Have you heard of "ESD"? "Learning for a Better Earth Today"

 

ESD stands for Education for Sustainable Development.

It refers to learning and activities aimed at creating a sustainable society by enabling individuals to perceive global challenges in modern society—such as the environment, poverty, human rights, peace, and development—as their own problems, and to acquire the ability to take action starting from their immediate surroundings (think globally, act locally).

Japan advocated its importance at the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa. That same year, the 57th UN General Assembly resolution designated 2005-2014 as the "UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development," with UNESCO appointed as the lead agency.

This year, as the final meeting of the Decade, the UNESCO World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) (co-hosted by UNESCO and the Government of Japan) will be held in November in Nagoya City and Okayama City.

On June 21, the event "ESD Festa 2014 in Tokyo" (hosted by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) was held at the Meiji Yasuda Life Building in Chiyoda Ward to promote awareness of the World Conference and ESD.

 

Opening the event, Michiko Ueno, Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, stated, "It is vital to consider global issues starting from things close to home and take action. I want as many people as possible to understand this." Speakers included Sakana-kun, Visiting Associate Professor at Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology and newly appointed ESD Official Supporter; singer-songwriter Takako Shirai; sportscaster Shuzo Matsuoka; and astronaut Naoko Yamazaki.

The supporters conducted mini-lectures based on their respective fields of expertise. Sakana-kun explained the natural cycle from the perspective of the relationship between "sea and land," Yamazaki discussed water and air recycling in spacecraft, and Matsuoka emphasized the importance of ESD while sharing experiences from tennis tournaments in developing countries.

Shirai performed her original ESD song "We Are a Single Grain of Life in a Vast World," singing and dancing together with kid dancers and supporters.

 

Additionally, an award ceremony was held for the ESD nickname contest. From approximately 4,000 entries nationwide, the grand prize was awarded to Haruna Horinouchi, a sixth-grade elementary school student from Matsuyama City, for her entry "Learning for a Better Earth Starting Today."

Parliamentary Vice-Minister Ueno expressed his determination, stating, "Together with these wonderful supporters, I want to work hard toward the World Conference this fall."