On December 1-2, 2022, the "2022 Earth Charter Conference" was held at the United Nations-mandated University for Peace (UPEACE) in San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica in Central America. Okayama University participated in the conference as a cooperating organization, and President MAKINO Hirofumi, Senior Vice President for Global Engagement Strategy YOKOI Atsufumi, UNESCO Chairholder, and Earth Charter International (ECI) Council member, were invited to attend the conference.
　Prior to the conference, the ECI Council was held on November 30, and President MAKINO introduced Okayama University and its initiatives to the ECI Board and Council members. The ECI Council has included former prime ministers and presidents, UN representatives, international organization members, government officials, as well as world-famous thinkers, scholars, educators, environmental activists, social innovators, and various other world leaders. The meeting was attended by Michael J. Bracken, Chair of the ECI Board, Mirian Vilela, Executive Director of the ECI, UNESCO Chairholder, and Kartikeya Sarabhai, former Chair of the ECI Board and a world-renowned environmental educator, and other ECI Board and Council members. The Council members expressed their appreciation for the University's achievements in cooperation with the ECI and actively exchanged opinions on the University's initiatives.
　At the following conference, titled "Putting Planetary Well-being at the Core: A call to Turn our Conscience into Action," sessions and breakout sessions were held with the purpose of bringing together people from all over the world to learn, share, and build new perspectives for turning conscience into action for a thriving Earth on December 1-2. On the second day, Plenary 6, "What legacy of Planetary Well-being do we want to leave for future generations?", Senior Vice President YOKOI took the podium as a member of the ECI Council. While asking the significance of the Earth Charter as an inspiration to change our mindset for the coexistence between humanity and nature, he highlighted the importance of engaging and empowering youth in any process for expanding the understanding of planetary well-being. At the end of the meeting, the Earth Charter International expressed their gratitude for their contributions to Okayama University and sent a trophy to President MAKINO, and the meeting ended on a high note.
　During the visit, the participants also visited the Embassy of Japan in Costa Rica, where they met with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary KOMATSU Shinjiro, Counselor SHIRAKATA Nobuyuki, and Third Secretary KOMATSUZAKI Yoshitsugu. Okayama City and San Jose City celebrated the 50th anniversary of their sister city relationship in 2019, and they exchanged opinions on the promotion of further exchange in the region as a whole, as well as exchange between Okayama University and universities and international organizations in Central America.
　This is the second visit by President MAKINO and Senior Vice President YOKOI to Costa Rica, following their visit to the United Nations University for Peace in December 2019. Taking this visit as an opportunity, we will further promote integrated efforts of Earth Charter recommended by UNESCO and new initiative "ESD for 2030", as well as activities engaging and empowering youth.