SDGs Symposium 2026 – AI and Sustainability: Opportunities and Challenges for a Sustainable Future

  • Date：
    Tue, Feb 17, 2026
  • Time：
    14:00-17:10 JST (Symposium)
    17:20-19:00 JST (Student poster session, Networking event)
  • Location：
    Ito International Hall, The University of Tokyo and Online (Zoom Webinar)
    MAP
  • Co-sponsor：

    Springer Nature
    The University of Tokyo

  • Language：

    English
    (simultaneous Japanese translation)

  • Application：

    Pre-registration required. Click on the link below to register.
    If you would like to request accommodations due to a disability, etc., please contact “sdgs-symposium2026[at]pco-prime.com”.
    (replace [at] with @)

    Springer Nature Website
    (External Link)

    Privacy Policy
    The information collected through this registration will be managed by Institute for Future Initiatives, the University of Tokyo and Springer Nature Japan K.K. as symposium organizers and Prime International Co., Ltd. as the symposium’s secretariat.
    This information will be used to send and disseminate invitations for future events and information. It will also be used to promote and improve the symposium activities.
    This data will not be disclosed to any third parties except when required by law to disclose information.

Overview

The 2026 SDGs Symposium will critically discuss the opportunities and challenges offering AI for transitioning to a sustainable future and meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
We wish to take this opportunity to invite renowned researchers from Japan and abroad, as well as students and young researchers, working at this interface of AI and sustainability. We wish to actively discuss how their research can explain these multifaceted phenomena and develop solutions with high societal relevance and impact.

Program

SDGs Symposium

  • 14:00-14:10
    Opening Remarks

    Teruo Fujii 
    (President, The University of Tokyo)

  • 14:10-14:30
    Keynote 1

    Tshilidzi Marwala
    (Rector, United Nations University; Under-Secretary-General, United Nations)

  • 14:30-14:50
    Keynote 2

    Magdalena Skipper 
    (Editor-in-Chief, Nature, Chief Editorial Advisor, Nature Portfolio)

  • 14:50–15:35

    [Plenary 1]
    Ayyoob Sharifi 
    (Professor, Hiroshima University) 

    [Plenary 2]
    Xin Zhou 
    (Director of the AI and New Frontier Group, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES))

    [Plenary 3]
    Hironobu Takagi 
    (Executive Director, National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation (Miraikan); Senior Researcher, Accessibility Research, IBM Research – Tokyo)

    [Plenary 4]
    Yuji Ogino 
    (Global Head of Sustainability, Tokyo Electron Limited)

  • 15:35-15:50
    Break
  • 15:50-17:00
    Panel Discussion

    Panel Moderator: Hiromi Yokoyama 
    (Professor, The University of Tokyo)

  • 17:00-17:10
    Closing Remarks

    Kensuke Fukushi 
    (Director and Professor, Institute for Future Initiatives (IFI), The University of Tokyo) 

    Antoine Bocquet 
    (Managing Director, Springer Nature Japan)

Networking event

  • 17:20-19:00
    Networking event

    Student poster session　

Contact

Secretariat of SDGs Symposium 2026
E-mail: sdgs-symposium2026[at]pco-prime.com
(replace [at] with @)

The University of Tokyo held jointly with Springer Nature a symposium on the interface of Inequality and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on 8 February 2025. This was the sixth SDGs Symposium by the University of Tokyo and Springer Nature, following five symposia in 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. Based on past decisions, there has been a shift in the SDGs focus for each symposium. The 2025 symposium focused on “Gender Equality” (SDG5), “Reduced Inequalities” (SDG10) and “Partnerships for the Goals” (SDG17), and their intersections with other SDGs. This reflected the consensus between the organizing teams that the pervasive and emerging inequalities observed globally have important ramifications for sustainability and human wellbeing. Income, gender, age, race, ethnicity or disability are only some of the dimensions of inequality that create such risks and must be tackled to ensure that we transition to a truly sustainable future. In this context, there are growing calls to develop and implement inclusive knowledge and actions to reduce inequalities for the benefit of individuals, societies, and the planet as a whole. Transformative actions seeking to reduce inequalities would require transdisciplinary research to shape conversations within academic communities and wider public.

To reflect these realizations, the 2025 SDGs Symposium brought together leading researchers working on different aspects at the interface of inequalities, sustainability and wellbeing. There was special attention to inclusivity among the speakers in terms of disciplines, affiliation, and gender.

378 participants from around the world attended the 2025 SDGs Symposium. A basic breakdown of the participants shows that 110 attended in person, and 268 online from 28 countries. Approximately 70% of the online audience joined from Japan and 30% from other countries. Some of the best represented countries include India (15 participants), Philippines (11 participants), Indonesia (9 participants), Pakistan (6 participants), and United States (5 participants). Beyond academic and research institutions, many participants were affiliated with the private sector, government agencies, and civil society, suggesting the transdisciplinary appeal of the event. A large number of registrants were students and early career researchers, though the actual numbers that attended cannot be estimated accurately with the information tracked during the event.
*For the full report, please see below.

Event report/UTokyo Focus
(External link)