Following the development of international trends to accelerate youth engagement initiatives and in response to the adoption of the establishment of a new UN Youth Office at the 76th Plenary Session of the UN General Assembly on September 8, YOKOI Atsufumi, Senior Vice President and UNESCO Chairholder, and other members of the Global Engagement Office visited the University of Bath, one of the top universities in the UK, from October 13 to 14, intending to achieve the SDGs and the Paris Agreement, which Okayama University is promoting.
This visit was organized as a meeting to build inter-university collaboration with the University of Bath, a partner institution of the world’s largest next-generation leaders’ global summit, “One Young World (OYW),” just like our university.
　On the first day, Senior Vice President YOKOI and others visited the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Bath. They actively exchanged opinions with Associate Dean and Professor Louise Brown, Business Engagement Manager and OYW Delegate Partner at the University of Bath, Emily Richards, and many university officials. In that exchange, the University of Bath was introduced to be one of the top universities in the UK: ranked 7th in the UK in “The Guardian University Guide 2023” and received the “University of the Year” award from “The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023” for its active support for student exchange and student activities. In response, Senior Vice President YOKOI introduced the university’s global engagement strategies and initiatives: the University’s promotion of “Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)” as one of the world’s hub regions, the only national university to have received a special award in the “First Japan SDGs Award,” and its recent efforts to strengthen ties with United Nations agencies, collaborate with United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), University for Peace (UPEACE), Earth Charter International (ECI), etc., to train young female researchers from developing countries and next-generation leadership at a high global level. Based on the above, both universities agreed in principle to strengthen inter-university collaboration in OYW as partner institutions of OYW in the future.
　After that, they visited the University of Bath Business School (School of Management). They met with Rajani Naidoo, Vice President, Community and Inclusion / Professor, and UNESCO Chairholder of the university. The two universities agreed to promote further education and research exchanges for the human and planetary well-being of all, utilizing both universities’ UNESCO Chairs and OYW networks.
　They also visited the Embassy of Japan in the UK and met with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary HAYASHI Hajime. He introduced a wide range of topics, such as British history, politics, and culture, comparing them with those of Japan. In addition, he pointed out Japan’s position in the world based on his experience as a diplomat, and talked about the role of universities and human resource development. We have received deep understanding and advice regarding the collaboration between our university and the University of Bath.