On May 21, Mr. Kuniaki Hagihara, Chairman of Hagihara Industries Inc. delivered a lecture to a class of 60 students enrolled in the liberal arts course titled “SDGs: Actual Cases of Sustainable Community Development in Okayama.”

Referring to the history of industrial changes in Mizushima District in Kurashiki City, Mr. Hagihara explained the possibility of creating an environment where businesses and communities thrive and prosper. He highlighted that the first thing corporations should do to launch innovations is to understand what kind of image young generations—the future of the country—have about happiness. The lecture was followed by a Q&A session, in which he fielded questions from students. Asked about environmental technology, he answered the questions by showing his company’s products.

This course, which provides students with opportunities to learn about SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals), consists of a series of lectures given by Okayama University, Okayama City Government, local corporations and community improvement organizations, and is support by the Mizushima Stay-type Environmental Learning Consortium organized in March this year. This course aims to encourage students to participate in community improvement activities through lectures on efforts to help achieve SDGs.