AsiaSymposium participants at Beijing Foreign Studies University.Europe15INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIONOn March 16, Kobe Active Aging Research Hub (KAARb) held an online international symposium on ‘COVID-19 and the older adults in Asia’. Three esteemed directors of aging and social welfare research centers at Shanghai Jiaotong University, Ewha Womans University, and The University of Hong Kong respectively were invited to speak at the symposium. The online event attracted over 60 attendees from countries such as China, Singapore, France and the United States.Chaired by Professor KATAGIRI Keiko (Director of Kobe Active Aging Research Hub at Kobe University), the symposium began with an opening speech from Professor KIMURA Kan (Director of Kobe University’s Center for Asian Academic Collaboration at Kobe University). He expressed his hopes for enhancing research collaboration in the East Asian region, which is home to the world’s fastest aging societies that also have similar COVID-19 outbreak trends.The Fifth Kobe University – Beijing Foreign Studies University Joint Symposium took place online on November 28 and 29. The event was jointly hosted by Kobe University and the Beijing Center for Japanese Studies at Beijing Foreign Studies University.The theme of this year’s symposium was “Epidemics and People/Society" in light of the great impact that the novel coronavirus has had on people’s social lives. It featured a keynote lecture from Prof. NAKAZAWA Minato (Graduate School of Health Sciences) on the theme of the "History of Infectious Diseases and Human Adaptation to the Environment". Seven researchers from Japan and China gave presentations on what kind of impact the pandemic has had on people and society; how we have responded to it; and what measures we should take to live alongside the virus. These topics were tackled from various standpoints, including historical, literary, cultural and sociological perspectives. During the Q & A sessions, the presenters received many questions from researchers, even those in dierent elds, and a lively exchange of opinions took place. This was followed by presentations from doctoral students on the 29th. Even though it was not possible to hold the event in Beijing as planned due to the pandemic, we were still able to further our exchange of research on this topical theme. It is hoped that the success of this symposium will strengthen the cooperative relationship between our universities. Four presentations were given during the symposium to address the impacts of COVID-19 in China, Korea, Hong Kong and Japan. All speakers expressed serious concerns about the social isolation of older adults and reductions in the availability of both health and care services. They pointed out the importance of utilizing AI and ICT to help bridge the gap. The presentations covered a wide range of key topics such as government policies, COVID-19’s impact on health and welfare systems, behavioral changes in elderly people, and mass media and ageism, which greatly interested the symposium’s attendees.In her closing remarks, Professor KATAGIRI thanked the speakers and attendees for making the symposium a success and expressed her hopes for the continued expansion of research collaboration among research centers in East Asia. KAARb International Symposium highlights the importance of collaboration between East Asian countries in the COVID-19 eraOn October 23 and November 5 2020, Kobe University held an online Visegrad Project Workshop entitled "Comparing Responses to Global Transformations - Regime Changes in the V4 and Japan".Kobe University was selected to receive the Visegrad Grants in 2020, and began oering a new course on social structure and global society post-corona. This course involves comparing aspects of Japan with those of countries in Central and Eastern Europe, which have experienced systemic changes and are dealing with globalization. It is run in cooperation with researchers from the following partner universities in V4 countries: Jagiellonian University (Poland), Eötvös Loránd University (Hungary), Comenius University (Slovakia), and Charles University (Czech Republic).Visegrad Project Workshop held onlineThe workshop was attended by Professor Emeritus YUI Kiyomitsu and Professor SHIRATORI Yoshihiko (Graduate School of Humanities) and FUJII Mami (director of the Japan Foundation, Budapest). They discussed course management and future projects with researchers from each of the V4 countries. Patrick Vittet-Philippe, advisor to the Kobe University Brussels European Centre, was also invited to exchange views on the future expansion of international exchange activities between Kobe University and the V4 universities.Kobe University will continue to promote further cooperation in education and research between Japan and Central and Eastern European countries.The Fifth Kobe University – Beijing Foreign Studies University Joint Symposium was held
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