The Alumni-Conference of the German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) focused this year on the 20 year anniversary of the Earth Summit of Rio de Janeiro in 1992.

More than 200 participants of the current and former courses of the Postgraduate Training Programme for Development Cooperation took part in the Alumni Conference. Since 1965 the German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) trains German young professionals in its Postgraduate Training Programme. Since the first Course almost 900 young professionals have been trained by DIE. The Programme graduates have careers with development organisations, government, international organisations and NGOs in Germany and abroad.

Prominent Alumni are, among others, Achim Steiner, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Ingrid Hoven, German Executive Director at the World Bank, Bruno Wenn, Chairman of the Board of Management of DEG - Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH as well as the Member of the Boards of Deutsche Gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) Adolf Kloke-Lesch and Hans-Joachim Preuß.

The Keynotes were held by:

• Lawrence Haddad, Director, Institute of Development Studies (IDS): “Ending Hunger: Five things we need to do between now and 2015”
• Alison Evans, Director, Overseas Development Institute (ODI): “Development Financing – What does the Future hold?”
• Dirk Messner, Director, German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE): „Global Transformation towards Sustainability: Key Challenges”