NEWS

On Thursday, July 4, 2024, the Third Joint Industry-Government-Academia Brainstorming for SDGs took place in Professor Tomonori Sudo’s class, “Introduction to Sustainable Development JA.” In this collaboration between Professor Sudo and Sanrio Entertainment, the event aimed to think about the future of Oita, Japan, and the world across generations. Approximately 200 APU students, along with about 70 guests from high schools, local governments, and companies within Oita prefecture, participated in a brainstorming session involving industry, government, and academia. In total, about 270 people took part in the event.

At the beginning of the class, on behalf of the guests, Ms. Kaoru Nemoto, Director of the United Nations Information Centre, Ms. Aki Shirasaka, Member of the House of Councillors, and Ms. Miki Oikawa, CEO of POLA Inc., gave opening remarks. Additionally, Ms. Aya Komaki, Sanrio Entertainment President, took the stage alongside Hello Kitty, who was dressed in an SDGs-themed outfit.
Under the theme, “The Future We Want,” participants shared ideas and came up with concrete suggestions for what they could do to realize the 17 SDGs in lively exchanges.
In this class, participants used the brainstorming method of world café, which was adopted by the SDGs, to have group discussions. World cafe is not a meeting room but an idea-generating method in which a group of 4 to 5 can gather to talk in a café freely and share ideas. Based on the concept of cross-pollination, the method encourages the creation of new ideas by shuffling group members on the way and exchanging opinions.

After the class, President Komaki stated, "Our company aims to not only provide enjoyment through many Sanrio characters and theme parks but also to help solve social issues. This is the third year of the SDGs brainstorming session, and I always look forward to this day. Listening to the honest opinions, dreams, and hopes of the students and participants inspires me to start working on what we can do."
In the course "Introduction to Sustainable Development JA," students aim to learn the basic concepts of sustainable development, including its definition, background, and methods, and to develop the ability to apply these concepts.

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