{"id":431,"date":"2026-02-27T13:48:44","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T04:48:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cged.sophia.ac.jp\/safics\/?p=431"},"modified":"2026-03-17T14:05:53","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T05:05:53","slug":"2026022701_en","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cged.sophia.ac.jp\/safics\/eng\/2026022701_en\/","title":{"rendered":"Kick-off Meeting \u201cThe Japan\u2013Africa Nexus: Co-Building a Sustainable Global Future Together \u201cHeld"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>On the afternoon of February 19, Sophia University held the event \u201cThe Japan\u2013Africa Nexus: Co-Building a Sustainable Global Future Together\u201d at the International Conference Hall (17th Floor, Building No. 2), in a hybrid format.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This event served as the kick-off meeting for Sophia University\u2019s student exchange initiative with African partner universities, titled \u201cDeveloping Leaders Who Contribute to Solving Global Environmental Challenges through International Collaboration.\u201d The initiative has been selected for the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)\u2019s FY2025 \u201cInter-University Exchange Project (Global South Countries: Africa Region).\u201d Representatives from seven African partner universities, as well as cooperating organizations, were invited to attend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"629\" data-id=\"432\" src=\"https:\/\/cged.sophia.ac.jp\/safics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/img-news-02-1024x629.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-432\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cged.sophia.ac.jp\/safics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/img-news-02-1024x629.webp 1024w, https:\/\/cged.sophia.ac.jp\/safics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/img-news-02-300x184.webp 300w, https:\/\/cged.sophia.ac.jp\/safics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/img-news-02-768x472.webp 768w, https:\/\/cged.sophia.ac.jp\/safics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/img-news-02-1536x943.webp 1536w, https:\/\/cged.sophia.ac.jp\/safics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/img-news-02.webp 1720w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"629\" data-id=\"433\" src=\"https:\/\/cged.sophia.ac.jp\/safics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/img-news-03-1024x629.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-433\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cged.sophia.ac.jp\/safics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/img-news-03-1024x629.webp 1024w, https:\/\/cged.sophia.ac.jp\/safics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/img-news-03-300x184.webp 300w, https:\/\/cged.sophia.ac.jp\/safics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/img-news-03-768x472.webp 768w, https:\/\/cged.sophia.ac.jp\/safics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/img-news-03-1536x943.webp 1536w, https:\/\/cged.sophia.ac.jp\/safics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/img-news-03.webp 1720w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"629\" data-id=\"434\" src=\"https:\/\/cged.sophia.ac.jp\/safics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/img-news-04-5-1024x629.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-434\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cged.sophia.ac.jp\/safics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/img-news-04-5-1024x629.webp 1024w, https:\/\/cged.sophia.ac.jp\/safics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/img-news-04-5-300x184.webp 300w, https:\/\/cged.sophia.ac.jp\/safics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/img-news-04-5-768x472.webp 768w, https:\/\/cged.sophia.ac.jp\/safics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/img-news-04-5-1536x943.webp 1536w, https:\/\/cged.sophia.ac.jp\/safics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/img-news-04-5.webp 1720w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In Part I, an overview of the project was presented, followed by keynote addresses from both Japanese and African representatives. MEXT shared Japan\u2019s international initiatives and challenges in higher education, while representatives from the African partner universities spoke about the potential for collaboration between the two regions and their expectations for the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In Part II, two panel discussions were held. The first panel focused on \u201cChallenges and Opportunities in Industry-Government-Academia Collaboration,\u201d and the second addressed \u201cApproaches to Global Environmental Challenges.\u201d In addition to speakers from the African partner universities, representatives from the African Development Bank, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and Toda Corporation\u2015organizations supporting this project\u2015also participated. The discussions explored environmental challenges and human resource development initiatives that Japan and African countries can tackle collaboratively, generating lively and multifaceted exchanges of views.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The event was open to the public and provided a broad introduction to Sophia University\u2019s education and research activities related to Africa, as well as its collaborative initiatives with international organizations. More than 120 participants attended, both in person and online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Building on the strong track record of collaboration between Sophia University and African countries, this event marked an important first step in sharing common challenges and future directions for Japan and African nations, and in laying the foundation for a cooperative framework to achieve the goals of the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-2 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"629\" data-id=\"435\" src=\"https:\/\/cged.sophia.ac.jp\/safics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/img-news-05-3-1024x629.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-435\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cged.sophia.ac.jp\/safics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/img-news-05-3-1024x629.webp 1024w, https:\/\/cged.sophia.ac.jp\/safics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/img-news-05-3-300x184.webp 300w, https:\/\/cged.sophia.ac.jp\/safics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/img-news-05-3-768x472.webp 768w, https:\/\/cged.sophia.ac.jp\/safics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/img-news-05-3-1536x943.webp 1536w, https:\/\/cged.sophia.ac.jp\/safics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/img-news-05-3.webp 1720w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"629\" data-id=\"436\" src=\"https:\/\/cged.sophia.ac.jp\/safics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/img-news-06-1024x629.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-436\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cged.sophia.ac.jp\/safics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/img-news-06-1024x629.webp 1024w, https:\/\/cged.sophia.ac.jp\/safics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/img-news-06-300x184.webp 300w, https:\/\/cged.sophia.ac.jp\/safics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/img-news-06-768x472.webp 768w, https:\/\/cged.sophia.ac.jp\/safics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/img-news-06-1536x943.webp 1536w, https:\/\/cged.sophia.ac.jp\/safics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/img-news-06.webp 1720w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"629\" data-id=\"437\" src=\"https:\/\/cged.sophia.ac.jp\/safics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/img-news-07-1024x629.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-437\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cged.sophia.ac.jp\/safics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/img-news-07-1024x629.webp 1024w, https:\/\/cged.sophia.ac.jp\/safics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/img-news-07-300x184.webp 300w, https:\/\/cged.sophia.ac.jp\/safics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/img-news-07-768x472.webp 768w, https:\/\/cged.sophia.ac.jp\/safics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/img-news-07-1536x943.webp 1536w, https:\/\/cged.sophia.ac.jp\/safics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/img-news-07.webp 1720w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On the afternoon of February 19, Sophia University held the event \u201cThe Japan\u2013Africa Nexus: Co-Building a Susta [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":438,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-event"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"lang":"eng","translations":{"eng":431,"jpn":422,"fr":440},"pll_sync_post":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cged.sophia.ac.jp\/safics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cged.sophia.ac.jp\/safics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cged.sophia.ac.jp\/safics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cged.sophia.ac.jp\/safics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cged.sophia.ac.jp\/safics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=431"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cged.sophia.ac.jp\/safics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":439,"href":"https:\/\/cged.sophia.ac.jp\/safics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431\/revisions\/439"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cged.sophia.ac.jp\/safics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cged.sophia.ac.jp\/safics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cged.sophia.ac.jp\/safics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cged.sophia.ac.jp\/safics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}