On the afternoon of February 19, Sophia University held the event “The Japan–Africa Nexus: Co-Building a Sustainable Global Future Together” at the International Conference Hall (17th Floor, Building No. 2), in a hybrid format.

This event served as the kick-off meeting for Sophia University’s student exchange initiative with African partner universities, titled “Developing Leaders Who Contribute to Solving Global Environmental Challenges through International Collaboration.” The initiative has been selected for the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)’s FY2025 “Inter-University Exchange Project (Global South Countries: Africa Region).” Representatives from seven African partner universities*, as well as cooperating organizations, were invited to attend.

Following the opening remarks delivered by President Miki Sugimura, a keynote address was given by Mr. Kuniaki Sato, Director for International Affairs Division, Higher Education Bureau, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). He spoke about the internationalization initiatives and challenges facing Japanese higher education institutions, as well as his expectations for programs selected under the Inter-University Exchange Project.

After a presentation outlining the project by Vice President for Global Academic Affairs, Mariko Iijima, a keynote address was delivered from the African partner side by President Arcène Brice Bado of Jesuit University of Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire), which has been sending and receiving students with our university since 2018. He spoke about the future possibilities for collaboration between Japan and Africa through this initiative.

In Part II, two panel discussions were held. The first panel focused on “Challenges and Opportunities in Industry-Government-Academia Collaboration,” and the second addressed “Approaches to Global Environmental Challenges.” In addition to speakers from the African partner universities, representatives from the African Development Bank, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and Toda Corporation—organizations supporting this project—also participated. The discussions explored environmental challenges and human resource development initiatives that Japan and African countries can tackle collaboratively, generating lively and multifaceted exchanges of views.

The event was open to the public and provided a broad introduction to Sophia University’s education and research activities related to Africa, as well as its collaborative initiatives with international organizations. More than 120 participants attended, both in person and online.

Building on the strong track record of collaboration between Sophia University and African countries, this event marked an important first step in sharing common challenges and future directions for Japan and African nations, and in laying the foundation for a cooperative framework to achieve the goals of the project.