ASTANA – Nazarbayev University (NU) will host the 2019 Harvard College Project for Asian and International Relations (HPAIR) Asia Conference in mid-August, reports the university’s press service.
Photo credit: HPAIR Astana Facebook Page.
The HPAIR Asia Conference is a five-day annual conference established in 1991 as a platform for students and young professionals to discuss the economy, politics and society in the Asia-Pacific region. It has been held at universities in 12 countries with more than 32,000 participants.
World leaders, Nobel laureates, diplomats and international organisation heads comprise conference speakers, with notable past speakers featuring former United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, Zipcar Co-founder and former Chief Executive Officer Robin Chase and former Goldman Sachs Asia President Philip Murphy.
NU won an international bid to host the event over applications from universities in China, India, Japan, Singapore and Taiwan. Last year’s Asia conference was in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This year, the event will be in Astana during Kazakhstan’s Year of Youth.
The NU Organising Committee is headed by NU Student Government President Leila Akhmetova. She noted that a delegation of the HPAIR Organising Committee recently visited Astana to discuss event organisation and the NU organising committee will soon visit Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts to continue event preparation talks. The event’s agenda will feature six thematic panels on social policy and inclusive development; world economy, security and diplomacy; business and technology; environmental sustainability and energy; and culture and media.
HPAIR is a student-run organisation of Harvard University’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences and organises Harvard University’s largest student-run conference in Asia. The conference is to provide a dynamic forum of exchange on international issues, foster long-term relationships among young leaders and connect delegates with today’s leaders in academia, business and government.
Nazarbayev University is an English-medium autonomous educational and research university in Astana and was founded on Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s initiative in 2010. It aims to become the national brand of Kazakhstan’s higher education, combining the advantages of the national education system and the world’s best scientific and educational practices.
