Strengthening education for sustainable development
Okayama City faces the Seto Inland Sea and, as such, is blessed with rich natural beauty. It is one of the 20 government-designated cities in Japan with a rich history, a vibrant culture and a thriving economy.
Vision and Motivation
Promoting lifelong learning and education for sustainable development plays a pivotal role in the municipality to enrich citizens’ quality of life and realize a sustainable city based on community initiative. The learning city concept will be a useful guideline for Okayama to create a future-oriented city based on human development.
Challenges and Goals
The challenges that Okayama faces are:
- Aging population
- Low birth rate
- Social cohesion
- Environmental degradation
Plan and Implementation
The city has formulated the ESD Project Master Plan 2015-2019 jointly with other organizations of the Okayama ESD Promotion Commission, with the primary focus on eight priority action areas, which include youth capacity building, enterprise involvement, and community-based ESD promotion. The city also developed the Okayama City Basic Plan for Promotion of Education 2013-2020.
Thirty-seven Kominkan currently operate in each middle-school district. They provide citizens of all ages with opportunities to tackle issues such as environmental protection, disaster risk reduction, multicultural coexistence and support for older people.
Okayama also plans to:
- Strengthen the link in formal education from early learning to high school education using an integrated education system
- Expand cooperation among schools, homes, parents and communities through community schools
Okayama aims to build a safe, vibrant and sustainable society through collaboration with various stakeholders, and has been continuously promoting a whole-city approach to ESD.
Mr Masao Omori
UIL is not responsible for the content of this city profile.
