26th Invited Lecture “Culture and Regional Development”

　On Thursday, April 21, 2022,　 26th Invited Lecture “Culture and Regional Development” was held at the Kofu Campus.
　We invited Hiromichi Matsushima, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Slovenia, to give a lecture, titled” Slovenia and Japan, What I Think as Ambassador“.
　We have deeply related with the Republic of Slovenia for a long time and we have signed the exchange agreement with the University of Ljubljana which is the biggest University in Slovenia.
　Ambassador Matsushima told about Slovenia’s response to Covid-19 infections.
　Slovenian government took the Covid-19 Pandemic very seriously and had been taking a tough approach. All of Slovenia went into the lockdown when the Covid-19 pandemic exploded.
　After the lockdown period, people needed to show the ID cards and the certificates of vaccination in public places.
　He also mentioned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and told us that Slovenia had accepted also? the people who fled Ukraine to escape from the Russia’s invasion and? had been providing them with food, clothing, shelter, and employment, but this refugee issue would be a major social and economic challenge in the future.
　Ambassador Matsushima was awarded the title of Visiting Professor by President Shimada, and also visited the Institute of Enology and Viticulture to experience the sensory evaluation of wine.