourage your active participation in this hybrid event, whether as a presenter or an audience member, and expect that this year we will be particularly engaged as we celebrate a return to this great city.

I look forward to meeting you all.

Dr Joseph Haldane Chairman & C.E.O, The International Academic Forum (IAFOR)

Guest Professor, Osaka School of International Public Policy (OSIPP), Osaka University, Japan

Visiting Professor, Doshisha University, Japan & The University of Belgrade, Serbia

Honorary Professor, University College London (UCL), UK Member, Expert Network, World Economic Forum