Six Students as Delegates of USD Participate in Global Leadership Program 2025: Ready to Become Visionary Leaders in Addressing Educational and Social Issues
Global Leadership Program (GLP) is an annual program organized by the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities in Asia Pacific (AJCU-AP) that aims to discuss and deliberate on global issues. This program provided opportunities for student delegates to discuss global issues from their respective countries and exchange insights to solve these issues within a global context.
GLP 2025 was held at Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan, from August 3 to 9, 2025, carrying the theme “Education and Cross-border Cooperation for Sustainable Development.” This main theme was divided into three sub-themes, namely Education for Sustainable Development in Basic Education, Inclusive Education for Students with Different Background, Cross-Border Cooperation in Higher Education. This year’s theme was chosen as an important step toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which aimed to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and provide lifelong learning opportunities for all.
10 universities with a total of 40 participants and 10 mentors from each university participated in this year’s GLP. The universities participating in GLP 2025 were Sophia University as the host, Sanata Dharma University, Ateneo de Manila University, Ateneo de Davao University, Ateneo de Zamboanga University, Fu Jen Catholic University, Ricci Hall (The University of Hong Kong), Instituto São João de Brito, Xavier Learning Community, and Sogang University.
In this one-week program, the delegates participated in lecture sessions and conferences, and were also invited to visit places that promoted the SDGs, namely JICA (Japan International Corporate Agency). After that, we were also allowed to join a campus tour guided directly by student delegates from Sophia University. In this tour, they showed Sophia University’s commitment to the principles of the SDGs. For example, the campus used cushions for sofas that were made from recycled materials and had multifunctional outdoor student gathering spaces that could even be used as emergency cooking facilities. Not only that, each sub-theme was equipped with various educational activities, such as site visits to locations that opened up many learning opportunities for the delegates. These included UNU (United Nations University), Ina Gakuen Junior High School, and one inclusive elementary school in the city of Hadano, namely Honcho Elementary School.
The delegates were also introduced to traditional Japanese culture, namely the tea ceremony, which not only introduced the Japanese way of serving tea to guests, but also included tea and snack exchanges. This was intended to promote inclusivity and bonding among delegates from different universities.
In GLP 2025, USD sent six delegates to gain deeper insights into the sub-theme and to develop their leadership in supporting sustainability. The delegates were Eveline (Management), Maria Diva Rossary (Pharmacy), and four Psychology students: Alexander Aldo, Hillary Bestari Setyawijaya, Muhamad Raditya Ardianto, and Paramita Wiriyani. They were accompanied by a faculty member as chaperone, Aji Cahyo Baskoro, S.S., M.A., from the History Department.
In this program, delegates from each institution delivered presentations prepared in advance from their respective countries, in line with the theme of GLP 2025. In addition, they represented their home countries through a variety of activities such as performances and cultural showcases, including traditional dances, short dramas, games, songs, food sharing, and local snacks, et ceteras.
There are also impressions and messages from some of our friends from other universities who expressed their gratitude and inspiration after participating in the 2025 Global Leadership Program, such as one of the delegates from Fu Jen University, named Poleon, who shared his experiences and feelings.
“I obtained lots of insights about ESD. For example, when I visited Ina Gakuen Junior High School, they allow students and teachers to make their own curriculum together. That is, students can choose to learn what they’re most interested in. It’s really different from the ordinary curriculum, which only teaches are allowed to create what will be taught in class. And there was one event that made me so impressed. They played a game called global trade game, which students were distributed to different resources. They need to use their own resources to gain the most turnover through trade with other groups. This event made them realize even though you’re a small country and you don’t have a large amount of resources. You still can benefit from it. That evoked me to want to implement the same game for my students. All in all, I feel really grateful that 2025 GLP can be held. It’s what an immersive learning should be.”
Subsequently, a delegate from Ateneo de Zamboanga University, Mr. Yong, conveyed the insights he had acquired through the program.
“The 15th Global Leadership Program gave me more than I ever expected—it opened my eyes to new perspectives, built friendships, and reminded me of the responsibility that comes with leadership. Listening to the stories of my co-delegates from across the world made me realize how deeply connected we all are, and how the Sustainable Development Goals are not just abstract ideas but lived realities that shape people’s lives every day. I came home humbled by the scale of the challenges we face, yet hopeful, because I witnessed how collective action and simple acts of empathy can spark real change. What I carry with me now is not only the knowledge we shared, but the sense of connection and responsibility that comes from knowing we’re all working toward the same dream. More than anything, this experience left me inspired to keep going—bringing forward what I’ve learned into the work I do and the choices I make.”
Continuing from the reflections shared earlier, here is the impression and experience expressed by Nahee, one of the delegates representing Sogang University, South Korea.
“GLP was honestly one of the most inspiring programs I’ve ever joined. Through the lectures, fieldwork, and team projects, I was able to deepen my understanding of sustainable education—not just in theory, but in real, practical contexts across different countries.
But more than that, what I truly gained was the connection with amazing people from all around the world. Living and learning together with such diverse and passionate students opened my eyes to so many new perspectives, and I felt a strong sense of global solidarity.
Although there were some challenges—such as the heat or packed schedules—I genuinely enjoyed every moment. It was a meaningful, eye-opening, and heartwarming experience that I’ll never forget. I’m really grateful to have been part of it, and especially thankful for the friendships we made along the way.”
From these experiences, the delegates of Sanata Dharma University gained a deeper understanding of the importance of supporting sustainable development efforts and, at the same time, learn to become global leaders who can nurture and empower others.
So, if you want to get those experiences, join GLP 2026! See you!
(RNP/AZD-BKHI)