The G7 Education Ministers’ Meeting in Toyama and Kanazawa wound up its final day on May 15 (Mon.), the fourth day of the meeting.

Meeting with German minister

Minister Nagaoka exchanged views with H.E. Ms. Bettina Stark-Watzinger, Federal Minister of Education and Research, Federal Republic of Germany, on Japan-German cooperation in the field of science and technology.

At the beginning of the meeting, Minister Nagaoka thanked Minister Stark-Watzinger for attending the G7 Education Ministers’ Meeting and the G7 Science and Technology Ministers’ Meeting.

Minister Stark-Watzinger noted that German-Japan projects in various fields were on-going, and said that she would like to further deepen their cooperative ties in academic research.
 
Through the meeting, both sides reaffirmed the importance of further enhancing cooperation between Japan and Germany in various fields.

Visit to Kanazawa University

After that, Minister Nagaoka and the delegates from the G7 members and international organizations headed to the Kakuma Campus of Kanazawa University, their last excursion.
With an orchestra ensemble playing at the front entrance hall of the Natural Science and Technology Main Hall, Kanazawa University President Wada Takashi and a number of students welcomed their visitors, and the opening session began.

After greeting the delegates, President Wada introduced the history and special features of Kanazawa University. He said that they would supporting students and researchers so that they can play active roles in realizing a society where everyone shines.

Following that, Vice President Nakamura Shinichi (in charge of research) introduced Kanazawa University’s initiatives for realizing “well-being” through “future knowledge” created by the university’s research and social co-creation activities.

As specific examples of these efforts, Prof. Nakajima Miki of the Nano Life Science Institute (NanoLSI), Prof. Kikuchi Mitsuru of the Research Center for Child Mental Development, and Assistant Prof. Milotskyi Romain of the Frontier Science and Social Co-Creation Initiative introduced to the delegates the results of the advanced research being carried out at Kanazawa University and the kind of future society that collaborative industry-academia projects the university is involved in are aiming for.

After the opening session, the delegates moved to another location and had discussions with university students, international students, and students from Kanazawa University Senior High School. Divided into eight groups, the delegates listened to presentations by students and had follow-up discussions with them on their respective themes, all generally related to the overall theme of “Towards a Society Where Everyone Shines.”

On each table were cookies made by students from Kanazawa University School for Special Needs Education and Kanazawa University Guatemalan coffee and mocha black tea (developed by a student project). It was hospitality, Kanazawa University style.

It was clear that new and concrete ideas were being generated by the feedback and questions given by the delegates to the students.

As a conclusion to the discussions, representatives from each table joined together to announce a “Youth Declaration.”

In response, Minister Nagaoka readily accepted the Youth Declaration. Addressing these young future leaders and their promise for the future, Minister Nagaoka offered them a final message that she hopes they will build a wonderful society for the future.

Farewell lunch

After leaving Kanazawa University, the delegates went to Kinjohro, the venue for their farewell lunch together.
They were treated to a koto performance by students of the koto music club at Kanazawa Sakuragaoka High School. The students at this high school are skilled enough to be able to participate in the national koto competition nearly every year. They beautifully performed Japanese children’s songs and folk songs from ancient times.

Minister Nagaoka made a greeting and offered a toast. Everyone then enjoyed traditional Kaga cuisine such as grilled sakura trout and duck simmered in a special broth. It was a wonderful luncheon that was a fitting conclusion to the four-day meeting.

We offer our sincere thanks to the ministers and delegates from the G7 members and international organizations that participated in this Education Ministers’ Meeting.
 
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