May 18, 2022
On Friday, April 29, the "Ukraine Peace Symposium" was held at Sophia University.
This symposium was co-sponsored by ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ and Sophia University and open to pre-college students, university students, and faculty members. In addition to those who attended the event in person, there were over 700 attendees who registered and joined online.
At the beginning of the event, Professor Yoshiaki Terumichi, president of Sophia University, delivered an opening address. Vice-President Motohiro Tsuchiya from ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ then moderated the first segment of the symposium which followed the theme, "How should we view the Ukraine crisis?" Professor Atsuko Kanehara of Sophia University's Faculty of Law, Professor Yoko Hirose and Associate Professor Michito Tsuruoka of ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡'s Faculty of Policy Management, and Professor Daisaku Higashi of the Sophia Institute of International Relations each gave their respective commentaries on the situation. After this, Ritsu Nacken, the deputy representative at Japan's United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), discussed the realities of helping refugees.
Professor Tetsuo Morishita, the Vice President for Global Academic Affairs at Sophia University, then introduced the speakers for the second segment of the symposium. President Terumichi and President Itoh served as moderators for a roundtable between six students; Rino Nakashita (2nd-year student in the Faculty of Policy Management), Ivan Zinov (2nd-year student in the Faculty of Economics) and Yusuke Takagi (1st-year in the Graduate School of Media and Governance) represented ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ while Ririka Yamauchi (2nd-year student in the Faculty of Law), Yoshiaki Saito (4th-year student in the Faculty of Global Studies) and Erika Shinabarger (4th-year student in the Faculty of Liberal Arts), represented Sophia University. The participants expressed their views on security, preventive diplomacy, peace education including elementary through high school, and the role that businesses and universities should play in this process.
At the end of the symposium, President Itoh delivered a final address which discussed the origins of Sophia University's motto, "for Others, with Others,"and ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡'s Pen Mark to encourage those in attendance to get involved with efforts to responsibly address problems facing peace, sustainability, and security.
Photo: Aki Takematsu