SDGs Marche” at Konan University: Citizen Participation Makes the SDGs More Accessible – Kobe

　On December 8, the first “University City Kobe SDGs Marche,” a citizen-participatory exchange event, was held at iCommons, Konan University Okamoto Campus (Okamoto 8, Higashinada-ku, Kobe City). It was organized by the University Kobe Industry-Government-Academia Platform.

High school students running a café in Osakikamishima Town, a remote island in the Seto Inland Sea.

　The event brought together SDG initiatives being developed by universities, companies, and organizations in Kobe City and shared them with visitors while having fun. More than 20 organizations, including universities, companies, and local governments, participated in the event.

　On the day of the event, 35 booths were set up as “SDG Action Booths. The booths sold goods, conducted workshops, and communicated their initiatives. High school students running a café on Osakikamijima, a remote island in the Seto Inland Sea (Hiroshima Prefecture), also participated, introducing their efforts in other areas of Kobe.

　Other events included the “SDGs Challenge Pitch,” in which university students from Kobe City presented their opinions on such themes as “SDGs x solutions to regional issues and entrepreneurship,” the “SDGs SPECIAL TALK,” a talk session by experts from industry, government and academia, and a recurrent program for working people.

　Professor Masahiro Abe, Director of Konan University’s Institute for Social Collaboration, said, “The SDGs have a formal image, but we hope that this event will help children become more familiar with the SDGs. We would like to make this a new event that connects the community and the SDGs, and we would like to make it an event that more people can participate in.