On September 27 (Sun), President of ICU, Hibiya Junko took the podium as the panelist at the CULCON *(The United States - Japan Conference on Cultural and Educational Interchange) special seminar that was held at Washington DC, United States.

The CULCON this time was held under the theme "Passing the Torch to the Next Generation" As panelists, Tatsuo Arima, President of the Middle East Institute of Japan; Dr. Junichi Hamada, former President of the University of Tokyo; Lt. Gen. Koichiro Bansho, former Commanding General of Western Army of Japan Ground Self-Defence Force; Charles Bolden, Administrator of the NASA took the podium, and U.S. Congressman Mr. Joaquín Castro (co-Chair of the U.S.-Japan Caucus) took the podium as luncheon speaker.

President Hibiya spoke during the panel discussion with the theme "Embracing Diversity and Opportunities for the U.S. and Japan" In her speech, shelooked back to the time when ICU was established after the Second World War by donations from the citizens of Japan and the US, and said that ICU has always been a university that attached great importance to diversity. Furthermore, She talked about the ICU today, and how important diversity is for the university and its students.

* The United States - Japan Conference on Cultural and Educational Interchange (CULCON)

CULCON is a public-private conference body that began from a joint statement made by Prime Minister Ikeda and President Kennedy, back in June of 1961. It was established with the aim of having experts from Japan and the United States offer opinions and counsel to the government and society of both countries about the cultural and educational exchange between them.