Sophia Magazine vol.8 / WINTER 2018

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Campus NewsUN Weeks Focuses on SDGs#01Twice each year in summer and au-tumn, Sophia University holds its Unit-ed Nations Weeks towards the goal of “Considering the world and our fu-ture through UN activities.” For the ninth UN Weeks, held from June 1 to 11, 2018, seven events including talk sessions and symposia focused main-ly on the topic of Sustainable Develop-ment Goals (SDGs). This same key ar-ea was also the subject of an accom-panying panel exhibit. A talk session held on June 4 was headlined by David Chikvaidze, Chief of Cabinet of the Director General of the United Nations Ofce Geneva; Yasushi Akashi, former Under-Secretary-Gen-eral of the United Nations and Spe-cial Representative of the UN Secre-tary-General; and Ichiro Fujisaki, for-mer Japanese ambassador to the Unit-ed States. These three distinguished gures discussed the role of, and chal-lenges faced by, the United Nations at a time of global change. The events were very well attended by around 1,000 individuals, including not only Sophia enrollees but also high school students and others from the community.The 10th UN Weeks was held from October 15 to 29, and featured sym-posia, lm screenings, and other SDG-related events. On UN Day (October 24, the ofcial day the United Nations was established), an event was held to commemorate the achievements of former Secretary-General Ko Annan, who passed away in August 2018. Sophia University Africa Week, an event seeking to increase understand-ing of Africa and boost links with the continent, was held from May 14 to 26 this year. A number of symposia and talk sessions, as well as a photo ex-hibition, were aimed at younger gen-erations who are the most likely to be-come deeply engaged with this rapid-ly developing region. The rst day featured a symposium on Somalia, a country racked by con-tinuing civil war. With Sophia’s Pro-fessor Daisaku Higashi as modera-tor, presentations were heard from Ab-di Dirshe, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation; and Peter de Clercq, UN Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Resident and Hu-manitarian Coordinator for Somalia.May 19 saw a nine-hour long inter-national conference held to debate fu-ture challenges faced in aid provision to Africa, as well as a new vision for the continent. Attendees came from a wide range of posi-tions and elds, includ-ing students, special-ists, government of-cials, religious gures, and international civil servants. Then on May 21, a symposium marked the centena-ry of the birth of Nelson Mandela and took stock of his achievements. Fol-lowing a discussion about education and economic inequality in South Af-rica, a lecture was given by the South African ambassador to Japan, Thulani Dlomo.During Africa Week, an exhibition was held of photographs taken by stu-dents who had been to Africa on pro-grams, either as volunteers or as inde-pendent travelers. The images shown conveyed a sense of African daily life as seen from the student perspective.Africa Week Reveals the Continent Today #023