UNESCO IICBA organized four webinars in partnership with the Center for the Study of International Cooperation in Education (CICE) at Hiroshima University for ten African countries under the theme of “Prevention of Extremism and Its Resurgence Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic Through Education in Africa, Aligned with the Spirit of TICAD 7 and NAPSA.”

The webinar series aim to broaden participants’ understanding and knowledge of peacebuilding and teacher development programs and courses, share experiences on Japan’s historical advancements, current policies, and strategies in education, and how they contribute to peacebuilding and international development and disaster prevention and reduction, facilitate an educational and cultural exchange between Japanese and African higher education educators, and possible collaborations in the future, create a forum for Japanese higher education educators to discuss lessons learned and challenges in African education systems.

Four webinars were held under the theme of “Prevention of Extremism and Its Resurgence Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic through Education”.

1. Webinar One: “Citizenship and Peace Education: The Experience of Sophia University” by Professor Taro Komatsu, and “Realizing a Peaceful World Without Nuclear Weapons: The Hiroshima Initiative for Global Peace” by the Peace Promotion Team at the Hiroshima Prefectural Government.

2. Webinar Two: “Peace Education and Global Governance” by Associate Professor Tatsuo Yamane of Hiroshima University, and “Current Situation and Issues of Security in East Asian Countries” by Professor Gen Kikkawa of Hiroshima City University

3. Webinar Three: “Toward A World Without Nuclear Weapons: Challenges of Nagasaki University” by Professor Satoshi Hirose of Nagasaki University, and “Hiroshima’s Path to Reconstruction” by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR).

4. Webinar Four: “The Japanese Higher Education System and Its Internationalization” and “Student Safety and Disaster Education” by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sport, Science, and Technology (MEXT), and “Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)’s Peacebuilding Assistance” by Dr. Yuko Doi (JICA).

34 Participants attended this training from 9 African countries, namely Djibouti, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Libya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, and Tunisia. They ate educators and professors in various universities and teacher training colleges, and policymakers and agencies affiliated with the higher education sector.