In March 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident occurred. There was a growing concern about the dramatic decrease in the number of visitors to Japan and a growing need for information to be released from Japan to the world.

In response, Hokkaido University decided to start an internet forum that connects both researchers who commit themselves to passing on the latest scientific knowledge, and the public, including students seeking such knowledge to further understand the global issues we are facing. The Global Issues Forum for Tomorrow – GiFT – was the first university-wide experimental effort to utilize social media as a means to assemble such an audience. GiFT was offered in Japanese as a trial during its first year before becoming an international communication platform.

On the 24^th of October, 2011, distinguished twelve young researchers at Hokkaido University delivered passionate speeches about pressing social and global issues. More than 100 people gathered at a lecture hall on campus while accompanied by another 500 people from other parts in Japan viewing the live webcast. The video archive attracted 6,288 viewers within just a month.

Do you want to know more about GiFT? Go to “What is GiFT?”

Archived videos