2025/11/07

As part of Saitama University’s initiative titled “Multicultural Campus Project Toward Social Impact,” we are pleased to announce the upcoming symposium as outlined below.

In recent years, with the frequent occurrence of crises such as wars and natural disasters around the world, protecting the mental health of faculty members and students and ensuring the continuity of learning has become a shared global challenge in educational settings. Our university has been actively engaged in psychological support for Ukrainian teachers during wartime and has conducted nationwide surveys in collaboration with Poltava V.G. Korolenko National Pedagogical University in Ukraine. (Reference(only in Japanese): https://www.saitama-u.ac.jp/topics_archives/202504151000.html)

This symposium will foster international dialogue on crisis response and mental health care in educational settings, focusing on the following key topics:

1. Current Situation in Ukrainian Education
We will present a report on the struggles and responses of teachers working under wartime conditions, incorporating video messages sent from Ukraine.

2. Case Reports from Japan
Experts from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)’s D-EST initiative, who are active on the front lines of disaster-affected areas, as well as practitioners involved in school crisis management in Saitama City, will share their experiences.

From the trial-and-error efforts in each country’s educational field have emerged delicate yet bold initiatives. Through these passionate and insightful reports, we hope to deliver not only “mental disaster preparedness training,” but also a universally shared “spirit of nurturing the next generation with care and compassion.”