2020.02.25

Kitakyushu SDGs Seminar Report

The Kitakyushu SDGs Seminar, a seminar for local companies, was held on Thursday, October 17, 2019.

The keynote address was given by Hiroki Harada, assistant director of the Global Issues Cooperation Division of the International Cooperation Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who gave an overview of SDGs and explained trends around the globe and initiatives by the Japanese government. This was followed by presentations of SDG initiatives by leading companies.

Local financial institution Nishi-Nippon City Bank introduced its “SDG Privately-placed Bond (corporate bond)” initiative, in which some of the proceeds from fees received from issuing companies are donated to organizations such as the Fukuoka Food Bank Conference in order to support the operation of “Child Cafeterias.”

Our university delivered a presentation on the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development report. The report stated that with current efforts it will be difficult to achieve SDGs by 2030, and that it is urgent that companies, local governments, educational and research institutes, and other organizations work together to make changes, which will require raising social awareness on SDGs and implementing new initiatives.

We hope that the seminar provided participants ideas for new SDG initiatives and will lead to action.