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Press release

Springer Nature and the University of Tokyo partner to organize SDGs Symposium 2024 on planetary health for a sustainable future

1 February 2024

A symposium with a focus on the progress being made towards the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs) will take place on site and online on February 27, 2024, providing a platform for researchers in Japan and publishers.

London | Tokyo, February 1, 2024

Springer Nature and the University of Tokyo will be hosting a symposium titled “Planetary Health for Sustainability: Towards transformative solutions for a Healthy Planet” to bring together researchers in Japan, alongside members of the wider community to discuss the links between human health, environmental change and the consequences for planetary health. A rapid acceleration of human impacts on the environment - resulting in climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution - has led to growing calls to develop and implement, including actions to ensure the long-term health of both humans and the wider ecosystem. 

This symposium will take place on February 27, 2024, and will consist of a number of talks from some of Japan’s renowned researchers working at the interface of planetary health and the SDGs and Magdalena Skipper, Editor in Chief of Nature. The presenters will actively discuss how research can pave the way to equitable solutions to these significant challenges. This event marks the fifth SDGs symposium organised in partnership between Springer Nature and the University of Tokyo.

Registration for this event is free and anyone interested in sustainability research at the interface of SDG 3 (Good Health and Wellbeing), SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 15 (Life on Land) and SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) is welcome to join (link to event page).

Speaking on the symposium, Magdalena Skipper, Editor in Chief of Nature and Chief Editorial Adviser for the Nature portfolio said:

“Planetary health is critical to maintain a sustainable society and ecosystem for the present and coming generations. Crucially, we must break down the silos to address pressing issues such as climate change, loss of biodiversity, food crisis and poverty, which will require solutions across research disciplines. It truly is time for all to focus on One Health*”

“Multidisciplinary journals such as Nature play an important role in advancing discovery and disseminating evidence-based sustainability research upon which all relevant policies should be based. We are delighted to partner with the University of Tokyo to advance the discussions around the SDGs. This symposium will look into science in Japan and discuss how it can provide solutions to the challenges that we face in planetary health”

Also speaking on the symposium, Teruo Fujii, President of the University of Tokyo said: 

"Planetary health is vital for our future society and is of great interest worldwide. Beyond the world class research at this interface of human health and the environment conducted in many departments across the university, we have been forging strong partnerships with stakeholders outside academia in order to foster the next generation and to solve social issues by quickly putting cutting-edge research into practical use” 

“We strongly believe that collaborative efforts are essential for tackling the complex global issues confronting today’s world such as planetary health and sustainability. Through this symposium, we are delighted to continue our strong partnership with Springer Nature, and to welcome to our university some of the leading planetary health researchers and professionals”   

“We are also looking forward to seeing the research results and proposals of up-and-coming researchers and students in person at the poster session”

Speakers for this symposium are as follows (in order of appearance):

  • Chiho Watanabe (Professor and Executive Advisor to the President (Planetary Health), Nagasaki University)
  • Magdalena Skipper (Editor-in-Chief, Nature, Chief Editorial Advisor, Nature Portfolio)
  • Yoonhee Kim (Associate Professor, The University of Tokyo)
  • Nobuo Nishi (Dean and Professor, St. Luke’s International University)
  • Saori Kashima (Associate Professor, Hiroshima University)
  • Emiko Nishimura (Director, Global Health Team, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA))

The event program and speaker profiles can be viewed in the event page.

More on Springer Nature’s commitment to, and engagement with the SDGs can be found at our SDG programme website.

*One Health is defined by the WHO as an integrated approach that aims to sustainably balance the health of people, animals and the environment.

Note to Editors:

United Nations SDGs

The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) address the key global challenges of our times, and this symposium will address the following SDGs, which intersect strongly with each other: SDG 3 (Good Health and Wellbeing), SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 15 (Life on Earth) and SDG 2 (Zero Hunger). 

Event details

Event name: Planetary Health for Sustainability: Towards transformative solutions for a Healthy Planet

Date: Tuesday, February 27, 2024, 14:30 - 17:40  JST

Format: Hybrid

Venue: On site (Sanjyo Conference Hall, University of Tokyo) and online (Zoom)

Organizers: Springer Nature, The University of Tokyo

Language: English (with simultaneous interpretation in Japanese)

Target audience: Researchers, policymakers, students, anyone interested in health and the environment, SDGs, sustainability research and science

Registration fee: Free

Event URL: https://www.springernature.com/jp/campaign/sdg-symposium-2024-en

About Springer Nature's SDG programme

Springer Nature's Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Programme aims to connect the researchers who are tackling the world’s toughest challenges with the practitioners in policy and business who desperately need those insights to achieve their goals in improving the world, by making our publishing activities more visible to our key communities through a variety of channels.

We have dedicated SDG hubs which contain research and resources relevant to each of the SDGs.

Hubs related to this symposium are as follows:

About the University of Tokyo 

Founded in 1877, the University of Tokyo, the first national university in Japan, is an educational and research institution with 15 faculties and graduate schools and 11 research institutes.  Under the basic policy "UTokyo Compass - Into a Sea of Diversity: Creating the Future through Dialogue -" announced by the current President FUJII Teruo in September 2021, the University of Tokyo aims to solve social issues in collaboration with various stakeholders.  For more information about the University of Tokyo, please visit https://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/index.html

About Springer Nature

For over 180 years Springer Nature has been advancing discovery by providing the best possible service to the whole research community. We help researchers uncover new ideas, make sure all the research we publish is significant, robust and stands up to objective scrutiny, that it reaches all relevant audiences in the best possible format, and can be discovered, accessed, used, re-used and shared. We support librarians and institutions with innovations in technology and data; and provide quality publishing support to societies. 

As a research publisher, Springer Nature is home to trusted brands including Springer, Nature Portfolio, BMC, Palgrave Macmillan and Scientific American. For more information, please visit springernature.com and @SpringerNature

Contact

Ayako Miyazaki | Corporate Affairs | Springer Nature
ayako.miyazaki@springernature.com

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