I am Keiichi Ogawa, the 3rd President of the Japan Society for African Educational Research. I was appointed President at the 31st Society Meeting in April 2023.
The new coronavirus pandemic has finally ended, and we can travel for field research again. During the COVID-19 outbreak, many schools were closed in Africa, and learners and teachers faced a difficult situation in which classes were not held. Now, overcoming these difficult circumstances, the world is again moving toward realizing a society where ‘no one is left behind.’
Every year, our society holds biannual academic conferences in the spring (April) and fall (October). Conference presentations have been very diverse in recent years, with various research topics, subjects, locations, methodologies, etc. However, it is also true that our knowledge of people in Africa and their educational challenges is still limited. We hope we can continue to deepen our understanding of African countries by actively conducting field research and sharing the findings at conferences and in journals.
The Japan Society for African Educational Research is relatively small and does not have a large budget, so society members manage the website, journal publications, etc., without external support. I want to say how much I appreciate everyone who has helped—your support means a lot! I am encouraged by your contribution as we continue to work toward increasing our membership and promoting academic research that highlights current African education issues.
I want to invite academia and practitioners/policymakers interested in the African education landscape to join our society and have the opportunity to work on thought-provoking and cutting-edge research. Come and hang out with us!
Keiichi Ogawa
The 3rd President of the Japan Society for African Educational Research