Symposium on ESD/SDGs in Nara [Japan]
On 9th July, an open symposium celebrating the General Assembly of the ESD Consortium’s Kinki Region for Fiscal Year 2022 was organized on the theme “Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and Disaster Risk Reduction” at the Nara University of Education’s ESD/SDGs Center. This event was organized as a venue to think of what we should do in terms of disaster risk reduction in the face of disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis and other increasingly severer hydro-meteorological events from the viewpoint of education.
Mr. Shizuo Nakazawa, Director of the ESD/SDGs Center moderated the symposium, and Dr. Yukihiko Oikawa of the Center (also a board member of SEEDS Asia), Mr. Eisaku Nakatani, a teacher at Ayano-dai Elementary School in Hashimoto city, and Ms. Mitsuko Otsuyama, Executive Director of SEEDS Asia also participated in the event.
Ms. Otsuyama shared examples of ESD-based disaster risk reduction education, collaboration of schools with local communities, incorporating history including local disasters into children’s learning, and the significant contribution of children to community organizing after disasters and for sustainable development.
As it is getting more and more difficult to secure human resources due to aged societies and reduced budgets due to austerity measures, utilization of networks with civil society entities such as not-for-profits or external support is crucial in sustaining small rural communities. In the long term, facilitating children’s participation in community development will lead to building the attractiveness of a community where the children will want to live when they grow up.
Disasters not only impact lives but also threaten the sustainability of our hometowns. Additionally, we cannot predict the future from what has happened in the past. Therefore, the approach to “think globally and act locally,” should be the fundamentals in education and practice. Global challenges – such as climate change and climate crisis – should also be considered as individuals’ concerns, and as something closely connected to our day-to-day choices. People are required to make decisions that are more than just “for myself” or “for now” and education’s impact both inside and outside schools on such decision-making is immeasurable.
Staying conscious of global challenges and taking the initiative to solve local challenges with local resources is the key message that SEEDS Asia would like to always keep in mind, especially in rebuilding communities after disasters, while working together with community residents and children.
We would like to sincerely thank the ESD Consortium Kinki Region and the ESD/SDGs Center at Nara University of Education for the wonderful opportunity to share our experiences.