On February 1, President NASU Yasutomo appointed Mr. ICHIKAWA Taichi as the “Okayama University UNESCO Chair Youth Ambassador” to assist the Okayama University UNESCO Chair in fostering the next generation of young people who will become the next generation of UNESCO’s target audience. Mr. Ichikawa is the second person appointed to this position (the first as a Japanese person) after Ms. Sofia Bermúdez, who was appointed in April last year. The term of office is two years, starting in February 2024.

Mr. Ichikawa’s collaboration with Okayama University began when he worked with the Okayama University UNESCO Chair to co-create “WE HAVE A DREAM” book as part of the project for the One Young World, the world’s largest youth summit, in 2020.

Since then, the project has positively impacted the globally active youths by speaking at the SGU symposium at Okayama University and collaborating with Okayama University students through the Yumeiku Initiative project and programs with high school students in Okayama Prefecture.

Mr. Ichikawa’s “WE HAVE A DREAM” initiative, led by World Road, has been supporting activities not only for Okayama University but also for the “Tobitate! Study Abroad Initiative” and the “WWL (World Wide Learning)” consortium by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology. As Okayama University UNESCO Chair Youth Ambassador, Mr. Ichikawa will continue his well-recognized activities by collaborating with Okayama University.

Through the efforts and activities of the Okayama University UNESCO Chair, which contributes to the Earth from the local community, will work with a wide range of stakeholders to promote planetary well-being.