We held a 1st International Joint Conference of Kyoto University’s “Innovative Africa: Educational Networking Programs for Human Resource Development in Africa’s SDGs (IAfP: Innovative Africa Program)” on March 19, 2021.
The conference was held online (ZOOM), with 79 participants from 14 universities in 13 countries (including Kyoto University). The opening address was given by Prof. Masayoshi Shigeta, Dean of the Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies. In the three sessions of students’ presentations, eight students (from seven universities in seven countries) participated from Africa: University of Botswana, Addis Ababa University, University of Antananarivo, University of Kinshasa, Makerere University, University of Ghana, and University of Yaounde 1. From Kyoto University, three students (from the Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies and the Wildlife Research Center) participated. They gave presentations on various research topics related to the SDGs in Africa, and after each presentation, there were lively discussions with faculty members who specialize in their respective fields. At the end of the conference, Prof. Motoki Takahashi, Director of the Center for African Area Studies, gave closing address, and the 1st International Joint Conference was successfully concluded.
