"Dear IHDP Community,

My term as Executive Director of the International Human Dimensions Programme is coming to a close on July 31st. When I joined IHDP in the fall of 2005 we had just held a fairly successful Open Meeting of the Global HD Community in Bonn. Now, at the time I leave IHDP, we just held another, even more successful Open Meeting on the “Social Challenges of Global Change” with 938 participants from all over the world, again in Bonn.
In between these two conferences we at the IHDP Secretariat worked very hard to contribute to the growth, prosperity and success of the programme. I can say that we did accomplish quite a bit: joining the UN system and moving to the UN Campus Bonn, enhancing our science-policy portfolio and products at national, regional, and international level, going bolder with our capacity development and training efforts, reaching out to new constituencies in science and practice, winning new donors and partners, broadening our network of affiliated research institutions, relaunching our communications strategy with a new identity, logo, websites and print products, and, most importantly, increasing quantity and quality of IHDP’s scientific operations, especially regarding the synthesis of established projects and the creation of new and promising international research projects on governance, risk, health and social learning. All this has been accomplished together and with the active contribution of the young and dedicated staff at the Secretariat, the IHDP Chair and colleagues on the Scientific Committee and in the projects, ESSP and many other colleagues. It has been accomplished despite all difficulties and challenges.
I leave IHDP with a good feeling and a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. I will carry on many of the insights and inspirations I collected in IHDP to my new functions both in international organization and as a professor of political science. And I trust that I will remain good contacts and work relations with many of you.

All the best,
Andreas Rechkemmer July 2009"