The contemporary world is facing a crisis of sustainability, and we see it as tremendously important to draw together the wisdom and vitality of youth, the torchbearers of the future of mankind. There are especially wide ranging missions for agricultural students, as agricultural science plays a key role in the solution of fundamental problems in food production and safety, environmental conservation, energy, and human health. The system of food production and consumption is without doubt closely related to the condition of the natural environment, the stage of economic development, and food culture in each country, and their patterns and problems reflect regional characteristics. It is thus important to understand how agriculture and food systems should be organized and maintained in each society.
In November 2001, Tokyo University of Agriculture (Tokyo NODAI) organized the “International Students Summit on Food, Agriculture and Environment in the New Century” to provide students from our global partner universities with an opportunity to gather and exchange views and ideas on global food, agricultural and environmental issues, and also to discuss their own roles in sustainable development. The outcomes were announced as the “Tokyo Declaration.” Since then, the International Students Summit has been held every year. The participating students adopted Action Plan in 2002 and agreed to establish the International Students Forum (ISF) in 2003. In 2005, Global NEFA was established by the former participants of ISS/ISF as a venue for continued sharing of information and knowledge on food, agriculture and environment issues. The 14th ISS in 2014 was sponsored jointly by Kasetsart University (KU) and Tokyo NODAI, and held at Kampheng Saen Campus, KU, in Thailand.
The International Students Summit has now come to the 15th time, and this will be held on October 1-2, 2015 at the Tokyo NODAI Setagaya Campus in Tokyo. The theme for this summit is “Students Taking Actions in Innovative Approaches to Build Local Resilience and Promote Awareness to Global Challenges” which was adopted at the 14th ISS in 2014. In fact, this is a very similar theme to the 14th ISS, but in 2015 the 15th ISS hopes to narrow the scope of their presentations and discussions to actual activities undertaken by the students of each university in the respective local community. By focusing on actual activities by the students in the participating universities, they hope to clarify the framework of student activity as to the rationale, methods, implications (economic, social and cultural), and constraints, in order to foster their contributions to the solution of global problems through taking actions in local communities.
Only one presentation will be accommodated for each participating university in the following sessions.
Opening Session: Opening ceremony and keynote speeches
Session 1: Universities with Students’ Actions in the field of food
Session 2: Universities with Students’ Actions in the field of environment
Session 3: Universities with Students’ Actions in the field of agriculture
Session 4: Universities with Students’ Actions in the field of education
Closing Session: Discussion and adoption of joint communique
Organizing Committee & Students Committee,
International Students Forum,
Tokyo University of Agriculture |
