Report
On 3-4 December, we held a conference sponsored by the Education Program of the Kobe University UNESCO Chair, “Gender, Vulnerability and Well-being in Disaster Support.” Since restrictions due to COVID-19 are continuing, this was our 3rd online international conference.
The content of our Education Program is discussed and decided on by a group composed of faculty from our partner universities that meets about once a month. We all agreed that we want young people who have experienced the pandemic as high school or university students to reflect on that experience and to put what they have learned to use in building a safer and more peaceful world. As a result, we decided that the theme for this year should be, “Living in a post COVID world - the safe world we want to create.” Student participants included fourteen students from Mae Fah Luang University (Thailand), six from National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (Taiwan), four from Tunku Abdul Rahman University (Malaysia), two from Gadjah Mada University (Indonesia) and four from Kobe University, for a total of 31 students. Including the teachers from all of the institutions, there were about 50 participants. In addition, for the first time this year, graduate students who have attended earlier UNESCO Chair Education program conferences served as group facilitators; three students from Kobe University, two from NKUST (Taiwan) and one from UGM (Indonesia).
The program began with greetings from the chair holder, Ronni Alexander. She suggested that for us to build the “world we want,” it is important to look at the world we have come from, and the world we living in now. Focusing on gender, vulnerability and well-being, she touched on global issues relating to a safer and more peaceful world. After that, students from each university gave presentations on the current situation in their countries. One topic addressed by all the groups as being important (online learning) was education. This made it easy to see that although the many of the problems may be similar, solutions vary from country to country.
After the presentations, we divided into 6 groups composed of students from different countries. They were given an assignment (left) and had to create a 10-minute response to present on the afternoon of the second day. The responses focused on a variety of themes, such as educations, mental health, migrants and homeless people, human rights of LGBTQI+ and other minority groups, and artificial intelligence, and were all very interesting.
Finally, we all took a photo, and the Education Program for 2022 came to an end.
At our planning meeting, we will discuss whether to go back to in-person exchanges which are better in many ways but only open to small numbers of students, or continue to have online conferences in which many students can participate. In the spring if you see a pamphlet advertising participation for 2023, please encourage your students to apply.
Schedule
December 3 - 4, 2022
Lecturers
- Prof. Ronni Alexander（Chair Holder, Kobe University）
- Assoc. Prof. Naoya Akita（Kobe University）
- Assoc. Prof. Sayaka Kotera（Kobe University）
- Assoc. Prof. Ai Shoraku（Kobe University）
- Dr. Wanwalee Inpin（Mae Fah Luang University）
- Dr. Yuki Miyake（Mae Fah Luang University）
- Ms. Maya Dania（Mae Fah Luang University）
- Ms. Reni Juwitasari（Mae Fah Luang University）
- Syahirul Alim, S.Kp., M.Sc., PhD.（Universitas Gadjah Mada）
- Uki Noviana, S.Kep., Ns., MNSc., PhD.（Universitas Gadjah Mada）
- Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ir. HUANG Yuk Feng（Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman）
- Assistant Prof. Dr. TAN Kok Weng（Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman）
- Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sun, Jhih-Sian（National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology）
- Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yu, Huilung（National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology）
- Dr. Yang, Ching-Chiao （National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology）
Student Participants
A total number of student participants:31
| ・Kobe University | 4 |
| ・Mae Fah Luang University | 14 |
| ・Universitas Gadjah Mada | 2 |
| ・Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman | 5 |
| ・National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology | 6 |
About Kobe University UNESCO Chair Education Program 2022
This year’s theme: “Living in a Post-COVID world – the safe world we want to create”
Dates for 2022
December 3- 4, 2022
Eligibility
Enrolled student (graduate or undergraduate) at Kobe University
Qualifications
Students from the above faculties, graduate schools who are able to communicate in English.
Schedule
・Conference: 2022.12.3– 4
・Pre-conference study
・Post-conference meeting: 2023.1.27
About Application
Flyer (PDF)
For more details, click here.