On July 20、the 21st Sophia Renaissance Series of Lectures was held with Mr. Yoshiteru Uramoto, former Deputy Secretary of United Nations Industrial Development Organization, and Mari Yamashita, Director of United Nations Information Centres　as our guest speakers.

The Lecture was entitled "Freedom from Want, Freedom from Fear – the UN Challenge, Sophia Challenge, Let’s work for the UN!" It was Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary-General who had introduced this idea of "Freedom from Want, Freedom from Fear" as the two pillars of UN Millennium Declaration’s Goals for the international community.

The lecture was followed by a panel discussion with Associate Professor Yuto Kitamura in the Faculty of Human Sciences, Department of Education as a moderator.

By emphasizing the issues of global poverty, development, and economic disparity, Mr. Uramoto stated that the employment rate for young Arabian people is still very low and the good times are only starting. He thereby pointed out that the global anxieties have risen over the obstruction of social injustice and he expressed his concern for unsettling effect on new liberalism. The mankind, he stated, should gather their knowledge to find solutions to these problems.

Ms. Mari Yamashita reminded us of the UN founding principles which was formulated in a framework of achieving peace and security in the world. She reviewed the special roles of UN at different times by demonstrating the timeline down to the present day since its founding in1945. Particularly, she emphasized the roles of UN in Libya's civil war and ongoing internal strife in Syria.

In the panel discussion that followed their lectures, we asked them why they selected the UN as the type of career that they wanted to follow, and we also asked them why they find working for the UN satisfactory and what their hardships are; and how they can translate their academic experience at Sophia University into action in the UN. Mr. Uramoto is a 1974 graduate of Faculty of Foreign Studies, Department of English Studies, and Ms. Yamamto is a 1988 graduate of Faculty of Law, Department of International Legal Studies.

Mr. Uramoto started his career serving in field offices in Myanmar, Sudan, and other countries engaging himself in development project and humanitarian aid program. . He has since served the UN and accumulated 34 years of his expertise. His life with local people told him a great deal that was so indispensable. As he looked back at his Sophia years, professors of many different nationalities enabled him to learn about various culture and society.

Ms．Yamashita stated that she has always been aroused by her curiosity for working at the United Nations. But her mind was set only after her experience overseas as a student to work for the United Nations. After joining the UN, her assignment as an electoral assistance took her to many countries like Africa and Asia. One thing that students will like about working for UN, she added, is that they can get to travel to unfamiliar parts of the world. Cultural contacts with the people were an exciting experience for her. She mentioned that she was lucky to have received a good undergraduate education from the teaching staff at Sophia University.

During Question and Answer Session, undergraduate students asked questions about the situation in Syria and democratization in Arabian countries. Their talks were more realistic than what we actually read in the newspaper or listen on the radio. The lectures must have appealed to the intelligence of many students.

Mr. Uramoto said the problem such as a civil war must be dealt within a wider political framework. We can’t expect an immediate solution. There are so many problems in the world still left unsolved, such as poverty or founding democracy in war-stricken countries and areas of the world. He called out to students for their interest in the works of UN.

Today, Japan is attracting the world’s attention more than we know, stated Ms. Yamashita. Japan should act more to what the world expects from her.

Sophia Renaissance Lecture Series has been carried out jointly with Alumni Association since 2009 as part of Sophia University 100th Anniversary Project. A theme that runs through this lecture series is "A Proposal to International Community- What we can do for the world – active contribution to the International Society and creation of more global scale career."