International Education Development Forum (IEDF) 2025 at Tohoku University was an incredibly memorable experience!

This year, the forum gathered around 140 scholars from Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and many other Asia-Pacific countries.

I was inspired by the two keynote speakers, Prof. Mark Bray and Prof. Iveta Silova, who challenged us to think critically about what comes next after 2030 for international education development. Their reflections on the need to learn, and perhaps ‘unlearn’, what we believe can solve pressing sustainability and social challenges were thought-provoking.
Does more education necessarily lead to more solutions, or does it create new problems? Or perhaps, is education itself part of the root cause? How should education evolve to address these complex realities?
These reflections are extremely relevant to my own research on climate change education.

One special moment was seeing Kitamura-sensei attend the forum he originally founded 22 years ago after being absent more than five years. It was such a joy to learn together with him and my lab mates.

A massive thanks to Tohoku University for hosting such a stimulating forum.

Returning to Tokyo with new connections, new insights, and renewed motivation!