In response to the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (UNDESD 2005-2014), the United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies (UNU-IAS) embarked in 2007 on a noble mission to build an alliance of leading higher education institutions in the Asia-Pacific region to promote the sustainability paradigm in postgraduate education and research. Inspiration for this initiative came from regional policy makers’ calls for producing a new cadre of leaders for Asian sustainability, in recognition of the need to strengthen higher education for sustainable development and the importance of networking of higher education institutions (HEIs) in facing the challenges resulting from rapid and uneven growth in the Asia-Pacific region.

It was on 21 June 2008 in Sapporo, Japan where representatives of all founding member institutions and partners gathered for the official launching of ProSPER.Net. The auspicious event was held in conjunction with Hokkaido University’s ‘Sustainability Week 2008 – G-8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit Round’ celebratory activities leading to the G-8 Summit held in Hokkaido in the early part of July 2008. The heads of the following founding member institutions or their representatives expressed their strong commitment to the new alliance and formally approved the network’s concept, charter and by-laws:

• RMIT University, Australia
• Tongji University, China
• TERI University, India
• Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia
• Hokkaido University, Japan
• Iwate University, Japan
• Miyagi University of Education, Japan
• Nagoya University, Japan
• Okayama University, Japan
• Rikkyo University, Japan
• Shinshu University, Japan
• University of Tokyo, Japan
• University Sains Malaysia, Malaysia
• University of the Philippines, Philippines
• Yonsei University, Republic of Korea
• Chulalongkorn University, Thailand
• Asian Institute of Technology (Regional)
• University of the South Pacific (Regional)

Present to witness the ProSPER.Net launching were representatives of partner organisations, namely UNU-IAS, MOEJ, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Ministry of Environment of Australia, Institute for Global Environment Strategies (IGES), Elsevier Japan, and Yokohama National University which later became a member of ProSPER.Net.

Great collective efforts were invested into the shaping and functioning of the alliance, but the vital question is, then and now, on how to make the network not only sustain but also thrive and prosper through cooperation and dedication of members and partners.  The network, indeed, has withstood the test of time and the alliance has continued to expand and is getting stronger.