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U.N.’s No. 3 heads global think tank focused on needs of developing countries

Five languages,multiple degrees

David Malone, rector of theUnited Nations University

Name: David Malone

Title: Rector, United Nations
University, Under-Secretary-Generalof the United Nations
URL: https://unu.edu/Hometown: Ottawa, CanadaYears in Japan: 8Leaders & Readers
LOUISE GEORGE KITTAKA
CONTRIBUTING WRITERDavid Malone, the rector for the United
Nations University in Tokyo, has worn many
hats during his distinguished career. “I havetended to be a gypsy throughout my career;
I’d get offered something that might beinteresting or I’d go looking for something I’denjoy doing. I’ve moved around quite a lot,compared to most people, particularly those
involved in diplomacy,” Malone said.
Through his role at UNU, he also servesconcurrently as an undersecretary-general of“Rector” commonly known in Japan as “president,” denotes a senior official in an educational
institution, as used in Europe and Latin America.
HIROMICHI MATONO

the United Nations — the third-highest rank
within the United Nations system.
Although born in Ottawa, Malone left
Canada at the age of 4 with his globetrotting
parents and had lived in four countries by thetime he was 18: the Netherlands, Iran, Nigeria
and finally France, where he attended boarding school.
“All four countries are very close to myheart still,” he said fondly, adding that it
wasn’t until he returned to his country ofbirth for college that he started to develop his
Canadian identity. Given his background, it
is perhaps not surprising that Malone went
on to work around the world in his diplomatic career, adding Egypt, Jordan, Syria, theUSA and India to the countries he has calledhome.
“Much as I liked aspects of it, I didn’t want
my life to be confined to diplomacy. I’d beena weak student when I was young, and it wasonly starting professional work that mademe much more curious in terms of what I
could learn academically. Once I’d started
work, it came home to me how much I
didn’t know,” he said with disarming honesty. “I thought, as I’m single and my own
boss in that sense, I could try to fix that bygoing back to school whenever I can. That
was the beginning of three stints in the worldof research and universities.”
His introduction to his current positionin Japan, which he has held since 2013, wasrefreshingly old school. “Actually, it wasthrough reading an advertisement for thejob in the Economist magazine! A lot ofpeople think those job ads in the Economist
are ‘for the record,’ rather than leading toactual jobs, but my last two positions camethrough reading the advertisements,” he said

with a laugh.
Founded in 1975, UNU is hardly your typical university, either: It is a global think tankand postgraduate teaching organizationthat contributes to efforts to resolve global
problems through collaborative research andeducation. The idea to create the university
dates back to discussion in the U.N. General Assembly from the late 1960s and early
1970s, at a time when Japan was emerging asa global economic power.
“There were two U.N. agencies being
created around that time: One was whatbecame the U.N. Environment Programme,
and the other was the idea of a U.N. institution devoted to ‘knowledge creation andcuration,’” Malone explained.
There was also debate on what direction
the university should take. “That had a fairly
clear-cut outcome — that it focus primarilyon challenges facing the developing world —and we have remained true to that vocation
ever since,” said Malone. “Whether the workis carried out in Japan, Malaysia, New York or
Venezuela, it has remained focused on theneeds and interests of developing countries.”
While UNU is based in Tokyo, Malone
notes that only about 15% of the work itoversees takes place in Japan. He and histeam currently oversee about a dozen
research (and five teaching) programsaround the world.
“When you are small, like UNU, what you
constantly need are fresh ideas,” he pointedout. “Our subject matter in each of our locations is relatively narrow, which allows us
to field a small team of researchers to do
groundbreaking work. If we choose a topic
that’s a huge problem, or that is being dealt
with already by 20,000 universities or com-

David Malone was born in Ottawa but
has lived and worked around the world.
He holds multiple degrees, including a
BAA from HEC Montreal, an MPA fromHarvard’s Kennedy School of Government and a D.Phil. in international relations from Oxford University.
Prior to taking on his current positionat the United Nations University, Malone
served as president of Canada’s International Development Research Centre
from 2008 to 2013. Among his other positions, he represented his home country
as high commissioner to India while
concurrently ambassador to Bhutan andNepal from 2006 to 2008.
Malone has also held research andteaching posts at multiple academic
institutions, including adjunct professor
at the New York University School of Law.
He has published extensively and speaks
five languages. When time permits, heenjoys traveling to new places in Japan,
particularly the national parks.

HIROMICHI MATONO

panies, then we would have no comparativeadvantage.”
Much of UNU’s work is connected to
the 17 sustainable development goals thatwere adopted by the U.N. General Assemblyin 2015 to inspire global action on variousissues, from ending hunger and poverty toachieving equality and peace. By way ofexample, Malone mentions UNU’s work atits institute in Ghana, which is currently ledby Gambian-born researcher Fatima Denton.
“It focuses on the management of natural
resources in Africa, which has a huge sustainability element — not just environmental,
but sustainability of the industries themselves,” Malone said. “This team has beenworking steadily on those issues for many

PescecoA young chef makes waves with his creative hometown
cuisineROBBIE SWINNERTONCONTRIBUTING WRITER

Perched on the waterfront of theShimabara Peninsula, looking out acrossthe placid waters of the Ariake Sea toward
the coast of the Kyushu mainland, Pesceco
boasts a view that is little short of idyllic.
It is this setting that inspires and is vividly
reflected in the creative seafood-based
cuisine of chef Takahiro Inoue.
Apart from the few years he spent at
cooking school in Osaka, Inoue has lived
and worked in the Shimabara area almost
all his life. Now in his mid-30s, he has built
up a network of suppliers among local
fishermen and organic farmers working
the fertile foothills of Mount Unzen, thevolcanic peak that provides a dramatic
backdrop to the city.
The mountain is also the source forthe water that he collects from a natural
spring deep in the forests. It is this abundance of quality ingredients that inspires
the dishes Inoue incorporates into hissuperb 11-course tasting menus.
Many of his specialties are traditional
local dishes, adapted and refined. He sears
ganba — the local name for fugu — overburning rice straw and serves it with garlicgreens and flowering wild sanshō pepper.
Delicate tenobi sōmen wheat noodles, also
a common dish in this area, are servedwith rich crab tomalley as if capellini.

Initially, he drew strongly on Italianinfluences, but since moving Pesceco into
his current premises some three years
ago, Inoue’s cooking has evolved rapidly.
These days he prefers to call his approach“satohama gastronomy,” using a portmanteau Japanese word to express that connection with both soil and shore.
Thanks to this effortless eclecticism, thequality of Inoue’s cooking and the superb
location, Pesceco is now firmly on the gastronomic map.

Address
Pesceco223-1 Shinbabamachi, Shimabara, Nagasaki
Pref. 855-0033, Japan
https://pesceco.com/

HODO NAKAMURA
GOVERNOR OF NAGASAKI PREFECTURERYUZABURO FURUKAWA
MAYOR OF SHIMABARA

We are very happy that
Pesceco has been selected
for the “Japanese restaurant list for people fromaround the world, chosen
by Japanese people.” Pesceco is located inShimabara, a treasure trove of fascinating ingredients, including seafood fromthe Ariake Sea and vegetables from thefertile land. We hope that people from allover the world will try chef Inoue’s Italiancuisine, made with local ingredients, andexperience the unique food and culture ofShimabara.

We would like to express
our heartfelt gratitude
that our city’s restaurant
Pesceco was selected for the“Japanese restaurant list forpeople from around the world, chosen by
Japanese people.” We hope that the “satohama gastronomy” created by chef Inoue
will be loved by people from all over theworld and that they will enjoy the rich delicacies that can only be savored in Shimabara,
along with the scenic beauty that onlyShimabara can offer. We are sincerely looking
forward to welcoming you to Shimabara.

PAGE: 7years, and now that sustainability has risenon the global agenda, African governments
are much keener to do something about theproblems.”
On a personal level, he finds it “absolutelyfascinating” to see the way foreign influence
has played out in relation to Japan’s culture
and values. “Japan has been influenced byoutside forces at various times in its history,
and it is very good at adapting foreign ideas,
technologies or whatever to Japanese needs,
tastes and interests to achieve terrific results,
often the best in the world,” he said. “If you
think of the fashion field, for example, Japandidn’t become creative beyond the textiles
field just by making kimonos for many centuries, it became particularly creative when

it was exposed to Western fashion, launching
several of the world’s best-known brands.”
Malone makes a point of volunteering hisservices as a speaker at universities when hetravels within Japan, which invariably takeup his offer to address the students. He also
takes great interest in what Japan’s young
people have to tell him, and notes that therising generation are keen to know more
about major issues such as sustainability.
In line with this, while praising Japan’s
intake of foreign students, Malone expressed
concern about the trend in recent years ofyoung Japanese turning away from overseas
study and said he would like to encourage
more of them to move beyond their comfort
level and expand their horizons by studying
abroad. “Young people would benefit fromengaging more with the greater world. It
isn’t about how fabulous you are, but how
fabulous you want to be — and what you’re
doing about it!” he said with conviction.