NEWS

U.N. Academic Impact Public Event on Gender and SDGs held

Update: May 30, 2017

A U.N. Academic Impact Public Event on Gender and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was held in a class on Advanced Studies in International Relations by Distinguished Professor and former Japanese Ambassador to the United Nations Motohide Yoshikawa on Monday, May 22.

After Professor Yoshikawa explained the differences between the U.N. Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) through 2015 and SDGs beyond 2015, Miwa Kato, U.N. Women Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, outlined how U.N. Women was established and discussed its relations with the MDGs, noting that the United Nations is now able to deal with gender issues more effectively than in the past because U.N. Women is in charge of them.

A presentation and a panel discussion by students took place in the second half of the event. Citing instances involving the SDGs and gender issues, students in the Advanced Studies in International Relations class posed the question of how to measure the effectiveness of the SDGs.

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In addition to Professor Yoshikawa and Ms. Kato, Associate Professor Kana Takamatsu (Majors: International Relations, Politics, Development Studies, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Peace Studies) participated in the panel discussion chaired by Dean Katsuhiko Mori of the College of Liberal Arts. Ms. Kato stressed the importance of statistics in measuring the effectiveness of the SDGs, while Associate Professor Takamatsu said, "Gender issues are taking place in the social environment and we should consider not only systemic changes but also reforms in society as a whole." Students also spoke up, providing an opportunity to address various issues from different perspectives, including those of professionals and scholars.

(Text: Hajime Akiyama, Ph.D.)

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