 Clif yn ychydig o gweld i'r llwylo gyda'r ysbynnyddio ar gael i'r cyfnod ymddangos, ac i'r llwylo yma yn Ysbynnyddio ar gael i Ysbynnyddio ar y cyfnod yma, felly yma yw'n mynd i'r llwylo yma hwnnw. Yr unrhyw yw Jo Beel ac wedi dweud yn tu ystod yn Ffwyllwyr Julia Black, yng ngyfnidol ym Fyllwr i'r ysbynnyddiaeth y Llyfrgell Llyfrgell yw'r unrhyw amser I was a meddwl ymgyrchol i fy moddwyr ffaith ac was ymwyaf a gweld i'n cael ei greu. I'm ydych chi gael i chi'n meddwl o'r bach o'r LSE o'i cymhwyllfa urbanydd i'r Adas Ababa. I have a long and close relationship to LSE where I was a Professor of International Development for many years and as the Deputy Vice Chancellor of University of Cape Town I have a close relationship too with Africa. I'm currently just concluding seven years at the British Council where in my role on the executive board with responsibility for education and society, I have also played a strong role both in introducing a city's focus to the British Council's work, particularly around the arts and also in our work in Africa. I'm now a professorial research fellow in LSE cities and I'm delighted to be returning to the LSE. The LSE was founded in 1895. Its mission has always been since then to look into the causes of things. In the late 19th century, its main focus was on society and its problems. And of course this was in the wake of the industrial revolution and the rapid urbanisation of the UK was very much part of its investigations. At that time London had exploded into the world's largest city with six million people and of course that is the size at its other bars predicted to be in 2030. Since then, as you all know, LSE has become a leading institution, a leading centre of social science research and teaching and with a uniquely international perspective. The school is highly rated for its research and is among the top three universities in the UK. 18 LSE alumni or staff have been recipients of Nobel Prizes and its graduates include presidents, prime ministers and business and city leaders around the world. Today the world is experiencing a more intensive wave of urban growth than ever before with more people moving into African and Asian cities than ever in the past. And it's for that reason that the school has initiated a new flagship programme centred on cities. At its heart is the urban age programme now in its 15th year of collaboration with the Alfred Herrhausen Gaself Shaft and it's therefore fitting that in 2018 we've come together in Addis Ababa to discuss the future of urbanisation in rapidly developing countries at this conference which opens today. LSE has had a long relationship with Africa. At the moment we have at least 200 Africans from around 30 countries come to the LSE on taught programmes, research programmes, short courses and fellowships and they are available across the school including in LSE cities but across 19 other departments. At LSE cities and the urban age there has been a pioneering of a suite of programmes that reflect LSE's commitment to rigorous research and engagement with policy makers, with public dissemination, with ideas, capacity building and knowledge exchange both within the academy and beyond. Its new and highly successful executive masters in cities is now in its third year. There are brochures outside if any of you are interested in looking at them and we are really delighted to see so many of its current and past graduates here in the room today. We come to Africa today at a time of exceptional change and exceptional opportunity and it's a unique moment for LSE to strengthen its existing links to Africa even further. The LSE Feroge-Lulgi Centre for Africa already hosts over 100 scholars from different areas of the social sciences from right across the continent. LSE has a partnership with the University of Cape Town that offers joint degrees and short courses and this Urban Age Conference is designed to set further our intellectual, academic and policy collaborations across the continent. I know the LSE and AHG teams have already started working closely with the mayor of Addis Ababa on an urban age task force programme for 2019 and we're delighted of course to be working with the UN Economic Commission on Africa in a joint research project. So I want to thank you all for coming to Urban Age in Addis and look forward to two days of intense and dynamic discussion on the future of cities. I now hand over to Professor Ricky Bildette who with Philip Road runs cities, LSE cities and Urban Age. Thank you.