Held on 22 February, 2020, RCE Chubu organised an ‘SDGs Forum 2020’ in Nagoya, Japan, an annual event to share the outcomes and updates from their associated stakeholders. The event was co-organised by the Chubu University International ESD/SDGs Centre, and supported by UNU-IAS.

Bringing together over 200 participants, the main theme was to strengthen and construct networks among various stakeholders within the RCE who are contributing to the achievement of SDGs in the Tokai/Chubu area in Japan. The Forum also included participants from the 4th Chubu School of Sustainability Policy who shared results and developments of their recent activities. The challenge for RCE Chubu is to establish a new SDGs network in the Chubu region in order to set local SDG targets.

Approximately 50 case reports from stakeholders were presented among eight working groups under various SDGs, allowing for common issues to be shared, and to identify possible solutions to the ongoing issues.

In the special lecture given by Mr. Koichiro Matsuura, 8th Director-General of UNESCO, and Special Advisor to the Chubu Sustainability Policy Academy, the importance of ‘culture’ was highlighted, along with his hope that culture is incorporated in the process of achieving the various SDGs and its targets.

Speaking on the role and importance of RCEs among the other ESD communities in Japan, Mr. Nobuyuki Kawade, Project Advisor, UNU-IAS, also encouraged participants to connect to RCEs around the world to share common issues and to learn from other RCEs, who can provide different views and perspectives. At the closing session, Mr. Takuya Shimizu, Deputy Director of the Office for Promotion Overcoming Population Decline and Vitalizing Local Economy in Japan, Cabinet Office of Japan, summed up the discussion and showed his interest on the local SDG targets in the Chubu area.

Within the programme, outcomes were also shared from participants from the recent 2nd Japanese RCE Youth Conference, held between 1-2 February, 2020 in Kobe, Japan, and the Workshop on Future Expectations for RCEs with ESD for 2030, held on 23 November, 2019 in Okayama, Japan.

(Photo credit: RCE Chubu)