Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) and Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition will hold an online symposium “Future Society after the Pandemic, Expectations for EXPO 2025, and the Potential of the Osaka Kansai Region” on March 3, 2021.

In addition to climate change, environmental issues and economic disparity, the recent COVID-19 pandemic has become a prominent global challenge. In this symposium, participants will discuss how EXPO 2025 Osaka Kansai can contribute to the resolution of these issues.

In the first part, the symposium will review the role and significance of EXPO 2025 Osaka Kansai in addition to predictions for the near future after the COVID-19 pandemic. The second part will focus on the ecosystem and innovation function of the Kansai region.

EVENT SUMMARY
Date: Wednesday, March 3, 2021, 14:00-16:30 (JST)
Place: Online (Zoom live stream)
Language: Japanese, English (Simultaneous interpretation)
Organizers: Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition
Co-Organizer: The Kansai Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry
Registration: From the website (https://www.jetro.go.jp/en/events/20210303.html)

Agenda:
[Opening Remarks]
Hiroyuki Ishige, Secretary-General, Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition
Nobuhiko Sasaki, Chairman and CEO, JETRO
[Keynote Speech]
The future is unknowable but inevitable – cooperation is the solution”
Richard Baldwin, Professor of International Economics, Graduate Institute, Geneva
Future Society and EXPO 2025 Osaka Kansai
Hiroshi Ishiguro, Professor at Osaka University and ATR Intelligent Robotics and Communication Laboratories
[Presentations & Panel Discussion]
Presentation 1: Innovation and the SDGs
Jonas Svensson, Head of Global Innovation and Technology, UNOPS
Presentation 2: “A Living Laboratory Model to Co-create Sustainable Innovations”
Matt van Leeuwen, Chief Innovation Officer, SUNWAY group
Panel Discussion: “As an Open-innovation Platform, how the Kansai Region Collaborates with Global Society and Contributes to the Achievement of SDGs”
Panelists:
-Yasuo Kitaoka, Executive Assistant to the Director, Co-creation Bureau, Osaka University
Director, Innovation Division
-Yoshimasa Sakai, Director-General of Public Relations Strategy Bureau, Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition
-Jonas Svensson, Head of Global Innovation and Technology, UNOPS
-Chikara Takagishi, Senior General Manager of Urban Management Division, Hankyu Hanshin Properties Corp.
-Shogoro Fujiki, Founder & CEO, Biome Inc.
[Closing Remarks]
Takeshi Yonemura, Director-General, Kansai Bureau of Economy Trade and Industry

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