Lecture at Nara University of Education [Headquarters]
On 22nd June, SEEDS Asia’s Executive Director Mitsuko Ostuyama was invited to give a lecture as part of its “ESD and DRR” unit.
This unit is coordinated by Dr Yukihiko Oikawa, SEEDS Asia’s board member and associate professor at Nara University of Education. 60 passionate students who are highly motivated to learn Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) are enrolled in this course. The majority of these students are studying to be teachers, therefore, the lecture focused on school-based DRR, collaborations between the community and schools, and the roles of NGOs, with a specific example of Myanmar.
During the Q&A session, there was a question raised: “What are the hardships of implementing projects in different countries and regions?” to which Otsuyama answered “All projects take into consideration the unique cultures and social systems in respective town, city, etc. This means we apply different methods and tools. The more we engage with different people, the stronger it feels that there is no such thing as one-size-fits-all,” with examples. This was explained using a metaphor: “If you go to a country outside Japan and want to use your own appliance, you need a power adapter. In order to achieve something, say to use an appliance, you need to develop a well-functioning adapter. That process of developing something with trials and errors, is overwhelmingly challenging, and yet excitingly interesting.
We thank Dr Oikawa for the invite to this great opportunity, and students who have generously commented and raised questions during the session.
