Four international students from Hiroshima University (HU) participated last March 29 in an exchange event with eight high school students from G7 countries (including Japan) who were part of the "diversity group" of the Hiroshima G7 Summit Junior Conference. The event took place at MIRAI CREA, HU's international exchange facility on its Higashi-Hiroshima Campus.

One student from the Philippines, Romeo Toring Jr., a doctorate student at the Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, expressed his hope that the event would be an eye-opener for these promising high school students and that they would gain valuable insights from the short forum. 

"When the day comes that they will be leaders in their own right, I would not be surprised that they will be able to deal with people from different backgrounds with utmost respect brought by their deeper understanding of cultural diversity,” said Toring.

The Hiroshima G7 Summit Junior Conference was organized by the Citizens Council for the Hiroshima Summit​*. 

The four-day event, held from March 27 to 30, aimed to “deepen young people’s understanding and efforts to solve international issues, as well as encouraging them to tackle difficult issues through discussions and collaboration with youth from other nations.”

The third day focused on deepening the understanding of peace, sustainability, and diversity. The participants were divided into three groups, visited facilities relating to each theme, and interacted with the locals. Among them were four HU international students from the Philippines, Indonesia, the United States, and Ghana, who all interacted with the diversity group.

* The Citizens Council for the Hiroshima Summit​ is an organization established to streamline the G7 Hiroshima Summit, which will be held in Hiroshima Prefecture from May 19 to 21, 2023, through public-private partnership.