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On Wednesday, December 18, an event was held on Hiyoshi Campus for student representatives to deliver their final proposals to the president of Keio University for the 2024 Keio Student Conference.

The Student Conference, which completed its third iteration in December, is a component of Keio University's "Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)" initiatives. Students are selected from across all of Keio's undergraduate faculties through open recruitment and random selection to discuss and propose an overall vision, specific objectives, and attainable targets for Keio University to accomplish to make progress towards its SDGs.

This year, under the theme "Keio University Towards 2050," students deepened their understanding of the current situation facing Japan and the world with regards to the SDGs through the Spring Semester and the Summer Camp. In the Fall Semester, students discussed in groups the actions and measures required to realize Keio's vision together with graduate students from the United Nations University, who were participating in the Student Conference for the first time this year. The United Nations University is known for their specialized work in the SDGs, and with their involvement, the students were able to compile their recommendations into a final proposal. This event was the culmination of all their work. As in previous iterations, students from affiliated schools also delivered presentations to propose ideas and make recommendations.

Student delegates delivered their proposals for Keio University in front of university officials, campus staff, and related personnel including President Kohei Itoh, Vice-President Eiji Okada, Vice-President Akiyo Okuda, as well as Professor Norichika Kanie and Guest Professor Hiroko Kuniya from the Graduate School of Media and Governance, who both served as the supervisors for the 2024 Student Conference.

The presentations featured various proposals for goals and policies that Keio should advance in order to make further progress towards achieving the SDGs. During the Q&A session on the presentations, President Itoh led a deeper discussion together with other participants. The participating students presented many solid proposals that reflected what they have learned in the past year. These proposals covered diverse themes, ranging from action plans with high feasibility based on actual interviews with university staff and corporate partners, to ideals Keio should strive for. Examples include ideas on how to increase volunteerism, recycling of clothes and stationery, digitalization of student ID cards, SDGs on food, regional revitalization through collaboration with the Mita-kai (Alumni Association) nationwide, and making campuses a place where all students can feel at home, among others.

The proposals submitted at this session will be reviewed and discussed by the president. Adopted proposals shall be integrated into the university's official plan within the academic year. If the plan is approved, it will be implemented as a project starting in April 2025. We hope that the students' proposals can bring about meaningful changes in people's behavior and produce future leaders of society from Keio University who will go on to contribute to the SDGs and change the world.

◆ 2024 Keio Student Conference（In Japanese）

◆ News Article: 2024 Keio SDGs Student Conference Commences
◆ News Article: 小学生から大学生が同じ机で議論！「慶應義塾SDGs会議－2024塾生会議サマー・キャンプ－」を開催（In Japanese）