This year marks the middle year of the United Nations’ “Decade of Education for Sustainable Development” (DESD). Miyagi University of Education is taking this occasion to reflect on its results to date and consider its moves for the remaining five years of the DESD. To that end, we are publishing a new newsletter, Linkage.
The ability to create linkage is vital for the University’s mission of educating the educators of the future. Linkage is vital to the development of capable teachers, strongly endowed with the virtues of big-picture perspective, critical thought, holistic thought, partnership and collaboration.
   Membership in ProsPER.Net, ASPnet, provides the University with a powerful tool for fulfilling its mission as a teacher training institution. TAMURA Tetsuo (Mr.), chair of the Japanese National Commission for UNESCO, agreed to devote his keynote address, given at the ESD International Symposium conducted in February 2009, to the subject of linkage. We hope Mr. Tamura’s address will serve to bolster the spread and activity of ASPnet.

 

   Miyagi University of Education has been active in ESD on a wide range of fronts since 2001, signing a Memorandum of Partnership and Cooperation with several boards of education (Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, Kesennuma City, Iwanuma City, Kurihara City) and local government bodies (Tome City, Yagiyama Zoo (Sendai), Sendai Astronomical Observatory) for this purpose. We continue to maintain a variety of such partnerships and are doing our part toward a sustainable society.
   At Miyagi University of Education, we grapple with modern issues in education faced by regional communities and schools through four research centers: the Environmental Education Center, the Center for Clinic in Education, the Special Needs Education Research Center and the Research Center for Education in International Understanding. Also, to instil in our students the ability solve the problems confronting modern society, we have established a course in Modern Issues in ESD Curriculums.
   Our commitment to international networks is reflected in our role as executive office for Greater Sendai Area ESD Project (the Initial Seven, the first seven RCEs established worldwide by the United Nations University to promote ESD). We are also proud members of ProSPER.Net (an academic network devoted to ESD) established by the United Nations University-Institute of Advanced Studies with the aim of collaborating and cooperating with other organs of advanced study in Asia.
Moreover, to provide support to UNESCO ASPnet, the University has organised ASPUnivNet, a grouping of eight outstanding institutions nationwide (Hokkaido University of Education Kushiro Campus (ESD Promotion Center); Iwate University; Graduate School for Environmental Studies, Tohoku University; Department of Education, Tama University; Kanazawa University; Nara University of Education; Okayama University; and this University). We aim to support as many UNESCO Associated Schools and candidate schools as possible, and to widen the circle of participating universities.

   Nara is filled with wonderful things. We created this book in the heartfelt desire that as many people as possible can learn about all the incredible treasures Nara has to offer.
   In 1998, eight sites in Nara (Todai-ji, Kofuku-ji, Kasuga-Taisha, Kasugayama Primeval Forest, Gango-ji, Yakushi-ji, Toshodai-ji and the Nara Palace Site) were registered as World Heritage sites under the title “Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara.” The history and culture of Nara is collectively recognised as told through these ancient treasures, and we have to preserve them for future generations as the shared heritage of mankind.
   Of course, these eight Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara are only some of the wonders to experience in Nara. There are other cultural treasures, natural scenery and traditional culture that deserve careful preservation, and there must be similar treasures where you live. Such things are due to the hard work and wishes of the people who have supported them to this day. Open your eyes to your own heritage, and to love your home cities and regions as the people of Nara love theirs

 

   This book consists of three parts.

   As of May 2009, Kesennuma City boasts 16 UNESCO Associated Schools, with another 10 schools applying for the same status. This means that a majority of schools in Kesennuma are UNESCO Associated Schools. Moreover, in February 2009, the city hosted the UNESCO Associated Schools International Forum on ESD in Kesennuma 2009. Kesennuma invited school teachers and specialists from throughout Japan, China and South Korea, to forge stronger ties with the rest of Asia through the practice of ESD.
   Kesennuma could not have become such active for ESD were it not for the hard work and dedication of its teachers, as well as strong partnerships with the city’s Board of Education, professional organisations and the region. The importance of these factors is abundantly clear from the pages of Mobius.
   Mobius gathers in a single narrative the dramatic educational changes in Kesennuma from 2002 to 2009. The Japanese and English versions of the book can be downloaded in PDF format here.   Mobius for Sustainability (English)

   "A Guide to International Cooperation for High School Students" records the activities of a municipal school in Akita, Akita Commercial High School, in the fields of education for International Understanding and International Cooperation. As part of the school’s “business practicum,” its “International Cooperation Section” which consists of the students and teachers joined hands with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Tohoku Branch to undertake projects in these fields. This book also includes proposals from people who worked on the front lines of international cooperation and journalism, the students and teachers, exploring the question, “What can I do as an individual to solve such global problems as poverty, starvation and climate change?” 

 

   Publishing this book was unexpectedly in adherence with the spirit of the resolution to declare a “United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development” proposed by the Japanese government and adopted by the United Nations General Assembly. With UNESCO as the lead organisation in this programme, the resolution called for a series of educational and awareness-raising activities to be carried out from 2005 to 2014, both in formal education and non-formal education, to promote sustainable development. These activities became known as education for sustainable development, or ESD. According to a National Action Plan developed by a liaison conference of related government departments and agencies, the objective of ESD is “to think from a global perspective, grapple with a wide range of problems as one’s own issues, doing what one can starting with one’s nearby environs, to educate people in the importance of creating a sustainable society and change oneself in both thought and action. "A Guide to International Cooperation for High School Students" shares these objectives.

   "kids X change" explains the environment clearly and simply to Japan’s elementary-school children. It is distributed to any school in Japan that asks for it.
   The book gives children the means to think about the environment and understand it in a comprehensive way, with real-life numbers and examples for environmental problems around the world. For children in the third and fourth grades, kids X change is an excellent preparatory, developmental text; for students in the fifth and sixth grades, it can be used for review purposes until about the middle of the school year.  

 

   Nippon Express is the first private company in Japan to co-sponsor "youth X change", as part of its own efforts to support environmental education. "Youth X change" is an environmental education programme promoted by UNESCO and UNEP, created to raise awareness in teenagers of the activities and consumption patterns needed to create a sustainable society. By 2006, the book had been translated and put to use in education in 15 countries.

   The book aims to provide a fresh perspective on grassroots environmental activities in the Asia-Pacific region from an ESD perspective, and to showcase those efforts to a wider audience. It includes transcripts of the keynote address, case study reports and on-site inspection results from the “ACCU-UNESCO Regional Seminar for the Promotion of Education for Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific” in February 2006.
   Keynote addresses on sustainability and leader development and five practical case studies on such topics as gender issues, poverty reduction, disaster response/prevention, community development, cultural diversity and environmental education are presented and reviewed by specialist critics. These are followed by a number of thought-provoking suggestions.