On May 12, Sophia University held a seminar to introduce its research, courses, practical programs, and student activities targeting the African region.

About 80 people attended the seminar, including high school and university students, as well as members of the general public and working adults. Naozumi Abe, a third-year student in the Department of Russian Studies at the Faculty of Foreign Studies and a member of the Africa Weeks Student Committee, served a moderator.

First, three members of the Africa Weeks Student Committee introduced their involvement with the African region, their activities, and the content of their research.

Mei Iida, a third-year student in the Department of Global Studies at the Faculty of Global Studies, talked about the activities of her student circle, the ASANTE PROJECT. The ASANTE PROJECT provides supplies (stationery, desks, etc.) and construction assistance in Tanzania while addressing local needs. She also explained that they sell products made from Kitenge, a type of African cloth, to fund their activities in Tanzania.

Sora Nakatake (3rd year, French Studies, Faculty of Foreign Studies) introduced her brand, “TWEBWE,” a line of African cloth and basket bags created in collaboration with Rwandan artisans. She said that she wants to support developing countries by enabling the creation of local employment and donating the proceeds from sales, rather than providing one-way support.

Katsumi Nakamura, a second-year Area Studies student at the Graduate School of Global Studies, discussed his fieldwork in the Republic of Togo. His research focuses on the development of phosphate ore and the problem that it is mined on a large scale for fertilizer, yet not used for agriculture and left unattended. He also discussed the political, social, and other issues behind this practice.

Next, three faculty members involved in African studies at Sophia University took the podium in turn.

Mikako Toda, Associate Professor in the Department of Global Studies at the Faculty of Global Studies, has conducted an Eco anthropological study of people with disabilities in Africa, focusing on Cameroon and Congo in Central Africa. She discussed the relationship between people with physical differences and the environment in tropical rainforest areas and reconsidered “care” in the context of African hunter-gatherer societies.

Wakiko Ohirawa (Assistant Professor, Center for Global Education and Discovery) discussed her research on contemporary politics and traditional authority in Uganda. After the British colonial rule, why do traditional authorities such as kingdoms and chiefdoms have so much influence in local governance after independence? She explained how she had conducted interviews with citizens and government officials in the region.

Tatsuhiro Yazawa (Professor, Department of Portugal, Faculty of Foreign Studies) discussed the politics and history of African countries that were once Portuguese territories, as well as the black movement in Brazil. He described the true value of his research, noting that it is significant to shed light on the Portuguese-speaking world, which has been overlooked in conventional research, to depict people of African descent struggling against colonial rule and racism, and to pursue dynamism that transcends a single region.

After the presentation, there was time for a Q&A session and for participants to introduce their views.

This seminar used a web service to facilitate interactive communication with participants. Despite the tendency for online seminars to be one-way, Q&A sessions were held in a format where real-time questions from participants were shared on the screen, facilitating a robust exchange of opinions.

On March 15, a symposium was held to learn about the current state of African World Heritage Sites and discuss how we should approach nature and culture. The event featured keynote speeches by Nao Hayashi (BA, Department of History, Faculty of Humanities, 1997), World Heritage Convention Specialist; George Okello Abungu (Director Emeritus of the World Heritage Centre at UNESCO Headquarters, Kenya National Museum); and Nobue Amanuma (Fellow of the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies [IGES]). The symposium provided an opportunity to reflect on the current state of World Heritage and consider measures beyond the scope of national governments.

Hayashi discussed the World Heritage Center’s policy initiatives to preserve World Heritage sites for future generations. He also highlighted the World Heritage Center’s initiatives to enhance tourism infrastructure by introducing new functions to historical buildings, such as hotels and galleries, within the framework of public-private partnerships, citing specific examples.

Abungu, who has dedicated himself to preserving nature and culture throughout Africa, introduced African cultural heritage sites that have developed in harmony with nature. He presented photographs of these sites. “On the other hand, many world heritage sites and places of interest in Africa are in danger of vanishing due to climate change, such as global warming and rising sea levels. This is having a significant impact on local communities living in the surrounding areas,” he said, sounding the alarm about the current situation.

Amanuma, an environmental policy expert, presented data on the current state of climate change and its effects. Human activities are pushing the global environment to its limits. Accelerated cross-border economic activities are particularly severely affecting the poor and socially vulnerable.

The panel discussion that followed featured Mamasufa Sole, an environmental expert and Counselor at the Embassy of Lesotho in Japan, as well as Yuya Otani, , a full-time lecturer at the Faculty of International Studies at Setsunan University. The discussion was moderated by Longfor Nkweauseh Assistant Professor at the Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies, who took questions from participants to discuss sustainable actions that humankind must take.

Then Nkweauseh closed the symposium on a high note, hoping that the symposium would help people rediscover the beauty of Africa’s heritage and encourage each of us to change our mindsets in order to act.

On the 23rd, the final day of the program, the Africa Weeks Student Committee organized a talk session titled “Ideas for Our Future.”

Taisei Shibuya, a third-year student at FGS, served as the moderator. He explained that the objective of this program is to foster mutual understanding and encourage dialogue between young people from Africa and Japan. This will serve as a foundation for future actions.

The opening performance was by Farai Malinga, a second-year student in the Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies from Zimbabwe. Malinga performed the poem Come on Africa.

The speakers at the event included Farai, as well as Kisindi from Kenya, Evelyn from Ghana, Masa from Malawi, and Longfor, Professor at the Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies who is from Cameroon. Each of these speakers introduced themselves and discussed the theme “Our Africa and Japan.”

The next activity was a lively dance session where everyone on the dance floor joined into the African beats. After everyone had had a chance to dance, the group was split into teams for a quiz about Africa.

During the latter half of the event, the participants were divided into eight tables for group discussions with the visitors. Each table was given a topic of interest from among the suggested themes. The participants then discussed it, wrote their findings on leaf-shaped notecards, and pasted them onto a picture of a baobab tree. The event ended with a group photo of all participants.

Shibuya, the head of the Student Committee, expressed his enthusiasm, stating, “I was thrilled and thoroughly enjoyed the event. A big round of applause to Dr. Yamazaki, who encouraged everyone to participate in planning the event from start to finish; to the public relations group, who managed the event and provided constant support; to those who prepared for the event; and to all who participated! “ He wrapped up Africa Weeks 2025, expressing his appreciation, that “I am truly lucky to have been a part of Africa Weeks 2025.”