From October 28 to 30, Vice President Prof. Atsufumi Yokoi (Global Engagement) attended “Going Global London 2025,” the United Kingdom’s largest international conference on the internationalization of higher education, hosted by the British Council. He was invited to serve as a panelist in the official session entitled “Balancing Acts: Free Speech, Inclusion, and the Evolving Role of Universities.”

The session was chaired by The Rt Hon. Baroness Royall of Blaisdon, former Leader of the House of Lords. Fellow panelists included Professor Rajani Naidoo, Vice-President of the University of Exeter (United Kingdom); Professor Annick Castiaux, Rector of the University of Namur (Belgium); and Professor André Keet, Vice-Chancellor of Nelson Mandela University (South Africa), among other distinguished leaders in global higher education.

This year’s conference focused on resilience, values, and innovation as essential qualities for navigating current crises and fostering future growth. Discussions addressed how universities and higher education institutions can reaffirm the value of international collaboration and assume a central role in advancing economic and social development.

Invited by the organizers as a representative of Japan and as a UNESCO Chairholder, Vice President Prof. Yokoi emphasized that, in the context of increasing internationalization, higher education institutions must develop new frameworks that balance freedom of expression with healthy campus environments. He proposed revisiting ancient wisdom traditions—such as Ubuntu, the African philosophy emphasizing compassion and shared humanity, and Japanese Buddhist perspectives that value coexistence between humans and nature—to reconstruct freedom of speech not as isolation, but as relational, grounded in empathy, pluralism, and care for the planet. He further suggested that universities should renew themselves as spaces that harmonize individual freedom with the well-being of the planetary community, cultivating trust, diversity, and a sense of belonging through dialogue.

Okayama University will continue to strengthen collaboration with higher education institutions worldwide through its UNESCO Chair, working together with diverse stakeholders to co-create a desirable future for both the region and the planet and to advance human and planetary well-being.