Plenary Session
"Opening Prospects for Peace and Development: Dialogue for the Future"
Plenary Session/Public Lecture
Business for Peace: Corporate Contributions to Peacebuilding
Business for Peace (B4P) has been discussed within the United Nations Global Compact since the 2000s, yet it has not gained widespread recognition. Even before the United Nations began facing today’s major challenges, it was already acknowledged that peacebuilding could no longer be carried out solely by international organizations or states—participation from the private sector was essential.
This plenary session was organized to provide members of the Japan Society for International Development, as well as the general public, with an opportunity to learn about the broad roles that businesses can play as actors contributing to peace.
We are honored to welcome two keynote speakers:
Makoto Goda, CEO of Nippon Biofuel Co. Ltd., who is leading a unique business initiative in Mozambique.
Naoyuki Ochiai, a JICA official who has long been involved in the transition from peacemaking to peacebuilding in Bangsamoro, the Philippines, the region which achieved autonomy.
We warmly invite you to join the discussion on peace through business.
2. Venue: Hiroshima University, Higashi-Hiroshima Campus, Engineering Building Room 220 (Online streaming available in Room 111)
3. Program (Language: Japanese)
9:30 Opening Remarks
Norio Matsumi, Dean, Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences
9:35 Session overview
Mari Katayanagi, Professor, International Peace and Co-existence Program, Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Hiroshima University
9:40 Keynote Speech 1
Makoto Goda, CEO, Nippon Biofuel Co. Ltd.
“Challenging Peace Engineering in Mozambique”
(Operating a fuel business in Mozambique while establishing a local subsidiary to provide renewable energy, agriculture, and financial information services in off-grid rural areas, and working on building a digital agriculture infrastructure.)
10:00 Keynote Speech 2
Naoyuki Ochiai, Senior Advisor to the Chief Minister, Bangsamoro Transitional Authority
“Business and Peace in Bangsamoro”
(Long-time contributor to peacebuilding in Mindanao, serving as Senior Advisor to the International Monitoring Team (IMT) and Chief of the JICA Comprehensive Capacity Development Project for Bangsamoro.)
10:20 Comments from Two Discussants
Mariko Shoji, Professor, Keiai University
(Member of the UN Global Compact Expert Group on Business and Peace since 2010. Actively promotes business engagement in peacebuilding through both research and practice. Specializes in international law and international relations.)
Saori Kashima, Associate Professor, Hiroshima University
(Collaborating member of the Science Council of Japan. Quantitatively evaluates the health impacts of environmental and social factors using epidemiology. Conducts interdisciplinary research in planetary health to build a mutually sustainable global environment for all living beings.)
10:40 Break
10:50 Q&A with the Audience
11:45 Closing Remarks
Shoko Yamada, President, Japan Society for International Development
(Professor, Graduate School of International Development, Nagoya University)