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in July 2005, the RCE network has continued to expand, and 77 regions
around the world were registered as RCEs as of September 2010.
Japan’s message to the world
Achievements of the first half of the decade
During the first five years of the DESD, the Government of Japan
laid the groundwork for partnership between the public and private
sectors. In addition to creating an organization of government
ministries and agencies to promote ESD goals, it drafted a domestic
action plan, organized round-table discussions to serve as a venue
for dialogue among the organizations concerned, and implemented
various measures.
A major achievement of this period was the affirmation of ESD’s
status as an important government policy in such plans as the Basic
Promotional Plan for Education and the Twenty-first Century
Environment Nation Strategy. Moreover, the creation of a sustain-
able society was included as a topic to be addressed in all subjects
in MEXT’s revised courses of study, and lessons reflecting the prin-
ciples of ESD became part of compulsory education.
A practical model for implementing ESD concepts at the regional
level and in institutions of higher education has been developed, and
the Associated School Project Network, RCEs and other networks
for implementing ESD programmes are growing. Regional networks
to promote ESD established as a result of private-sector initiatives
have also been spreading.
Challenges ahead
Though progress has been achieved in disseminating ESD, contin-
ued efforts must be made to reach as many people as possible. In
undertaking this task, a straightforward explanation of what ESD
entails should be provided, while taking into account its connection
with ongoing educational activities being undertaken locally.
Closer partnerships among government ministries and agencies
and other groups are vital for promoting ESD, and efforts must be
made to strengthen the system for cooperation and to implement
policies toward this end. Other remaining tasks include raising the
status of ESD in government policies and taking a more comprehen-
sive approach that incorporates ESD principles in teaching individual
topics on the environment and international understanding.
Fostering closer alliances
The government will promote ESD in primary and secondary
schools and introduce it into teacher training courses and training
programmes for teachers when they renew their teaching licences. It
will also take steps to promote joint community-school ESD initia-
tives, including school and community support headquarters and
stakeholder conferences.
To promote ESD in higher education, collaboration among
universities and various sectors will be fostered through the expan-
sion of the environmental graduate school network, the formation
of a consortium among industry, government, academia and civil
society, and other measures.
At the community level, the government will support partner-
ships among and initiatives by individuals and organizations in the
community, such as forums to promote ESD. It will also encourage
development and promotion of ESD programmes at public halls,
civic centres, children’s centres, libraries, museums and other social
education facilities. Steps will be taken to train and deploy coordina-
tors to promote ESD in the community.
At the global level, there will be efforts to further expand
UNESCO’s Associated School Project Network, RCEs and
the Promotion of Sustainability in Postgraduate Education
and Research Network
(ProSPER.Net) initiative.
Towards the global promotion of ESD
It is important to create a scheme to facilitate the partic-
ipation of and partnership among various individuals
and organizations at the national and local levels and to
train ESD coordinators in various regions so that ESD
can be promoted by coalitions of diverse individuals
and organizations.
The promotion of ESD principles that are rooted in
the community and that can bring about change will be
dependent on the creation of a system that encourages
the use of local resources, including natural, cultural,
historical and industrial resources. It will also require
the development of participatory, experiential and
problem-solving models, and ways to bring together
people from various walks of life.
One important means of disseminating ESD is by
pooling the knowledge of the countries and organiza-
tions concerned, which can be achieved by listing and
categorizing outstanding ESD programmes, compiling a
summary of good practices and making this information
easily accessible.
In view of the above, and of discussions that have
unfolded at UNESCO, the summary of the proceedings
of the International Forum on ESD Dialogue, held in
Tokyo in 2008, and the Bonn Declaration, adopted at
the UNESCO World Conference on ESD held in Bonn,
Germany in 2009, included the following three recom-
mendations, agreed by participating countries:
• To develop model projects that can be undertaken
jointly by multiple stakeholders
• To establish a framework for cooperation among all
stakeholders, including private companies
• To increase the number and quality of UNESCO
Associated Schools.
Reaching these goals will require cooperation with
UNESCO and efforts by member countries to identify
model projects and undertake programmes to dissemi-
nate ESD. Japan is about to start a registration scheme
of ESD activities, named ‘+ESD Project’, as one method
for achieving this.
To produce concrete results, we must set out priority
goals and an action plan for achieving them, with peri-
odic reviews to confirm that the measures in the plan
are being implemented. It is also necessary to formulate
meaningful indicators for measuring progress.
Japan will be hosting the End-of-Decade Conference
of the DESD in 2014. In the second half of the Decade,
individual countries must step up their efforts to incor-
porate the principles, values and practices of sustainable
development into all facets of schooling and learning.
Japan will continue to collaborate and cooperate with
UNESCO and member countries to contribute to the
global promotion of ESD.