Cultivating future leaders of education for sustainable development and disaster risk reduction in Asia-Pacific
At a recent Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)-Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Youth Leader Workshop a student from the Miyagi Prefecture in Japan shared her personal experiences of disaster.
“My grandmother evacuated to the higher part of the town just after the earthquake. But she came back home to get something important to her. Then, she never came back again,” the student recalled.
“Unfortunately, she was washed away by [the] tsunami.”
In Asia-Pacific, the region most prone to disasters in the world, an increasing number of young people have experienced the loss of belongings, homes and their love ones-- parents, family members, friends, teachers and other community members. While shouldering such burdens, today’s youth are also the future of our world, and their action, determination and will is crucial for the creation of a sustainable future for coming generations.
The Save our Future - ESD-DRR International Workshop for Future Leaders in Asia involved both students and teachers from participating schools with the aim of strengthening the UNESCO’s Associated Schools Project Network (ASPnet) in Asia-Pacific and for schools to work together for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and a sustainable future beyond the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014).
2013 GOI Peace Foundation - UNESCO International Essay Contest For Young People
Organized by The Goi Peace Foundation and UNESCO
Endorsed by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan; Japanese National Commission for UNESCO; Japan Private High School Federation; Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education; JapanBroadcasting Corporation; Nikkei Inc.
Supported by Felissimo Corporation
THEME: "THE POWER OF CULTURE TO CREATE A BETTER FUTURE". Every part of the world has its own culture. Culture includes the arts, traditions and customs of a country or region, as well as the wisdom, values, lifestyles and trends of the people living there. In order to build a peaceful world, we need to acknowledge and respect each other's cultures. What aspects of the culture in your country or region do you take pride in? How can youth make the most of them to create a better future?
Nineteen ASPnet Indonesia Schools Participated in Japan Solidarity Project
From Indonesia, nineteen ASPnet schools participated in this project to send solidarity messages to Japan in the form of written messages, e-messages, video letters, paintings, and school project documents to express the various actions they took in response to the East Japan Earthquake, such as giving donations, planting trees, organizing events to understand Japan, and raising awareness for DRR.
UNESCO ASPnet - GigaPan Project in Indonesia
The GigaPan Dialogues seek to promote empathy and understanding between cultures and create a greater sense of community through an exchange of explorable, high-resolution digital imagery. Using a robotic camera provided by the programme, children in participating UNESCO Associated schools take explorable, high-resolution panoramic images of the world around them, and share them with their contemporaries around the globe.
A group at one site of the globe posted an image, a group at the partner site explored it and left virtual "notes" with questions, and the first group responded. The sharing of their community’s sites, landmarks, events, and places of importance to them encourages self-reflection and a deeper understanding of community and self-identity. Students are challenged to think deeply about inclusion and diversity in their communities. They embark on a 21st-century community-networking journey to explore, document, and discuss the images and community identity.