Hiroshima University’s Network for Education and Research on Peace and Sustainability (NERPS) successfully held the inaugural “Hiroshima International Conference on Peace and Sustainability 2022” from March 1 to 4, 2022. The conference was organized in collaboration with 14 institutions including AC4 at Columbia University, University of Denver, Tohoku University, Hiroshima Prefectural Government, and Elsevier, among others.

This hybrid conference included 32 sessions, with nearly 200 participants from 38 countries ranging from academic researchers, graduate students, policy makers, representatives of non-governmental organizations, and private companies. The conference provided a unique platform for presenting and exchanging knowledge on a wide range of topics related to peace and sustainability. In particular, there was a focus on the nexus between peace and sustainability that is currently underexplored in science and policy circles. The conference was also successful in capacity building as over half of the participants were graduate students and early-career researchers. Best Paper Award and Best Presentation Award were given to three young researchers, respectively, which were selected by the review committee of the conference.

On the last day, Prof. Jeffrey D. Sachs, Director director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, delivered a keynote lecture highlighting the significance of global cooperation and partnership for achieving peace and sustainability and addressing key global challenges such as geopolitical conflicts, pandemic of infectious diseases, climate change and nuclear disarmament.

The conference demonstrated the value of transdisciplinary dialogue that should be sustained in the next conferences. The conversations and collaborations that were facilitated during the conference contributed to the university’s goal of transdisciplinary research and education for peace and sustainability. Major outputs of the conference will be published in an edited book and a journal special issue over the next few months.