 Before we all begin, you may have noticed that the UN flag is at half-mast. The reason is that the former Secretary General of the UN, Kofi Annan, is being laid to rest today. So may I request all of you to rise and observe one minute's silence in his memory. Thank you very much. Your Excellency, I'm Marie Wehrleinen, Minister of Foreign Trade and Development, members of the diplomatic corps, distinguished colleagues, ladies and gentlemen. It's a great honour for me on behalf of UNU-Wider to open this September 2018 Wider Development Conference, which we've titled, Think Development, Think Wider. UNU-Wider has for more than 30 years been associated with some of the most advanced thinking and practice in development economics. And the Institute has since its start in 1985 created a global network of thousands of researchers who have in common the ambition to make the world a better place. Over the past 10 years, UNU-Wider has implemented two ambitious work programmes on finance, food and climate change, and transformation, inclusion and sustainability. The volume of work has tripled, resulting in more than 2,000 publications, and activities are now going across the globe. This conference will showcase UNU-Wider, its work, the many people and institutions associated with it, including all of you, and it will take stock of what we have learned. It will also look to the future of development economics, and it will serve as a bridge to fresh UNU-wide initiatives, aiming to mobilize evidence and action around the 2030 SDG agenda and its goals. When Wider was established, the acronym Wider was chosen for a purpose. The founding parents wanted to highlight that the institute is meant to focus on the bigger questions in development, and this is indeed what we have aimed to do in the last two work programmes. And this is what this conference, think development, think wider, will do as well. The conference brings together an important part of the UNU network, including over the three days more than 450 participants from some 55 countries, and many of those who have contributed to our work over the past decade. On this occasion, I wish to stress that there is no simple one-way street to development success. There is a road network. UNU-Wider aims to develop and transfer ideas back and forth across this network, among researchers and policymakers. And to be sure, UNU-Wider does not rely on one big road or station. We are a network, and all our work is freely available on open access. Importantly, UNU-Wider exists to help promote change to the benefit of poor people in the poorest countries in the world. And the regular wider staff and personnel work with a global wider network and our target audiences in a respectful and motivating manner that supports change. All we push are constructive dialogue, new ideas and better policy. I believe it's fair to state that UNU-Wider is indeed a trusted partner, and the institution certainly aims to generate synergies among people and institutions, among younger and older, more seasoned colleagues. And because people want to work with wider, we are, as I see it, able to stimulate wider thinking and value for money. The UNU-Wider network calls Helsinki the capital of Finland home. And, Your Excellency, we would like to thank the Finnish government for being such a generous, interested and engaging host. A warm thanks as well to CEDA and DFID for continued support. And thank you to all of the many institutions that helped finance and implement the UNU-Wider work program, directly or indirectly. With these words, I'm happy to declare the September 2018 Think Development Think-Wider Conference opened.