On December 21, 2024, a symposium commemorating the establishment of the Research Center for Global Risk at Nagasaki University was held at the Bunkyo Sky Hall. Approximately 70 people attended in person, and approximately 50 participated online. Discussion was lively and engaging.
The pre-session that took place during the first half of the day was themed “Global Risk and Information.” Participants addressed diverse topics, including Africa and conflict, medical treatment of atomic bomb survivors, atomic bomb survivors and local communities, the Plant Variety Protection and Seed Act, and biodiversity. Discussions focused on how local people perceive and respond to the various types of information provided by governments, corporations, policy makers, and markets.
In the afternoon, the program began with an introduction by the President of Nagasaki University, Takeshi Nagayasu, on university-wide efforts for “Planetary Health.” This was followed by two themed sessions: “Global Risks Threatening Planetary Health (Session 1)” and “The Pursuit of Values in the Age of Polycrisis (Session 2)” that were simultaneously interpreted in Japanese and English. The discussions featured prominent speakers such as Paul Shrivastava, Co-President of the Club of Rome and Professor at Pennsylvania State University; Shirahase Sawako, Senior Vice-Rector of the United Nations University; and Christian Felber, author and proponent of the “Economy for the Common Good.” Center staff actively engaged these the speakers in dialogue.
Portions of the symposium were covered by the Nagasaki Shimbun newspaper (December 24, 2024 edition). Detailed reports and archived videos are planned to be made available on the Center for Global Risk’s website.
the Nagasaki Shimbun newspaper (December 24, 2024 edition)