In 2014 the Japan ICU Foundation launched two programs, Global Link and Rethinking Peace Studies. Global Link is a summer program for ICU students in New York City and Rethinking Peace Studies is an academic program that has involved ICU faculty along with scholars and practitioners from around the world. These programs have provided the JICUF staff with an opportunity to become directly involved with planning and implementing activities on behalf of ICU students and faculty. It has brought us closer to ICU while also allowing us to fulfill our mission in a new way.

This summer, we are welcoming 12 ICU students to NYC for the entire month of July. The students will be staying at International House, a dormitory that is conveniently located next door to our office in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan. We have designed an action-packed month of activities for the students focused around the theme of “Global Cities.” We will examine social, cultural, environmental and economic factors that make New York a global city, and will also participate in service activities. Some highlights include participating in the revitalization and painting of community spaces with Habitat for Humanity, a luncheon with the Japanese Ambassador to the United Nations, and a three-day visit to Washington, D.C. We are looking forward to sharing updates on our website and Facebook page. You can learn more about this exciting program at www.globallinknyc.com.

In early June, the culminating event of Rethinking Peace Studies (RPS) will be held on the ICU campus. The RPS conference is a three day gathering that will feature 18 paper presentations and three keynote addresses. The invitees to the conference are scholars, artists and writers from all corners of the globe. Each invitee also participated in one of three RPS seminars that were held in Japan, the United States and Sri Lanka over the past two and a half years. An edited volume made up of original papers presented at the conference will be published next year. Keynote addresses will be presented by Dr. Johan Galtung, Dr. Ashis Nandy and Dr. Shin Chiba. You can read more about the conference at the RPS website, www.rethinkingpeacestudies.com.

If you have any questions or would like to learn more about our programming, please feel free to reach out to us.