Ukraine Expands Academic Presence in the Indo-Pacific: Kobe Gakuin University Joins the Global Coalition of Ukrainian Studies

Today, together with Professor Nobuhiko Bishu, Rector of Kobe Gakuin University, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andrii Sybiha, and Olha Budnyk, Presidential Advisor and Commissioner for the President’s Foundation for Support of Education, Science and Sports, an important step was made to advance the study of Ukraine in the Indo-Pacific region: Kobe Gakuin University became the first higher education institution in Japan to join the Global Coalition of Ukrainian Studies.

This state initiative of Ukraine, aimed at promoting the study of Ukrainian history, culture, language, literature, and identity in leading universities worldwide, has strategic importance. For many years, the aggressor state Russia sought to tie Ukraine to its own imperial context and continues to spread this distorted perception internationally. Today, as Ukraine defends its land, it is equally important to safeguard objective knowledge about the country in the global humanitarian space.

To date, 14 universities from Finland, the Republic of South Africa, the Czech Republic, Austria, Canada, Estonia, the Republic of Korea, and Italy have already joined the Coalition. In total, more than 70 higher education institutions across the world have expressed their willingness to become part of this initiative.

Kobe Gakuin University has already established academic cooperation with Ukraine. A year ago, the Tadashi Matsuguchi Ukraine Studies Center — the first of its kind in the Indo-Pacific region — was opened at the university. Since then, it has become an important hub for the study of Ukrainian language, culture, history, and literature. The signing of the memorandum on joining the Coalition marks the next step for the university in promoting knowledge about Ukraine and expanding international cooperation.