Japan/Okayama: a city united for education for sustainable development
Okayama City, with a population of 720,000, is located in Okayama Prefecture, about 700 kilometers west of Tokyo.
Spared from natural disasters such as typhoons and earthquakes and enjoying many hours of sunshine, Okayama City is known to be one of the most pleasant places to live in Japan. However, the city does not only offer a pleasant lifestyle: as a UNESCO Learning City, it is also a world leader in promoting Education for Sustainable Development (ESD).
ESD aims to equip learners of all ages with the knowledge, skills, values, and empowerment they need to address interconnected global challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, unsustainable resource use, and inequality.
In 2016, the Okayama ESD Project received the UNESCO-Japan Prize for Education for Sustainable Development, awarded every two years to recompensate outstanding projects that promote the role of education in linking the social, economic, cultural, and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. Funded by the Government of Japan, it consists of three prizes of $50,000 each, awarded to each of the winners to continue promoting ESD.
Established by the United Nations University and recognized as a Regional Center of Expertise on ESD, the Okayama City Commission for the Promotion of ESD has been promoting ESD since 2005. The city incorporated ESD promotion into the Kominkan (community learning center) policy in 2007, and thus began to include ESD in the activities of Kominkan.
The Okayama ESD Project brings together organizations working for the promotion of ESD and promotes a comprehensive approach to ESD throughout the city. It mobilizes the local community through formal and informal education. The project offers various activities and trainings in community learning centers called Kominkan, schools, parks, shopping malls and places close to nature. For example, in Okayama City, ESD begins at the elementary school level: Students can visit local farms, meet human "treasures" (elderly people with specialized knowledge of the area), and be trained in environmental and recycling skills.
Kominkan serve as learning centers for residents and visitors to Okayama City. They offer a wide range of training courses, even encouraging the community to initiate learning programs tailored to the local context. Through a city-wide approach, residents play a key role in planning and implementing ESD-related projects, incorporating issues important to them into activities. This joint effort has enabled Kominkan to organize conferences and workshops based on ESD and civic collaboration to address regional issues, deepen learning and implement locally relevant projects.
The Okayama City Commission for the Promotion of ESD currently has more than 250 members, including NGOs, businesses, schools, associations, social education organizations, non-profit organizations and individual citizens. The project integrates ESD into seven areas of particular importance to the city: safe and secure community development; environmental awareness and activities; health; gender equality; education; ands education and youth development; and opportunities for seniors to build friendships and learn.
ESD coordinator trainings offer freely available workshops and activities that develop the skills of educators and youth. University students can also complete an "ESD internship" with local NGOs. These internships encourage youth to become more involved and take action for sustainable communities. The goal is also to link ideas with concrete action and commitment to ESD. Bringing ideas to life has made Okayama a model for cities around the world.
The project is based on a collaborative and local approach. More than 260 citizen groups of all ages, from children to the elderly, took part in the activities, working day by day to ensure environmental preservation, global understanding and disaster prevention. Ultimately, the strength of this initiative lies in the promotion of civic collaboration to solve regional problems, deepen learning, and conduct activities that reflect local life. Embracing this spirit of action, Okayama's citywide approach paves the way for a more sustainable future for its citizens and communities.
- Interested in working with the Okayama City Commission for ESD Promotion? Write to esdprize@unesco.org.
- Learn more about UNESCO's work on Education for Sustainable Development
Source: www.unesco.org
