This spring, JICUF decided to compile our work on refugee higher education under an initiative titled “Refugee Education Japan (REJ),” and launched a new website.
Since JICUF launched the Syrian Scholars Initiative in 2017 to welcome Syrian students with refugee backgrounds to ICU, we have gradually expanded our support for displaced students, and now are part of global and domestic networks to promote education pathways for refugees.
On Monday, March 18, as one of the organizers of the Japan Education Pathways Network (JEPN), JICUF co-hosted a reunion for Ukrainian and Syrian students who are studying in universities and language schools in Japan at Sophia University. Her Imperial Highness Crown Princess Akishino observed part of the event and conversed with some of the students. Approximately 80 students from across Japan, including 10 Japanese students from host institutions, attended the event.
United States Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel hosted a reception for the Japan-Ukraine University Pathways program at his official residence on Thursday, December 8. Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and Ukrainian Ambassador Sergei Korsunsky were in attendance along with 60 Ukrainian students, representatives from 18 host universities, corporate and foundation sponsors, and leaders of the Ukrainian expatriate community in Japan.
In May, five Ukrainian students were welcomed to ICU through the Japan-Ukraine University Pathways program co-managed by JICUF and Pathways Japan. The program has since expanded to other universities in Japan.
