In the framework of “Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” which is promoted by the UN together with countries around the world, the first UNESCO Partners Forum, which is intended to discuss how cooperation between the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and its various partners should be, was held on September 11 and 12 at the UNESCO Headquarters (in Paris), with Atsufumi Yokoi, Vice President for Global Engagement Strategy of our university attending the Forum.

In the opening address of this Forum, messages from UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay and United Nations Secretary-General António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres were presented, and leaders of major official partners and partners from the private sector of UNESCO gave speeches. Vice President Yokoi attended the Forum upon invitation by the UNESCO Headquarters as the representative of our university, and discussed the understanding of UNESCO’s roles, as well as the strengthening of relationships with existing donors and partners toward the achievement of the SDGs with participants from around the world. He also participated in the networking event for the development of new partners.

Furthermore, Vice President Yokoi had discussions with many high officials of the UNESCO Headquarters, including Professor Charles Hopkins, who is the UNESCO Chair at York University in Canada, and one of the world’s leading authorities on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). He also introduced our university’s promotion of SDGs in close cooperation with the local community based on our university’s past achievements in its ESD and “Makino Vision: Going beyond, toward a fruitful academic capital,” and the fact that our university had been granted the special prize in the first Japan SDGs Awards by the Japanese Government. He also actively exchanged opinions on further strengthening the relationship with UNESCO in the future.