The opening ceremony of 2014 International Student Conference on Environment and Sustainability (ISCES 2014) was held on 5th June, 2014, the World Environment Day at Tongji University. ISCES 2014 was convened by the UNEP and Tongji University, sponsored by Beijing Environment Foundation for Young Talents, Agricultural Bank of China, State Key Lab of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, and organized by UNEP-Tongji Institute of Environment for Sustainable Development (IESD).

The topic of this year’s conference is “Ecological Civilization and Green Development”, which is in response to the theme of this year’s UN’s theme of World Environmental Day: Raise your voice, not the sea level and China’s theme of World Environmental Day: The Conference brought together around 400 students from 45 countries. Students were divided into five subgroups, namely, Sustainable Education, Food and Health, Ecosystem and Climate Change, Green Development. They will engage in lectures, forum and field visits in the following five days and work in groups to make a final presentation. During which they will better understand and exchange views on the challenges and opportunities as well as practices and theories of sustainable development.

At the opening ceremony, Prof. PEI Gang, President of Tongji University, Mr. Kaveh Zahedi Director of UNEP Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Mr. Wang Guangtao, Former Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of PRC and Director of the Resources Conservation Committee of the 11th NPC, Mr. Chen Liangjie, Director of Xinhua News Agency Shanghai Bureau, Mr. Jiang Ruibin, General Secretary, President, Agricultural Bank of China Shanghai Branch attended and delivered speeches.

On two high-level dialogues, Mr. Sheng Fulai of Head of the Research and Partnerships Unit of UNEP, Mr. Edward Clarence-Smith, Representative to China of UNIDO, Mr. Percy Misika Representative to China of FAO, Prof. Xia Liping, Vice Chairman of Shanghai UN Research Association, Dean of School of Political Science& International Relations of Tongji University talked about Green Development and UN agencies’ role in green development. And  Prof. Wu Jiang, Vice President of Tongji University, Ms. Chitra Hepburn, Head of Bayer Material Science’s Strategic Planning and Intelligence Hub, Dr. Catherine Sozi, Country Director of UNAIDS, Prof. Shi Han, environmental policy professor of City University of Hong Kong, Ms. Liu Fangfei, China Central TV Station and Ms. Sun Haiyan, Chief Editor of Eco-nomy Magazine, made an interesting and intensive dialogue on education on sustainable development. A video of message of Mr. Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director on the occasion of the World Environment Day was also shared on this occasion, and to welcome the 2014 ISCES participants.

Meanwhile, Prof. WANG Guangtao, former Minister of Housing and Urban Rural Development of the PRC, Director of the Resources Conservation Committee of the 11th NPC and Chairperson of the Advisory Board of IESD, Prof. Wu Jiang, Vice President of Tongji University presented awards for the winners of 2014 “Green Future Scholarship” for Best Papers, 2014 “Green Seedling Fund” for Excellent Research Proposals and 2014 Klaus Toepfer Environmental Scholarship.