At the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) where she spent her entire career, she led many new initiatives, programs and offices around the world. Dr. Azimi is adjunct professor at Doshisha Women’s College, visiting professor at Hiroshima Shudo University and Research Fellow at the San Diego Botanic Garden, part of efforts to bring botanic gardens to post-conflict and least developed countries. She has a BA in political science from the University of Lausanne, an MA in international relations from the Geneva Graduate Institute of International Studies, a second MA in urban studies from the School of Architecture, University of Geneva, and a doctorate in cultural studies from the Graduate School of Integrated Arts and Sciences, Hiroshima University. She has been a visiting scholar at New York’s Columbia University and at the University of California in Los Angeles/UCLA, and a member of the International Scientific Advisory Board (ISAB-COOP) of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL).   She has written and published extensively, notably on UN peacekeeping and peace-building (co-edited with Chang Li Lin), on post-conflict reconstruction, environmental and cultural governance, and Asia.  Her 2015 book (co-authored with Michel Wasserman) was about Beate Sirota Gordon and her father Leo, both prominent artistic and cultural figures in Japan and the United States. In 2019 she published ‘The United States and Cultural Heritage Protection in Japan (1945-1952)’ and more recently she co-edited (with Humaira Khan-Kamal)  ‘The UNITAR Hiroshima Fellowship for Afghanistan — An Anthology’ released in April 2023. In 2019 she was one of EDEN’s original co-founders and its chair since inception.

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Monte Cassim

Core Member

Monte Cassim was appointed President of Akita International University in 2021. Prior to this he was President and Trustee of Shizenkan University, a Postgraduate Professional University in Leadership and Innovation where he also taught Science and Technology Innovation. He is also Professor Emeritus and Emeritus Executive Trustee of Ritsumeikan Trust, where he was Vice-Chancellor (2004-2012), and President of Ritsumeikan Asia

Pacific University (2004-09). He is on the Governing/Advisory Boards of several leading Japanese universities and think-tanks, including the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, the Nara Institute of Science and Technology, the National Institute of Advanced Graduate Studies, Sokendai, Kyushu University, as well as the Vietnam-Japan University. 

Professor Cassim was a researcher at the Japan Center for Area Development (JCADR) in 1974, and from 1980 entered Mitsui Construction Corporation’s Design Division. From 1985 he worked for the United Nations Center for Regional Development (UNCRD), where he was Coordinator of the Industrial Development Unit and the Urban Development and Housing Unit, as well as the Strategic Assistance Program for Latin America and Indonesia. He was seconded from UNCRD to the Social Infrastructure Division of the Asian Development Bank from 1986-1987 to work on a joint program on urban development for impoverished communities. 

His professional expertise and interests are wide-ranging, covering Architecture, Urban Engineering, Industrial Policy, Conservation Biology and Health, Environment and Life Science, with his research focus on developing “earth- and human-friendly” technologies. He  has published and lectured extensively and remains a “parish priest” proselytizing for Sustainability Science and “Inclusive Innovation”, a concept he advocated at the 2016 G7 Science and Technology Ministers’ Meeting. He has strived to promote science and technology partnerships between Japan and emerging economies, epitomized by the Sri Lanka Innovation Platform (J-SLIP), which has incubated 20 propulsive projects since 2016, covering many of the 17 UN SDGs. In 2019 he was one of EDEN’s original co-founders.

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Micheal Fors

Co - Chair

Michael A. Fors is chairman of the Board at the United Nations Institute for Training and Research’s Prosperity Division, leading United Nations programs for post conflict and developing nations, ensuring that the world’s most vulnerable are not left behind, and is dedicated to accelerating progress to Sustainable Development Goals.

  Dr. Fors has led development for functional divisions and business units at Boeing, systematically developing workforces to achieve business strategies.  His team also worked to digitally transform the Boeing business, vital as the 4th industrial revolution accelerates and reshapes the world of work with new technologies.  Before Boeing, he was an Executive Leader at Microsoft.  Michael led a P&L comprised of 350 ex-CIO consultants, who digitally transform Microsoft customers, and also led a business strategy team that worked with divisional Presidents to improve product development and business performance of the Windows, Office, and Xbox divisions. Before Microsoft, Dr. Fors served as Chief Learning Officer of Intel University.  He is an adjunct professor at Stanford University, Columbia University, and the University of Washington, teaching innovation, entrepreneurship, the future of work, and leadership/executive development. 

Dr. Fors has been a representative of the World Economic Forum, the Global Engineering Deans’ Council, ReWork America, & the International Federation of Engineering Education Societies. 

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Kaitu’u ’i Pangai Funaki

Core Member

Kaitu’u ‘i Pangai Funaki is currently the Political Head, Pacific Region, Governance and Peace Directorate at the Commonwealth Secretariat in London, United Kingdom. He was among the first batch graduates of Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU) with 10 years of professional experience in university administration

and international marketing of Japanese higher education. He holds an MBA in International Marketing and Business and a PhD degree in Asia Pacific Studies (Politics and International Relations). Dr Funaki was the founder of the Dignified Pacific (DPI) in 2018, and co-founded the Dignified Professional Network (DPN) in 2021, based on his relational theory of Reciprocity and Generosity. He is dedicating his life as a Steward guarding the Dignity of Oceania with the goal of rekindling this dignity through the transformation of self-perceptions. He is working with individuals and organizations on similar wavelengths to empower talented young leaders around the world and supporting them in identifying traditional knowledge to be redefined and transformed for the next generation. In 2019 he was one of EDEN’s original co-founders.

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Sharapiya Kakimova

Sharapiya Kakimova is in charge of international cooperation, multilateral and bilateral, and agreements´ negotiations with foreign institutions related to science, technology and innovation at the National Agency for Research and Development (ANID) of Chile. Dr. Kakimova graduated from the Kazakh State Polytechnic Institute in 1993 as a system engineer. She obtained a Master of

Arts degree in the field of international relations and later her Ph.D. on Peace Studies from Hiroshima University with specific focus on public administration and its reform in post conflict countries in general and in Afghanistan in particular. She worked in various governmental institutions of Kazakhstan for six years and was responsible for external aid coordination. Dr. Kakimova joined the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) first as an intern, in 2002 and in 2003, and then as a Training Assistant at UNITAR’s Hiroshima Office from 2004 to 2009. From 2011 to 2013, she held teaching positions at Los Lagos University of Chile. Dr. Kakimova´s research interests are capacity building, international relations, conflict resolution and governance.

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Humaira Khan-Kamal

Humaira Khan-Kamal, is CEO of a health-care company in the United States. She is a former UNITAR New York Office staff, was team leader for the Afghanistan Fellowship Programme, the design and implementation of which she spearheaded.  She also led the research and development of several training programs in international trade, public-private partnerships

for sustainable development, and policy issues in information and communication technologies at part of the New York Office. Prior to her work with UNITAR she worked as the national marketing/fund-raising manager with a non-profit project to set up the national cancer care hospital in Pakistan – Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Center.

Khan-Kamal was one of the co-founders and coordinators of the Afghan Fellowship Legacy Projects (AFLP), created to distill the lessons learnt from the 2-decades-long UNITAR Hiroshima Fellowship for Afghanistan, and channel the experiences and knowledge of this worldwide community towards future innovative and sustainable international development assistance initiatives. As one of the AFLP initiatives she co-edited (with Nassrine Azimi)  ‘The UNITAR Hiroshima Fellowship for Afghanistan — An Anthology’ released in April 2023. Address Phoenix, AZ, USA

Rama Kannan

Rama Kannan is an Executive and Leadership Coach and has been coaching leaders in Corporates and the Social sector for over 10 years, including UN leaders globally through UNSSC. She also teaches Social Entrepreneurship and is on the Board of two Impact funds and a listed company. 

Previously she was a senior Strategy and Marketing professional for multinational companies in India and Asia Pacific for over 16 years. She was a Mentor from 2010 in the UNITAR Afghanistan Fellowship Programme, which was a catalyst to her becoming a Coach and is one of the authors of the Afghan Fellowship Legacy Projects book, released in 2023.

She has an MBA from NUS Singapore and has Master Coach credential (MCC) from International Coaching Federation. 

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Faezeh Mahichi

Faezeh Mahichi is Associate Professor at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU), Japan. Her journey from Nano-world to Macro- Reality started from pursuing her master and PhD studies in the field of nanotechnology in Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech), Japan to recent years working as a researcher and educator in environmental studies and circular economy in APU, as a university hosting students from more than 90 nationalities.

Dr. Mahichi’s teaching and research interests are on the importance of research and education of environmental systems in a holistic manner in order to reach the state of sustainability. Currently, she is studying the impacts of different practices, technological implementations and developments on the natural environment. She is interested in the study of traditional knowledge and practices, circular economy, sustainable development and how to decrease humanity’s ecological footprint, pollution and depletion of natural resources through environmental education and increase of environmental awareness. In 2019 she was one of EDEN’s original co-founders. She enjoys teaching, researching and gardening in the coastal city of Beppu.

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Cody Marschalk

Communications Coordinator

Cody Marschalk works for the University of North Georgia’s Center for Global Engagement. He is an international educator with 15+ years of

experience working with international student populations. Cody has a passion for communication and intercultural exchange and his ikigai is to bridge cultural divides and help foster campus environments where hospitality, inquisitiveness, and inclusivity thrive. His experiences in the field are multifaceted and multidimensional, having worked in international student programs, academic affairs, and admissions and recruitment for universities across the globe. Cody graduated from Auburn University in 2011 with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and a minor in Asian Studies. He later returned to acquire his Master of Education in Higher Education Administration, specializing in International Student Issues and Global Education, while simultaneously acquiring his master’s certificate in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) in 2016. After joining the Japan Exchange & Teaching (JET) Program to expand his international experience in 2016, he taught English in Japanese high schools across Fukushima Prefecture. From 2018-2022, he worked in the international student affairs office at Shizenkan University in Tokyo, where he joined the EDEN team as Communications Coordinator for its inaugural seminar in 2019. Cody currently calls Atlanta, Georgia home. In his spare time, he enjoys tasting new cuisines via the region’s diverse food scene and hiking the rolling foothills of the Appalachian Mountains with his wife.  In 2019 he was one of EDEN’s original co-founders.

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Taiga Nishimura

Taiga is a Program Coordinator at Hiroshima Peacebuilders Center (HPC), a non-profit organization commissioned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan to conduct the Program for Global Human Resource Development for

Peacebuilding and Development. His professional career started at the

United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), Hiroshima Office, where he has been a Research Assistant for the Afghan Fellowship Legacy Projects (AFLP) and the Green Legacy Hiroshima (GLH) Initiative, and Program Assistant for the Nuclear Disarmament and Non-proliferation and the Women's Leadership in Tsunami-based Disaster Risk Reduction programs of the UNITAR Division for Prosperity.   As part of the AFLP team Taiga was deeply involved in the Botanical Gardens Network initiative, and was a member of the editorial team for the AFLP book, published in 2023.  Taiga holds a Master of Science degree in International Development with Conflict and Humanitarian Action from the University of Bath, the United Kingdom.  He also obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Language and Literature from Hiroshima Shudo University.

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Saeeda Razick

Saeeda Razick is currently pursuing her bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia in Johor Bahru. She was a UNITAR trainee and joined the Green Legacy Hiroshima Secretariat Team. She mainly handles the Partners in Profile series and outreach for GLH.  In 2019 she was one of EDEN’s original co-founders.

She was the Deputy Head Prefect in high school and volunteered with leading community service organizations within school such as the United Nations and Interact Clubs. The community service projects that came along with such volunteering allowed her to understand the depth of the unequal distribution of basic resources as she traveled to many parts of the island. These experiences contributed to her current dream; which is to be a part of bridging this gap and help develop her country through science and technology. In her free time she enjoys hiking and pottery.

Najib Sabory

Najib Rahman Sabory is a sustainable energy expert.  Since graduating from the electrical engineering department at  Kabul University in 2001, he has been engaged across the board with academic, industry, and private sectors. From 2002 until 2022 he

was an associate professor at the Engineering School of Kabul University, where in parallel he led a number of projects, committees, and initiatives for the energy industry and private sector. His role as the member and chairman of Afghanistan Renewable Energy Union (AREU) board of directors since 2017 was pivotal in developing and supporting the energy sector of Afghanistan.

Dr. Sabory currently works as a senior manager at the planning and strategy department of the largest power producer in Japan, JERA.co.Inc, where he is engaged in planning and promoting decarbonization strategies and efforts. He is also engaged as Specially Invited Professor with the International University of Japan (IUJ),  supporting the Management of Power Utilities ( MPU) program.     Dr. Sabory completed a master’s degree in 2013  in Sustainable Energy from A. James Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland College Park. He got an MBA in 2014 from World Wide Science Academy in Malaysia. In 2022, he completed his PhD in Sustainable Energy Politics and Policies at the University of the Ryukus , Japan. He is the author of more than 30 academic publication ranging from books, journal articles, and conference papers.   He was awarded a UNITAR (United Nations Institute for Training and Research) fellowship in 2007 for a period of seven months, through which he learned advanced concepts in project management, leadership and change management. He continued in this program for 2008 and 2009 cycles, this time as coach and resource person, and was one of the three focal points for UNITAR’s Afghan Fellowship Legacy Projects (AFLP) and its Botanical Gardens Network component. He is one of the authors of the AFLP book, published in 2023.

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Sabahuddin Sokout

Sabahuddin SOKOUT is the UNITAR Program Coordinator and Focal Point in Afghanistan. Prior to this he was Administration and Finance Officer at the Baz Construction Unit for Rehabilitation of Afghanistan (BCURA) and Liaison Officer of Foreign Affairs in the Academy of Science of Afghanistan. He graduated from the Faculty of Economics of Kabul University in 1997. His professional

background is International Economy, Organizational studies, and change.  He has obtained his master’s degree on International Peace and Co-existence from Hiroshima University and his major was Peacebuilding through Economic Development.  Mr. Sokout has taken part in many trainings and certified courses on project design, planning, accounting, fraud mitigation and environmental issues. Mr. Sokout joined the UNITAR Hiroshima Fellowship for Afghanistan as a Fellow in 2005, as a Coach in 2006 and 2007, and as an Afghan Resource Person in 2008.  He has been engaged for seven years in policy and strategy development with many companies, NGOs, and MSMEs in Afghanistan.

Sokout was the coordinator in Afghanistan for UNITAR’s Afghan Fellowship Legacy Projects (AFLP) and its Botanical Gardens Network component. He is one of the authors of the AFLP book, published in 2023.

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