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Actions we can take to achieve the SDGs with President Iwakiri

Interview series of President Iwakiri × SDGs Promotion Office (episode 3)


“Tsunagaru Ethical” is Web-based media which publishes interview articles created by/for ICU students. We interview professors, asking about classes and thoughts. We hope our articles will help you “being you” someway how.


This is one of the articles under the interview series of President Iwakiri × SDGs Promotion Office. As the third episode, we focused on what we as students can do to achieve the SDGs.


＜About President Iwakiri＞

Completed his doctoral program at the University of Tokyo and L' Université Paris. After serving as the Director of the Admission Center and Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, he was appointed as the President at ICU in April of 2020. Professor of Literature. His specialties are Modern French Poetry, French drama, and French Literature.

Machii) In 2021, the SDGs Promotion Office was established. What are your thoughts on this? Are there any expectations for students?


President) The SDGs Promotion Office is a place where the entire ICU community, including teachers, students, and staff, could be involved. For instance, ICU students have been engaged in activities such as recycling containers in the cafeteria, holding events to exchange used clothes, and participating in international debates. Now, the SDGs are a common language in the world. With the common understanding of the SDGs, various activities could now be regarded as one. The SDGs Promotion Office was created to allow activities at ICU to be seen from the outside in the context of international movements and values. The activities may not change, but the SDGs Promotion Office would highlight commonalities in different activities. Further, you could get together and connect. You could continue your activities with someone else and see from a broader perspective because the goals are interconnected. I wish that everyone would connect through one aspect of the SDGs or another and think together.


Machii) Classes frequently involve the SDGs, and many students feel the importance of putting into practice what they learn. However, many students find it difficult to take action as opposed to participating in discussions.


President) To take action includes carrying out some sort of social movement. But you only have four years as a university student. You have many decades ahead. I do not believe it necessary that you think of taking action as your obligation in the four years. It would establish a foundation for 20, 30 years from now. To take action also means to create your values for actions in the future. Action is not simply about immediately seeing the results. I believe it is important that each person decides what action to take according to an individual vision.


Machii) I have friends who have not been able to come to the campus and were concerned that they cannot put into practice what they learn in class. I found your answers encouraging.


President) At ICU, for instance, you could utilize the surrounding natural world and formulate your values on nature. You could write about flowers on the roadside, names of which cannot be easily found in books. Flowers like weeds cannot make money. I believe it is a good habit that you find value in the unquantifiable in day-to-day life. For example, Italy is in a difficult financial situation, but wealth cannot simply be measured by investment or GDP. However, even if you could cherish cultural values, some people may say that it is not necessary. The SDGs aim for a world that is not simply convenient but also rich in the heart. I think that now is the time to learn and think about the powers you have to oppose such voices, that depreciate invisible, inner, human values


Machii) I would like to stop and think about being spiritually rich, a concept that underlies the SDGs. Doing so, I get the impression that feelings tend to be personal, but should we share our discoveries?


President) Right, I write and share poems and lyrics. I often work in theater, and when my perspective differs from the directors’, I will explain how I interpret something. Those who value their viewpoints are valued and become successful. Workplaces consist of dialogue. If you let others decide for you, you cannot continue for long. Rather than pushing your values on others, you must have critical thinking skills to create something that the world has yet to see. Now is the time when you become someone who can voice your thoughts. I think it is important that you create something tangible out of your discoveries by, for instance, writing in your notebook. You do not have to show anyone this. In the future, you could share and utilize them against someone with differing views. At the end of the day, people tend to go where there is dialogue, where conflicting perspectives may exist. Once there, it is important that you communicate and create something through discussion.

Thank you for reading the article this far.

Feel free to submit your comments/opinions/questions through the Google Form attached below.

We’ll also be happy if you could read the other two articles with President Iwakiri.

See you in another story!


(English translation: Chisaki Sano)



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