ZEF will host the second international workshop on "Comparative Water

Studies" at ZEF from January 20-21, 2012. This workshop is the second in a

series. The first workshop was held in London from October 24-25,

2011.

ZEF Afghanistan expert Conrad Schetter is sceptical about the outcome of the Afghanistan conference in Bonn on December 5 without participation of the main regional player Pakistan and the Taliban. Book about Taliban sheds light on nature and diversity of the movement. Watch the complete interview with Schetter.

During this year's Dies Academicus of the University of Bonn taking place on Wednesday, December 7, ZEF researchers will present research highlights in the University's Lecture Hall III from 10.00 a.m. - 1.30 p.m. All presentations are held in German.

The Justus von Liebig Prize for World Food issues is awarded bi-annually by the foundation fiat panis in Ulm. On November 11, "the internationally acknowledged agro-economist Professor Joachim von Braun", director and co-founder of ZEF, was awarded the Prize by the foundation.

ZEF welcomes this year's batch of new doctoral students. Thirty-one students from 16 countries start into the three-year doctoral program at ZEF, where they will strengthen their interdisciplinary and disciplinary skills. Moreover, they conduct one year of practical field research in a developing country.

Liu Dan, a ZEF junior researcher from China, won the first prize for the best paper by junior researchers during the 33rd Australian Conference of Health Economists, taking place in Melbourne from September 29-30, 2011.

ZEF Fellow Oded Stark made it again. In the new 2011 Handelsblatt ranking of the top 250 Professors of Economics in the German-speaking world, he is ranked amongst the top five.

From October 18 to 23, 2011, a delegation from Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia and the Right Livelihood College in Addis Ababa visited RLC Bonn at ZEF to strengthen collaboration and intensify exchange.

ZEF Director Professor von Braun held the annual "UN talk" in Bonn on October 21, 2011. In his talk on “Feeding the world: Challenges, strategies and volunteers” he gave an overview of the challenges facing the global community in fighting hunger and poverty and showed ways out of the crisis.

Mrs. Svenja Schulze, Minister of Innovation, Science and Research of the State North Rhine Westphalia appointed the Center for Development Research a „Location of Progress“ (Ort des Fortschritts) in the context of its initiative “Progress NRW” on October 17.

ZEF experts participated in the conference "Management of water in a changing world: Lessons learned and innovative perspectives", held in Dresden on October 12-13, 2011. The conference was sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

Around 200 participants attended the international workshop on "Science, Technology and Society" co-organized by ZEF and the University of Brunei Darussalam, taking place in Brunei from September 23-25, 2011.

ZEF will be represented at the "Germany Day" in Bonn, taking place from Saturday, October 1 until Monday, October 3.

In this upcoming international workshop, to be held in London from October 24-25, 2011, ZEF researchers will share their research expertise in water management issues.

Usman Khalid Awan, a former ZEF doctoral student from Pakistan, has taken the lead in acquiring research funds under the recently established German-Pakistani Research Collaborations Program of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).

In this issue of our ZEF news you can read about our recent research activities on volatility, land degradation, context analyses and health care in Uzbekistan. In addition, you can read a number of interviews, among others with the UNU director in Bonn, Dr. Rhyner.

"Connections between development-related NGO work and research: Ambitions and constraints" is the topic of ZEF's workshop at the 64th Annual United Nations Department of Public Information / Non-Governmental Organizations Conference taking place in Bonn from September 3-5.

ZEF Director Prof. Dr. Paul Vlek was officially inaugurated as a UNESCO chair-holder in Urgench, Uzbekistan, on July 15, 2011. This chair on “Education for sustainable development” is one of 15 chairs initiated and supported by UNESCO worldwide and the first one in Central Asia.

Six doctoral students from the PhD program of the Ghanaian-German Center for Development Research in Accra, Ghana, visited ZEF for a six-week study and research stay.

This paper offers an overview of ZEF’s research activities in the region over the past years and a perspective on how to tackle the challenges facing Central Asia.