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UNESCO Associated Schools

UNESCO Associated Schools actively pursue peace and international cooperation in order to realize the UNESCO principles as set forth in the Constitution of UNESCO. Presently, there are over 11,000 UNESCO- associated schools in over 180 countries and regions around the world. As of November 2019, there are 1,120 member schools in Japan, which is a higher number than for any other country in the world. The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) and the Japanese National Commission for UNESCO regard UNESCO Associated Schools as base for promoting Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). As ESD is a key enabler for all seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), UNESCO Associated Schools in Japan are engaged in the provision of ocean education and various other initiatives through not only SDG 4 (education) but also other SDGs, including SDG 6 (water), SDG 13 (climate change), SDG 14 (marine resources), and SDG 15 (terrestrial resources). Since 2009, National Conferences for UNESCO Associated Schools Network in Japan have been held annually to promote ESD in the context of school education and share good practices, such as those concerning interactions between schools and students and teachers both in Japan and overseas.

Kids take in a lesson at Miike Port, a part of
the World Cultural Heritage Site known as
the Sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution:
Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding and Coal Mining.

Observation of a tidal flat

Ocean Education Pioneer School Program

There is a desire to enable children to become more familiar with and gain a deeper understanding of the ocean and acquire the tools to protect the ocean on their own. The Ocean Education Pioneer School Program is a program designed to support the activities of schools and teachers seeking to encourage children to learn about the ocean in a new approach with substantial potential for future learning and one that operators would like to see spread to schools throughout Japan. This program was launched in fiscal year 2016 with three parties acting in collaboration with one another: The Nippon Foundation, Center for Ocean Literacy and Education of the University of Tokyo, and the Ocean Policy Research Institute of The Sasakawa Peace Foundation. In fiscal year 2019, aid was provided to 195 schools for initiatives on ocean education.

Various activities of ocean education by participating schools of the Ocean Education Pioneer School Program
Website of the Ocean Education Pioneer School Program
(https://www.spf.org/pioneerschool/)