On May 20, the Forum Commemorating the 75th Anniversary of Japan’s Accession to UNESCO was held at United Nations University (UNU) in Tokyo. The forum was co-hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), the Japanese National Commission for UNESCO, and UNU.

President NASU Yasutomo and Vice President YOKOI Atsufumi attended the forum as representatives of Okayama University, reflecting the University’s longstanding commitment to Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). Since April 2026, President Nasu has served as Chair of the Okayama ESD Promotion Commission, which promotes RCE Okayama, a Regional Centre of Expertise on ESD acknowledged by UNU-IAS. Vice President Yokoi serves as Asia’s first UNESCO Chairholder in ESD.

During the forum, President Nasu and Vice President Yokoi had the opportunity to meet with His Excellency Mr. Khaled El-Enany, Director-General of UNESCO, and exchanged views on the future of higher education and responses to global challenges.

Prior to the forum, UNESCO and UNU signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), reaffirming their commitment to strengthening collaboration between the two institutions. As Okayama University has been advancing ESD-related initiatives in close connection with both UNESCO and UNU, President Nasu and Vice President Yokoi also held discussions with Professor Tshilidzi Marwala, Rector of UNU, and Professor YAMAGUCHI Shinobu, Director of UNU-IAS. Okayama University concluded an MOU with UNU in October 2025, and the forum provided an opportunity to further explore the potential for collaboration among UNESCO, UNU, and Okayama University.

Guided by its vision of “Co-creating Futures for Humanity and Planetary Well-being,” Okayama University will continue to deepen this collaboration and contribute to the realization of a sustainable society by translating shared principles into meaningful impact.