Sophia Magazine vol.7 / SUMMER 2018

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President of Ateneo de Manila University Visits Sophia University and Commemorates 50 Years of Exchange#05“When I visit Sophia University, I feel at home,” reects Fr. Jose Ramon T. Villarin, S.J., President of Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines, as he sits for an interview during a recent visit to Japan. Fr. Villarin’s visit com-memorated 50 years of exchange be-tween Sophia and Ateneo, and was his rst meeting as a new member of So-phia’s International Advisory Board. Fr. Villarin traces the roots of So-phia-Ateneo exchanges to a pivot-al 1968 exchange program. “In 1968, the memories of World War II were still fresh, so it was a major step for Japa-nese and Filipino families to host stu-dents from each other’s countries.” Under the program, 25 Sophia stu-dents visited Ateneo, which was fol-lowed by a visit to Sophia by 20 Ateneo students. Lively articles from the At-eneo GUIDON newspaper document the students’ immersion in their host country’s culture, from participation in tea ceremonies at Sophia to a tour of the Philippines’ Luzon island. Since those key events, Sophia and Ateneo exchange programs have steadily developed. In the 1970s, se-mester-long undergraduate student exchanges began. As more recent ex-amples of this progress, Fr. Villarin cred-its the Global Leadership Program among ve Jesuit Universities in Asia, the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities in Asia Pacic (AJCU-AP) Service Learning Program, and the Sophia-ASEAN International Mobili-ty for Students Program with enabling more Sophia students to attend Ateneo. Fr. Villarin also stresses the importance of faculty exchange, including that of So-phia staffers who study English inten-sively at the Ateneo Language Learning Center, and the Ateneo faculty members who study at Sophia. He notes that At-eneo professor Fr. Mario Francisco and former Ateneo Alumni Association pres-ident Jun Capistrano both participated in the original 1968 exchange program and are organizing a 50th anniversary celebration. “This shows that the rela-tionships forged during exchange ex-periences do not die; they become part of your life’s memory.”Fr. Villarin has high hopes for the continued development of exchanges between Sophia and Ateneo. His ideas include creating collaborative aca-demic degree programs, increasing visiting faculty exchanges, and work-ing together on common projects to foster the Jesuit identity and mission in Asia. “During the International Adviso-ry Board meeting, we discussed cru-cial topics including cultivating glob-al citizenship, the importance of com-munication, and Sophia’s place in our rapidly changing world. These themes strike at the heart of what it means to be a Jesuit university. I believe that So-phia and Ateneo share a strong bond rooted in our history and a Jesuit spir-it that can enable us to learn and grow stronger together.” #06Survey Mission Visits PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter GamesThe Sophia Olympic and Paralym-pic Project dispatched a team of three students and four academics to the Py-eongChang Paralympic Winter Games March 7-11, 2018. As well as inspecting venues and observing sporting events, the group surveyed South Korean ini-tiatives in such areas as para-sports and social inclusion education. They also conducted a wheelchair accessi-bility survey, and interviewed athletes, volunteers, spectators, and disability support organizations on the ground in Seoul. Concluding their schedule was a visit to Sogang University, one of So-phia’s partner institutes in Korea. This project was established in 2016 with the purpose of contributing as an educational body to the building of a socially inclusive society for the Tokyo 2020 Games and beyond. March’s visit was the rst mission since an initial dis-patch to the 2016 Rio Paralympics.The project also involves such activ-ities as lectures on a socially inclusive society and the Olympic and Paralym-pic Games, training courses for lan-guage service volunteers, and surveys of barrier-free public transport.5Campus news