DEI values key in quest to equip students to work for peace

Linked to its long Jesuit legacy committed to peace building, Sophia University, a leading private university and the first Catholic University in Tokyo established since 1913, is a landmark among Japanese educational institutions in the study of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in higher education.

In particular, in working towards SDG 16 (Peace, justice and strong institutions) Sophia University is committed to the study of human dignity or creating people who can work together to create peace.

Human dignity, according to Professor Miki Sugimura, a former vice-president of Sophia University and currently a faculty member of the Sophia Program for Sustainable Futures, is defined by the values of diversity, inclusion and equity in higher education.

In keeping with tradition, the university hosts numerous seminars, conferences and exhibitions on human dignity. Moreover, ESD or Education for Sustainable Development is a core pillar in the Jesuit mission at Sophia University, says Sugimura, who teaches comparative and international education, faculty of human science, and is the UNESCO Chairholder on Education for Human Dignity, Peace and Sustainability.



ESD was developed by UNESCO in the post-war era to strengthen education that promotes a future based on global cooperation. It is positioned along with Global Citizenship in target 4.7 of the UN SDGs.

Sugimura’s association with ESD research has also made her an advocate for expanding public primary and junior secondary ESD schools across the Asia region. Japan is a leader in this field with more than a 1,000 UNESCO Associated Schools – members of ASPNet, the UNESCO Associated Schools Network – teaching ESD curricula across the nation.

Supported by the Japanese government, the schools are devoted to environmental education, disaster prevention and the revitalisation of local communities.

In an interview Sugimura explained her classes follow ESD themes that call for the respect and understanding of different views that represent her students who come from international backgrounds. To create this togetherness students are also expected to implement ESD actions locally. Her classes churn out hundreds of Japanese and international undergraduates and doctoral experts annually.

“They [students] chose their research topics on fostering peace and justice. I simply play the role of a guide,” she explained.

Sugimura’s seminars include the use of academic theories, class discussions that aim to foster learning from each other, and assignments are extended for field visits in Japan to gather evidence and learn from reality.

Sugimura said: “My classes strengthen the ability to think multilaterally. ESD permeates everything we study as peace and sustainability topics are recognised globally now as important contributions to making sense of this increasingly complex world,” she said.

Personal identity and acceptance

Indeed, for Kim Chae Yeon, a third-year student from South Korea researching a comparative study of her country’s national school curriculum with Japan, Sugimura`s approach has turned the limelight on the use of her own mixed background for the examination of personal identity and acceptance in multicultural societies.

Rather than be treated as a minority person researching her topic, Kim said she has realised that she is armed with her own experience as a South Korean native living in Japan where she attended both Japanese and South Korean schools.

“I am conducting my research to deepen bilateral understanding not as a foreigner in Japan but as an individual. This is a perspective that is fostered at Sophia University and my research will showcase its critical aspect in promoting multiculturalism,” she said.

Kim’s methodology focuses on collecting information from interviews with school teachers from South Korea and Japan who will have different perspectives on treatment of foreigners.

She will also compare and learn from her interviews with a bilateral group who are participants in education cooperation projects that have emerged to find common ground in fraught cultural relationships that represent Japan`s historical colonisation of the Korean peninsula in the 1930s.

And in Japan, Kim is also visiting primary and secondary schools in Tokyo who are educating foreign students. “I will examine policies and examples implemented by Japanese teachers to strengthen multicultural understanding in Japan`s homogenous society,” she pointed out.

Cross-border research and learning

Cross-border research and learning are also key aspects of sustainable studies conducted by Professor Taro Komatsu, who also teaches at the department of education and Human Science Faculty at Sophia University.

A landmark case was launched by Komatsu in April which, he explained, vividly fostered in his students a closer analysis of the role of education in emergencies and peace-building education. Students from Japan and Ukraine participated in three online sessions held in April with the Ukrainian Catholic University located in Lviv, in western Ukraine.

The project was based on the theme of “Continuing Education in Emergency Situations” that involved Japanese students who have no war experience talking with their Ukraine counterparts who were grappling with the military violence in their daily lives.

“The motive of the study sessions was to be able to learn about a war environment and to analyse the importance of providing motivation to affected students that could foster peace.

“Through discussions and sharing of google notes the participants learned of the crucial role of education during a war.

“Access to education provided a sense of survival for youth facing trauma on the ground,” Komatsu told University World News in an interview.

A telling example was a comment by a Ukraine student in his reflection work.

“I had given up hope of traveling abroad to study. But participation in this session raised my motivation again,” he noted.

The session also traced a similar situation in Japan that is prone to natural disasters. “Japanese students from their Ukraine counterparts that online study gave them hope and they wrote that during a natural disaster the same lesson can be applied,” said Komatsu.

The project also involved writing essays together and reflecting on experiences. They bonded well creating valuable opportunities for cross-border learning that does not take into account gaps in wealth and minimises language obstacles, pointed out Komatsu.

Equitable partnerships promoted

The project is part of ongoing research on COIL or Collaborative Online International learning that first raised its profile during COVID-19 pandemic that forced online education. Future higher education is embracing the research that widens the use of technology to promote equitable, partnership-based learning with other countries.

COIL in higher education was initially developed in the United States in 2006 as a strategy for global learning experiences. Komatsu believes the methodology is particularly important in the Japanese context where the number of students studying abroad has remained stagnant during the past decade and forecasts remain sluggish.

COIL, according to Komatsu, is thus a cost-effective alternative and is becoming increasingly popular and effective in Japanese higher education. “Collaborative online education can create intercultural sensitivity and competence. In Japan, students are asking more questions as they reach out to technology in language interpretation and translations,” he said.

In 2018, the Japanese Education Ministry launched a scheme to promote COIL with the aim of fostering internationalisation in higher education. Sophia University is a participant.

Regional dialogue

This February Sophia University was also selected as the UNESCO chair in Education for Human Dignity, Peace and Sustainability and Professor Sugimura was named its chair holder.

On her agenda is the current regional policy dialogue and implementation of recommendations on education for peace, human rights and sustainable development in the Bangkok, Thailand conference.

The ESD road map in implementation of the Recommendations at the conference focused on ESD and Global Citizenship education (GCED) for teachers and for this category Sugimura invited four panellists: A secondary school teacher from Timor Leste and Nieu to represent Small Island Developing States, a researcher from the Philippines Normal University to share more knowledge on teacher training and GCED, a researcher from the Ministry of Education, in Thailand and a UNESCO chair of George Washington University.

“While top leaders, diplomats and other important people in position are important speakers and learning examples, Sophia University also believes in the value of humanitarian workers and the participation of more people on the ground,” explained Sugimura.

An important mission in this direction is the Jesuit Worldwide Learning initiative to provide online education to refugee camps and marginalised people, many of whom have been displaced by conflict, enabling them to build a better future for themselves and their community.

“The programme supports togetherness in higher education which represents the principles of human security and equity while respecting diversity,” said Sugimura.

These values will also represent a base for research and dialogue discussing the rapid importance and use of AI by universities and governments at the upcoming International Association of Universities conference hosted at Sophia University this November.

The importance of ESD in the context of the rapidly increasing use of technology, Sugimura says, will be an important topic in interdisciplinary research that will also include approaches for holistic development.

Sophia University will also promote research on cross-border collaboration at the conference panel discussions with UNESCO. This topic, for Sugimura, is critical against a backdrop in which higher education leaders must explore how to guide universities for decision making and ethical conduct against new challenges by the rise of populist, autocratic and nationalist policies.

A potent example she already endorses is her relentless approach in her classes to deepen empathy to gain peace among international and Japanese students.

“I cannot emphasise more the importance I place on listening to each other in my classes,” she said, referring to the example of her Chinese students who are encouraged to express their opinions even though those may necessarily not be the same as others.

“So the lesson is to listen, to empower students to listen and learn something they did not know before. They then find a way to move away from conflict,” she said.