BHUBANESWAR: Consul General of Japan Masayuki Taga on Thursday stressed on the importance of student exchange programmes between Japan and Odisha to establish educational collaborations and share research outcomes. Inaugurating the three-day sixth edition of SAI Model United Nations 2018 here, Taga said students can sharpen their knowledge and understanding of global challenges and learn to tackle these issues through negotiations and debates.
“There are several sponsorship-based programmes in Japan for foreign students. If required, I would request the Student Exchange Programme Coordinator for Japan to connect with educational institutes of Odisha,” he said. The Consul General highly appreciated the rich culture and heritage of Odisha and suggested that a tourist triangle should be developed around Puri, Konark, and Bhubaneswar for Japanese tourists.
Appreciating the Buddhist heritage sites of Lalitgiri and Ratnagiri, he said better tourism infrastructure in these areas can be a great attraction for Japanese visitors. During the three-day event, participants from 12 countries will discuss and debate on various issues like strengthening actions to safeguard the cultural heritage under attack, emerging cybersecurity threats, fighting malnutrition in Bangladesh - addressing Rohingya refugees, health emergency programmes for the displaced in Syria as well as the fight against financing terrorism.
Chairman of SAI International School Bijoy Kumar Sahoo said the student delegates have the potential to make a difference and build a better India not only through education but with international understanding and peace.“We are organizing the event every year to build leadership skills and expand critical thinking in students by exposing them to the working of the UN,” Sahoo added. Around 500 national and 32 international delegates from USA, Switzerland, Russia, Columbia, Costa Rica, Djibouti, Yemen, Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, and Korea are participating in the conference to address issues of global concern through deliberations and consensus.