Sophia Magazine vol.8 / WINTER 2018

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Global Conferences Bring Together Catholic Networks#05Four global networks of Catholic ed-ucational institutions met in summer 2018: IAJU (International Association of Jesuit Universities), AJCU-AP (The Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities in Asia Pacic), IFCU (In-ternational Federation of Catholic Uni-versities), and ASEACCU (The Asso-ciation of Southeast and East Asian Catholic Colleges and Universities).Yoshiaki Terumichi, President of So-phia University, participated in three of the conferences. Here, he looks back on the IAJU, AJCU-AP, and ASEACCU meetings, attended by the presidents and directors of over 300 major Jesuit universities and colleges worldwide. “The Assembly of the IAJU, held this year over four days from July 9, is a fo-rum for discussion among prominent educational institutions, that are high-ly inuential in their countries, about what they can do to contribute to world peace. I was reminded once again of the mission of Jesuit universities, and the power, size, and warmth of our net-work. Today, Sophia has 320 interna-tional partner institutions. I was able to exchange views about how these re-lationships can be improved and ex-panded, and I also met with universi-ties that could become new partner in-stitutions for us. Together with the AJ-CU-AP, I had a productive time full of opportunity.”The ASEACCU Conference and Stu-dent Conference was held from Au-gust 21 at the Elisabeth University of Music in Hiroshima, with the theme of “Catholic Education and Peace Initia-tives.” Attended by around 200 people from eight countries including Japan, this was the rst time in seven years, since Sophia hosted it in 2011, that the event was held in Japan. This year’s event received strong support from President Terumichi, as well as from staff and students of Sophia.“In Japan, the only country in the world to have been attacked with nu-clear weapons, questions were raised and lectures given about peace, and there were presentations on the last day by participating students too,” re-ports Terumichi. “Students looked at ways to strive for peace and reconcil-iation from a range of perspectives. It was a very meaningful ve days.”The IFCU meeting was held over ve days from July 23, and represent-ing Sophia was Trustee for Global Ac-ademic Affairs, Fr. John Joseph Pu-thenkalam, S.J. “I have taken part in a number of IFCU projects before,” he says, “but attending the confer-ence this year further piqued my in-terest in Catholic universities. I can see the need for Sophia to deepen its ties not just with the Jesuit network but on a wider scale, too. In the future, I plan to attend sessions organized by the IFCU in elds that Sophia focuses on, such as environmental issues and peace research.” (Center right) Fr. Sosa, Superior General of the Society of Jesus, with (center left) Presi-dent Terumichi, anked by IAJU delegatesLeft: IAJU Right: IFCUPresident Yoshiaki TerumichiFr. John Joseph Puthenkalam, S.J.5Campus news