AXA UNESCO Association Disaster Mitigation Education Program [Japan]
National Federation of UNESCO Associations’ 2-day AXA UNESCO Association Disaster Mitigation Program was organized online on 21st and 22nd September. This program is dedicated to school teachers from all over Japan and is based on the extensive expertise of Kesennuma city’s disaster mitigation/recovery education, incorporating the theme of Education for Sustainable Development that has been implemented before and after the East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami (EJET).
This year’s program, consisting of the eighth batch of 27 selected education practitioners, was facilitated by the Program Coordinator Dr. Yukihiko Oikawa, Principal Researcher at Tokyo University and a board member of SEEDS Asia, and Dr. Yasutaka Ueda, Associate Professor at Niigata University and Advisor of SEEDS Asia.
The program encompassed various practical components such as disaster recovery of education after the EJET, foundation and theory of disaster reduction/mitigation education, curriculum management, good practices provided by various actors including the Ruins of the Great East Japan Earthquake Kesennuma City Memorial Museum, Kesennuma City Board of Education, Hashikami Elementary and Junior High Schools, Tagajo Senior High School, and the N-help (collaboration with/via network, nonprofit/nongovernmental organizations) concept. A workshop utilizing online sticky notes to discuss their “learning from the program and what to incorporate in my school” was also facilitated.
It is hoped that the participating teachers will take back the lessons that they learnt to their respective schools to promote disaster mitigation education. The progress of their efforts will also be reported in a future session in September.
This program was in fact where SEEDS Asia and Toba Elementary School, (whose collaborative efforts in disaster education have continued for the past several years), first interacted with each other. We hope that many more schools in Japan and Asia will implement such school-based disaster risk reduction and Education for Sustainable Development programs!
