Award Ceremony for Student Video Contest and International Student SDGs Forum held

As part of Osaka University SDGs Virtual Student Exchange 2022, the Award Ceremony for the Student Video Contest and International Student SDGs Forum was held online on December 16, 2022 under the sponsorship of the Center for Global Initiatives.

This 2nd Student Video Contest entitled “3 Minutes of Inspiration for Sustainable Development” accepted entries of 3-minute-long videos on the theme of “Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)” from OU students and students from overseas universities with which OU has agreements.

There were entries of 92 videos from 36 universities from 15 countries, including Indonesia, Ukraine, The Netherlands, Spain, China, Germany, Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar, Brazil, Brunei, The Philippines, Mongolia, and Russia.

The numbers of entries and participating countries exceeded those of the previous year, showing that the awareness of the contest increased. These videos showed students’ keen interest in SDGs from a variety of perspectives, such as society, economics, and the environment. In particular, these videos showed a high level of students’ interest in SDGs 12: Responsible Consumption and Production, 3: Good Health and Well Being, and 13: Climate Action.

Prior to the award ceremony, Executive Vice President KAWAHARA Genta greeted attendees, speaking about SDG activity at OU towards EXPO 2025 Osaka, Kansai.
Following his talk, Professor Andrej Zwitter (Dean, Campus Fryslân and Professor of Governance & Innovation, University of Groningen, The Netherlands) delivered a keynote speech entitled “FUTURE of SDGs-2030 ONWARDS!”

At the award ceremony, after Professor ISHIKAWA Mayumi of the Center for Global Initiatives commented on the contest, 14 prize-winning works were announced by the following presenters.

• Video Production Award - TAKAHASHI Miwako (Advisor for Promotion of Collaboration, Kansai NGO Council)
• SDGs Idea Award - SHOJI Yuriko (Former Deputy Regional Representative for Europe and Central Asia, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), UN)
• Grand Prize/ President’s Encouragement Prize - KAWAHARA Genta (Executive Vice President, Osaka University)
• Honorable Mentions -- SAKUMA Hiroshi (Director of the Virtual Osaka Pavilion, Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan)

Grand Prize Winner

In the second half of the ceremony, presentations were made by last year’s award recipients, and then, facilitated by a pair of OU students, a panel discussion by the award-winning students was held.
Finally, President Nishio congratulated the award winners and thanked attendees, ending the event on a positive note.

Panelists

President Nishio

The International Student SDGs Forum drew 131 participants from both inside and outside of Japan, providing a valuable opportunity for students around the world to think together about SDGs through online dialogues.

Major Prizewinners

• Grand Prize - And the Eternity Goes On (Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Ukraine)
• SDGs Idea Award - Why Not Give It a Try (Southeast University, China)
• Video Production Award - Silent Peace (National University of Mongolia, Mongolia)
• President's Award - Mental Health Issue Is Real (Brawijaya University, Indonesia)

All of the prizewinning videos can be viewed at the official YouTube channel for the Student Video Contest.

Osaka University SDGs Virtual Student Exchange-2022

The Osaka University SDGs Virtual Student Exchange-2022 sponsored by the Center for Global Initiatives held the following 4 sessions so that students could learn from each other, experts, alumni, and other guest speakers about local and global challenges.

1. “Learning SDGs Globally and Locally” Online Intensive Course (August 22~29, 2022)
2. “Let’s Take Action” Osaka University SDGs Symposium (August 29, 2022)
3. “3 Minutes of Inspiration for Sustainable Development” Student Video Contest (Deadline: November 16, 2022)
4. Awards Ceremony & Student Forum 2022 (December 16, 2022)

For more information, click here.