On Thursday 14 February 2019, Jean Monnet CoE of Kobe University organised the Workshop for Journalists.
　Two lectures for journalists of Kansai region and general public were given by Professor Masanobu Ishikawa (Graduate School of Economics, Kobe University) and Professor Kazuko Iwamoto (Graduate School of Intercultural Studies, Kobe University). In the first lecture, Professor Ishikawa spoke about the issue of ocean plastic waste. The lecture presented the various aspects of the problem, various potential solutions and many unknowns from the scientific perspective, pointing at the complexity of the problem and its solving. In the second lecture, Professor Iwamoto presented overview of the history of the Belgian royal family. Through introduction of the successive kings, the participants were able to learn about main events in the Belgian history and understand the roles and images of the royal family in Belgium. The workshop was attended by 13 participants. Each lecture was followed by Q&A session with questions by the participants on the presented topics and the related issues, the discussions and exchange of opinions between the journalists and the professors.