On Tuesday, March 7, we held the “Project of Effective Action with CLMV’s Education to promote the Capacity of Research and Social Planning for Peaceful, Inclusive, and Substantial Development” (PEACE) Kickoff Symposium in the Library Hall of the Central Library of the Higashi-Hiroshima Campus, Hiroshima University. The symposium attracted about 100 participants, not only from domestic institutions but also from South Asian countries such as Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand. They include government officials from Cambodia and Myanmar, as well as the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science & Technology (MEXT), faculty/staff and student representatives from the partner institutions of Hiroshima University and Hiroshima University of Economics (our project partner university). Faculty/staff members and students from both institutions also joined the event.

The symposium started with an opening address by President Mitsuo Ochi, followed by an address by Mr. Hideki Iwabuchi, Director of the Office for International Planning from the MEXT, and keynote speeches from H.E. Mr. Ngoy Mak, Director General, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, Cambodia and H.E. Dr. Soe Win, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Myanmar. There were 2 afternoon sessions in which the faculty/staff representative from each participating university delivered a short presentation under either one of the following themes: (I) “The Role and Issues of Student Exchanges in Asian Universities for the Attainment of SDGs” or (II) “The Role and Issues of Regional Harmonization among Asian Universities for the Attainment of SDGs.” 

Active exchanges of views were made between the symposium participants from Hiroshima University and those from the PEACE partner universities before, during and after the symposium, which contributed to the establishment of a foundation for facilitating future projects, collaborations, and exchanges.