Prof. YOKOI Atsufumi FRSA serves as Vice President for Global Engagement and Director and Professor of the Global Engagement Center at Okayama University. He is dedicated to developing a global engagement strategy to enhance human and planetary well-being, reshape the university's international image, and strengthen its global reputation. Yokoi spearheads efforts to promote the SDGs through collaboration with UN agencies, international organizations, governments, and civil society. His work led to Okayama University receiving the SDGs Partnership Award at the first Japan SDGs Awards in 2017.
Appointed by UNESCO as Chairholder of the UNESCO Chair in Research and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), Yokoi plays a pivotal role in advancing ESD across Japan and globally. This position marks the first UNESCO Chair in ESD awarded to an Asian institution. Notable achievements include the 2016 UNESCO-Japan Prize on ESD for the Okayama ESD Project and the 2017 UNESCO Learning City Award for Okayama City.
Yokoi co-directs the UNCTAD and Okayama University's Young Female Scientist Programme, initiated in 2020 to address gender disparities in science, technology, and innovation (STI). This pioneering program, the first of its kind globally, was recognized as a flagship initiative by the UN and presented at the UN's STI Forum in 2023.
Beyond his university roles, Yokoi is the Director of the Subcommittee on Sustainable Campus at the United Nations University SDG-Universities Platform, a Leadership Council member of UN SDSN Japan, and an Earth Charter International Council member at UPEACE in Costa Rica. He was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts (FRSA) in 2022.
Yokoi's distinguished contributions have earned him multiple accolades, including the Okayama University SDGs President Award in 2023 and the French "Officier de l'Ordre de l'Encouragement Public." In 2024, Yokoi was named one of the 20 most active UNESCO Chairholders worldwide, contributing to the development of unprecedented future UNESCO programs, focused on knowledge sharing, open science, international cooperation, and education for peace.
