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International Symposium

2009年7月4日更新

On Saturday, July 4, 2009, Ochanomizu University’s Global Collaboration Center, with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Tokyo Office and NPO Health and Development Service (HANDS), sponsored an international symposium called For Mothers and Children—What We Can Do, held at the U Thant International Conference Hall of the United Nations University in Tokyo.

We were honored by the presence of Princess Akishinomiya.

In Part 1, Kiyoko Ikegami, director of the UNFPA Tokyo Office, served as moderator for the theme scenes of the real world. Mitsuko Nishikawa, a journalist at the international department of Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK), used video footage to describe the dire conditions of women giving birth in Chad. Katsuhide Kitatani, director of NPO 2050, spoke about the time his wife delivered a baby in Indonesia 40 years ago. Torpekai Sultani, representative of Kibou no Gakkou and a visiting associate professor at the Global Collaboration Center, stressed that judging from the current situation faced by women and children, support for recovery in Afghanistan depends more than anything on water and education. Yoshie Mizokami, officer of programs and marketing for HANDS, talked about a public health education project in the Amazon region of Brazil.

In Part 2, Yasuhide Nakamura, representative of HANDS and a professor at Osaka University’s Graduate School of Human Sciences, served as moderator for the theme scenes of the real Japan.

Seiji Utsumi, director of the Global Collaboration Center and a professor at Ochanomizu University’s Graduate School of Humanities and Sciences, spoke about giving shape to passion. As a specialist, he reported on the situation in Afghanistan from his involvement in recovery support and experience in studies and research, including short and longer stays in the country, since 2002. And as a university professor, he offered the younger generation his recommendations on What We Can Do.

Kunio Kitamura, director of a clinic run by the Japan Family Planning Association, addressing especially the high school and university students in attendance, emphasized that expecting and nursing mothers in developing countries face difficult challenges, but youth in Japan face an equally, if not more serious, crisis in reproductive health.

Finally, students and graduates of Tsuda College, Tokyo Woman’s Christian University, Nara Women’s University, and Ochanomizu University gave presentations on their own perspectives and the activities they were currently involved in. One comment gave many, young and older alike, fresh insight into What We Can Do: “Regardless of the type of support—direct, semi-indirect, or indirect—what we do always connects us with the people in developing countries.”

The symposium was a collaboration between three different types of organization—university, UN agency, and NGO—all focusing on the single theme of women and children in developing countries. The U Thant International Conference Hall was filled to capacity with an audience of more than 380. The students and many others listened avidly to the accounts of circumstances in developing countries, and it was evident that they seriously pondered the issue at hand: What We Can Do.

We at Ochanomizu University hope to build on our experience in this event and work even harder at supporting women and children in developing countries.

We extend our heartfelt thanks to our collaborators and to all participants.