Global Issues Forum for Tomorrow (GiFT)
What is GiFT?
GiFT is a two-hour online forum for high school and college students over the world to exchange opinions to address global issues hosted by Hokkaido University, Japan. It stands for “Global Issues Forum for Tomorrow” and it offers live-broadcasting discussion forum through the internet.
GiFT was inaugurated in 2011 to mark the fifth anniversary of the Sustainability Weeks, that is an annual gathering started in 2007. The Sustainability Weeks is a heart of the Hokkaido University’s social contribution to help create a sustainable society.
Every year, a few students from various parts of the world are selected out of those who actively participated in the GiFT’s live discussion and invited to the “Hokkaido University Experience Tour.” During the tour, they participate in classes of their interest and enjoy intellectual stimulation with researchers and current students. If you are interested in studying at Hokkaido University, why don’t you find what the Tour looks like in the Experience Tour Reports?
GiFT2016
Discussion Topics: What Students are Concerned
-How can we reduce our garbage?
-What kind of actions are you taking to respond to the global warming?
HU Experience Tour 2017 Participants:
-A high school student from Thailand
-An undergraduate student from Russia
GiFT2015
Presentations: Challenges in Cold Region
-You & Our Issues
-Co-design Research for Better Life on Permafrost and Global Environment
-Explore Phytoplankton from Space for the Arctic Marine Ecosystem
-Desirable Urban Design for Winter Cities
HU Experience Tour 2016 Participants:
-An undergraduate student from Russia
-A high school student from Indonesia
-An undergraduate students from Estonia
GiFT2014
Presentations: Capacity Development for Sustainable Development
-Towards the Resolution of Global Issues
-Micro-satellite Provides Solutions on Earth
-Science Visionaries Change Our Future
-Learning in the Field: Environmental Radiation in Fukushima
-Sustainable Campus as a Research Field
HU Experience Tour 2015 Participants:
-An undergraduate student from United Kingdom
-A high school student from Sweden
-A high school teacher from Indonesia
GiFT2013
Presentations:
Session 1: Water Management
-Opening remarks
-Wise Water Use in Future Cities: Membrane Technology will Save the World
-Living in an Ocean of Vinegar
-Reading Rivers for the Future
Session 2: Modern Japanese Studies
-Introduction
-Creating Unsustainable Lives: Effects of Gender Norms on Male Freeters
-TV Dramas & Tourism, Japanese Historical Sites as Sustainable Tourist Resources
-Relocating to the Countryside in Contemporary Japan: The Quest for Purpose in Life (ikigai)
GiFT2012
Presentations: A Future Society Offering Peace of Mind for All
-Opening Remarks
-Along with Water
-Have Drug, Will Travel: Using Nano Technology in Human Health Care
-Queer Culture in Japan
-There is nothing we can do for March 11.
GiFT2011
Presentations:
Session 1: Appreciating the World
-Opening Remarks at GiFT 2011
-Current State of Glaciers and Ice Sheets as Seen from Outer Space and the Ground
-No End in Sight to Flu Epidemic
-Interactions between Humans and Forests
-War–a Natural Human Activity
Session 2: Mapping New Directions
-Changes Necessary to Maintain Forest Ecosystems
-Breakthroughs with Electronics
-Human Ecology Viewed through Fieldwork
-Research to Support an Aging Society
Session 3: Moving Forward
-Summoning the Courage to Take a Step Forward–Now is the Time to Consider a New Fishing Industry
-Engineering as a Means to Work on the World Stage–Toward the Realization of Global Health
-Viewing Waste Mountains as Precious Resources
-Opening up the Future of a Sustainable Society through Deliberative Mini-publics
