The period from May 20, 2021 to July 31, 2022 has been designated as the “Year of Ignatius” with events celebrating the Ignatian Year throughout the world. On July 5, SOPHIA IGNATIAN YEAR SYMPOSIUM was held at our university, an international symposium on the theme of SDGs, in collaboration with Jesuit universities throughout East and Southeast Asia.

The participants included the president of The Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities in Asia Pacific (AJCU-AP), as well as the team consisted of the presidents, vice presidents, and students from Ateneo de Manila University (Philippines), Fu-Jen Catholic University (Taiwan), Sanata Dharma University (Indonesia), Sogang University (South Korea), and Sophia University (Japan). The venue took place at the auditorium of Building No. 10 on the Yotsuya Campus, with participants from overseas and outside participating via online public viewing format.

In the first session, the initiatives of five universities were introduced

The symposium opened with welcome remarks delivered by Trustee for Global Academic Affairs, Professor John Joseph Puthenkalam, Director of Global Affairs, and Dr. Tsutomu Sakuma, Chancellor of Sophia University, both of whom hoped this valuable opportunity would provide an opportunity for mutual collaboration among the Jesuit universities and for learning more about each other’s activities.

The first part of the symposium, consisting of two sessions, was moderated by Vice President for Global Academic affairs, Professor Tetsuro Morishita with presentations made by the presidents of the AJCU-AP and representatives of other universities. From Sophia, President Yoshiaki Terumichi gave a presentation titled “Sophia University and Sustainability”, to introduce the activities of the Office of Sophia Sustainability Promotion established in 2021 in response to Pope Francis’ encyclical “Laudato Si'” on the theme of the environment, as well as related research institutes and other related activities at the University.

Students introducing unique initiatives made by each university in the second half of the program

The second part of the program was conducted as a student session. Moderated by FLA Professor Takeshi Ito, student teams from each university gave an eight-minute presentation on their respective activities.

They introduced their unique learning experiences, and activities related to indigenous communities, sustainable approaches to climate change, and their day-to-day small efforts. Our student team presented their recent activities as KASA Sustainability, which included a campus vegetable garden and the creation of a map to show locations on campus where sustainable services are provided.

Promised to maintain mutual exchanges in the future

In the latter half of the program, a lively discussion unfolded, with participants sharing the challenges associated with SDG promotion activities on their campuses and Q&A sessions for universities that are engaged in unique initiatives.

In the end, the participants exchanged contact information. The three-hour symposium ended with a promise to share updates on their activities in the future.