Background of Signature Request
With the Osaka-Kansai World Expo in 2025, This region will further contribute to growth of japan.
Japan's new growth will begin in the Kansai region. Meanwhile, the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), held every three years in collaboration with the Government of Japan, the United Nations, the African Union Committee, and others, will be held in Tunisia as its eighth edition in the summer of 2022. Its ninth will be held in Japan in 2025 at a venue yet undecided. (FYI 1st - 3rd:Tokyo, 4th,5th:Yokohama, 6th:Kenya, 7th:Yokohama. all in Kanto area, Eastern part of Japan)
"AFRIKA meets KANSAI" as a platform bridging Africa to Japan has been fostering for a long period of time deep relationships in several sectors. These include economy, culture, and education. As the shred of evidence, Japan's largest civil society’s African cultural event, "AFRIKA meets KANSAI" has been held each year continuously in Kobe for more than ten years.
Likewise, the Graduate School of Information Technology, Kobe Institute of Computing (KIC), has contributed to Africa's human resource development mainly through the Japanese government scholarship program "African Business. Education Initiative for Youth". KIC has accumulated 145 students from 32 African countries (ref. 201 students from 35 countries, if JICA short-term trainees included). Many of those graduates are even active in Kobe, Japan, Africa, and around the world.
Bearing in mind the above historical facts and, with the understanding that 2025 is the year of the Osaka/Kansai Expo, the Committee members believe that it is opportune to suggest that the 9th TICAD in 2025 be invited to Kobe so that Osaka / Kansai and Kobe can be the epicenter of Japan's new growth era.
We will highly appreciate if you could kindly consider echoing your voice to join our efforts to invite all the
heads of the 54 African countries to Kobe in 2025 to dynamically discuss the possibility of
overflowing the power of the Kansai region with the people of Africa and engage thereby all the more in
the collaboration already existing between Japan and Africa.
By all means, please consider signing the form below, to help inviting the Heads of State of 54 African countries to Kobe in 2025. We want to discuss with them the possibility of starting collaboration between the abundant power of the Kansai region and African people. We would be very grateful if you could support us.
AFRIKA meets KANSAI Executive Committee
Representatives: Nsenda Lukumuena (Professor at Kobe Institute of Computing Graduate school of Information Technology, from the Democratic Republic of Congo)
Committee Member (Special Advisor): Kenji Fukuoka (Executive Director and President of Kobe Institute of Computing Graduate school of Information Technology, from Kobe, Japan)
Committee Member (Advisor): Oussouby Sacko (Former President of Kyoto Seika University and Professor, Vice President of 2025Osaka/Kansai Expo Association, from Mali)
Committee Member: Kupanhy Lumbidi (Professor Emeritus and former Vice President of Wakayama University, from the Democratic Republic of Congo)
2022. 6th. May
--
July 6, 2022 Postscript.
Thanks to your cooperation, we have collected more than 3,700 signatures as of today. We have received many warm comments, and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Thank you very much.
We will submit the signatures to the Kobe City Mayor's Office and the Kobe City Assembly on July 15. We hope you will continue to support us in our efforts to bring TICAD 9 to Kobe.
Request for Approval of Hosting 9th TICAD in Kobe(the Tokyo International Conference on African Development)