Kyoto University ASEAN Week 2015 (11–18 December 2015)

Kyoto University's public event "a WINDOW to ASEAN -- Kyoto University ASEAN Week 2015" (KU ASEAN Week 2015) took place for eight days in Kyoto, as well as in Thailand and Myanmar, comprised of 15 events related to ASEAN. These events provided opportunities for researchers, students, and citizens across the world to understand KU's activities and research achievements, contributing to enhancing mutual understanding between Japan and ASEAN.

Kyoto University has been advocating its "WINDOW" concept as a guiding principle, which is an idea to open windows from the university to society and the world in order to promote productive communication. The KU ASEAN 2015 events opened up windows to ASEAN, through which participants could feel the fresh air of new ideas from both sides.

International Symposium on Global Collaboration in Education, Research, and Business in Environmental Studies (11–14 December 2015)

The Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies (GSGES) hosted an "International Symposium on Global Collaboration in Education, Research, and Business in Environmental Studies".

152 participated from across the industrial, governmental, and academic sectors including 25 universities in 16 countries and seven private companies. An International Workshop also took place on 12 December, where participants actively engaged in a discussion on how to promote international collaboration and cooperation among the education, research, and business sectors in the field of environmental studies.

Related link

• GSGES hosts international symposium, workshop on global collaboration in education, research, and business in environmental studies (11-14 December 2015)
  http://www.kyoto-u.ac.jp/en/about/events_news/department/kankyougaku/news/2015/151214_1.html

CSEAS celebrates 50th anniversary (11 December 2015)

Marking the 50th anniversary of its establishment, the Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS) held a commemorative ceremony and reception.

Related link

• CSEAS celebrates 50th anniversary (11 December 2015)
  http://www.kyoto-u.ac.jp/en/about/events_news/department/se_asia/news/2015/151211_1.html

SEASIA holds first international conference (12 and 13 December 2015)

The Consortium for Southeast Asian Studies in Asia (SEASIA), which was established in October 2013, held its first international conference at the Kyoto International Conference Center. Including distinguished guests, such as former Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and many world-renowned researchers in Southeast Asian studies, the conference was attended by around 550 researchers from across the globe, mainly from the eleven research institutes in the eight countries that are members of SEASIA.

Related link

• SEASIA holds first international conference (12 and 13 December 2015)
  http://www.kyoto-u.ac.jp/en/about/events_news/department/se_asia/news/2015/151213_1.html

Special public event: Aung San Suu Kyi and Kyoto (18 December 2015)

A special public event for KU ASEAN Week 2015 "Aung San Suu Kyi and Kyoto" was held to honor the room where Ms Suu Kyi worked as a Visiting Researcher at CSEAS in 1985 to 86, as part of which related facilities were opened to participants. A lecture and discussion event was also held, where two experts delivered lectures: CSEAS Associate Professor Yoshihiro Nakanishi, a specialist in Burmese politics, and Ms Noriko Otsu, author of Letter for Aung San Suu Kyi and a friend of Ms Suu Kyi for over forty years. Around 20 members of the public, who had applied to attend, listened intently to the lectures on the political situation in Myanmar and personal stories about Ms Suu Kyi.

Related link

• CSEAS hosts "Aung San Suu Kyi and Kyoto" public event (18 December 2015)
  http://www.kyoto-u.ac.jp/en/about/events_news/department/se_asia/news/2015/151218_1.html

The 6th International Conference on Science and Engineering 2015 (12, 13 December 2015)

The 6th International Conference on Science and Engineering 2015 was held at Yangon Technological University (YTU) in Myanmar. Professor Kunitomo Sugiura of the Graduate School of Engineering and Professor Kenji Okazaki of the Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies delivered lectures there. YTU is a partner institution of KU, having concluded a memorandum of understanding for academic cooperation and exchange.

Special Session of the Kyoto Environmental Studies Academic Forum: A New Model of Growth for a Stable Society (12 December 2015)

The Kyoto Environment, Culture, and Science Forum held a special session entitled "A New Model of Growth for a Stable Society". Specialists in sustainable development, including Mr Keiichi Yoshino, a KU graduate, and President and CEO of Dari K, a company manufacturing and selling popular chocolate made from Indonesian fair trade cacao, joined the session and discussed.

First JASTIP Symposium (14 December 2015)

The "Japan-ASEAN Science and Technology Innovation Platform: Promotion of Sustainable Development Research (JASTIP)", part of the Collaboration Hubs for International Research Program organized by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), held its first JASTIP Symposium. Representatives from the Cabinet Office, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, JST, Japan International Cooperation Agency, as well as those from universities and research institutions participating in JASTIP in Japan and abroad, gathered at the meeting to kick-start a discussion on how to promote research on sustainable development by galvanizing efforts across Japan.

ASAFAS holds seminar on "Democratization and Judicialization of Politics in Thailand" (14, 15 December 2015）

The Graduate School of Asia and Africa Area Studies (ASAFAS) hosted an academic seminar entitled "Democratization and Judicialization of Politics in Thailand" entirely in Thai and without interpreters.

CIAS holds international workshop "Toward Building Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in Asia" (15, 16 December 2015)

The Center for Integrated Area Studies (CIAS) held its international workshop entitled "Toward Building Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in Asia".

The workshop, attended by 30 researchers from Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, and Japan, was part of the project "Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in Asia with Networking Researchers, Practitioners and Information", one of the "Core-to-Core Programs" organized by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS). Japanese researchers and counterparts from Syiah Kuala University (Indonesia), Ateneo de Manila University (Philippines), and the Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia (Malaysia), discussed how to establish an international network to create a platform for disaster prevention across Asia.

After the workshop, young researchers from ASEAN took a study tour to see disaster prevention education centers in Kyoto City, Kagawa Prefecture, and Tokyo Metropolis, and disaster-stricken areas hit by the Great East Japan Earthquake, so as to deepen their understanding of Japanese practices and measures for disaster prevention and reduction.

Related link

• JSPS Core-to-CoreProgram "Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in Asia with Networking Researchers, Practitioners and Information"
  https://www.jsps.go.jp/english/e-c2c/adapted_b.html

"Primate Diversity in East and Southeast Asia" (15 December 2015)

A joint symposium entitled "Primate Diversity in East and Southeast Asia" was held at Chulalongkorn University, Thailand. In the morning session, a signing ceremony for a memorandum of understanding between KU's Primate Research Institute and the National Primate Research Center of Thailand, Chulalongkorn University, took place. In the afternoon, Professor Hirohisa Hirai and Professor Yuzura Hamada, KU's Primate Research Institute, delivered presentations, heightening expectations for international collaboration between the two institutions.

JSPS Core-To-Core Program: The 5th International Symposium on Asian Vertebrate Species Diversity (15-18 December 2015)

The opening ceremony for the Natural History Museum at Chalalongkorn University, Thailand, took place, and the museum opened for the public on 15 December. From the 16th through 18th, over 100 participants from 13 countries took part in presentation and discussion sessions, while observing nature by visiting Saraburi Province and Khao Yai Naitonal Park. Many of the participants were students in doctoral programs or researchers, who enjoyed the wide-ranging and productive symposium.

The 1st KU-KUGSA Bilateral Symposium on "Food, Environment and Life for the Next Generation" (16, 17 December 2015)

The 1st KU-KUGSA Bilateral Symposium on "Food, Environment and Life for the Next Generation" was held at Kasetsart University, Thailand.

From KU, 20 teaching staff, including Professor Hisashi Miyagawa of the Graduate School of Agriculture, participated in the symposium. Following the general session, four working sessions were held, where researchers from both universities made presentations on their work, and actively engaged in discussion on developing joint research over the coming years. KU and Kasetsart University have been promoting exchange, mainly between their schools of agriculture, since they concluded an academic and student exchange agreement in 1984. It is highly expected that this symposium will be a stepping stone for the two universities to increase exchange in research.

The 3rd executive committee meeting "ASEAN University Network and Kyoto University Student Mobility Program toward Human Security Development" (18 December 2015)

The 3rd executive committee meeting "ASEAN University Network and Kyoto University Student Mobility Program toward Human Security Development" was held at Pathumwan Princess Hotel in Bangkok.

Representatives of KU and five universities from the ASEAN University Network, Gadjah Mada University, Bandung Institute of Technology (Indonesia), University of Malaya (Malaysia), National University of Singapore (Singapore), and Chulalongkorn University (Thailand), took part in the meeting, with each university reporting on the status of their international students in 2015. There were then three sessions for exchanging opinions: "Food and water resources", "Environmental energy", and "Public health". At the conclusion, participants discussed plans for their 2016 programs and how to strengthen collaboration. The next executive committee meeting is scheduled for January 2017.