THE FIRST CIRCULARUNESCO-APEID 2013 INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ONAGRICULTURAL EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT(Ag-ESD SYMPOSIUM 2013)

November 25 (Mon.) – November 29 (Fri),2013

AGRICULTURAL AND FORESTRY RESEARCH CENTER
UNIVERSITY OF TSUKUBAJAPAN1

THE FIRST CIRCULAR
1. Background and Outlook:
The Agricultural and Forestry Research Center of the University of Tsukuba has been nominated by
UNESCO as an Associated Center of the Asia-Pacific Program of Educational Innovation for Development(APEID) in the field of vocational and technical education, and has organized the Tsukuba Asian Seminar on
Agricultural Education (TASAE) and more recently the International Symposium on Agricultural Education for
Sustainable Development (Ag-ESD Symposium) annually since 1979.
TASAE has gained an excellent reputation as an international agricultural program under APEID from thetimely themes of each term. The themes of TASAE for each term were as follows:
・ 1979-1981 【 The second term of APEID 】
Agricultural Education at the Secondary Level in Asia
・ 1982-1986 【 The third term of APEID 】
Strategies for Innovation of Agricultural Education in Asian Countries
・ 1987-1991 【 The forth term of APEID 】
Education and Research for Higher Agricultural Productivity Conserving Nature Agro-ecosystem in Asianand Pacific Countries
・ 1992-1996 【 The fifth term of APEID 】
Education and Research for Sustainable Development of Agriculture and Conserving Nature andAgro-ecosystem in Asian and Pacific Countries
・ 1997-2001 【 The sixth term of APEID 】
Innovative strategies for linking agricultural and environmental education in Asia-Pacific countries for the
21st century
・ 2002-2007 【 The seventh term of APEID 】
The utilization and conservation of the water resources for human survival, bioproduction and theenvironment considering sustainable development, and the role of agro-environmental education
・ 2008-2013 【 The eighth term of APEID 】
Promotion of Ag-ESD for the Development of a Sustainable Future
The 2008 International Symposium on Agricultural Education for Sustainable Development (Ag-ESDSymposium 2008) succeeded TASAE and the first annual symposium in the eighth term of APEID was held at
the University of Tsukuba in November 2008. The aim of Ag-ESD is to promote reform and improvements inagricultural higher education, especially considering environmental problems from an international viewpoint.
The Ag-ESD Symposium 2009 entitled “Food Safety and Food Security in Agricultural ESD” was heldfrom November 9th to 12th at the university as the second annual symposium in the eighth term of APEID incollaboration with the Japan National Commission for UNESCO, JICA, Ibaraki University and the International
Cooperative Education Program for Creation of Harmonious Asian Countries. Eighteen participants were invitedfrom 7 countries: Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, India, Malawi, Nigeria and Japan. They presented the keynote
speech, lectures and reports of significant content and joined in fruitful discussions on the year’s theme.
The Ag-ESD Symposium 2010 was held from November 8th to 11th at the University of Tsukuba and focusedon “Secondary and Higher Education for Sustainable Development: Agriculture and the Environment ”. The 2010Symposium was also sponsored in collaboration with the Japan National Commission for UNESCO, JICA, Ibaraki
University and the International Cooperative Education Program for Creation of Harmonious Asian Countries.
Fifteen participants from 8 countries: Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Malawi, Ghana andJapan. This year’s symposium differed from previous years in that a special session was organized for participationof high school teachers from Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and Japan.
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The Ag-ESD Symposium 2011 was held from November 7th to 11th at the University of Tsukuba andfocused on issues in biological diversity and education in agricultural ESD. The 2011 Symposium was alsosponsored in collaboration with the Japan National Commission for UNESCO, JICA, Ibaraki University and theInternational Cooperative Education Program for Creation of Harmonious Asian Countries. Seventeen participantsfrom 9 countries: Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, USA, Afghanistan, Kenya, Ghana, India and Japan. This year’ssymposium returned to the style of the 2009 Symposium with a young researcher’s forum. In addition, more than
70 university students presented posters during the poster session, high school students from Indonesia and Japan
also participated in the poster session.
The Ag-ESD Symposium 2012 was held from October 29th to November 2nd at the University ofTsukuba and focused on issues in Technological Innovations to Reduce Environmental Impacts and education inagricultural ESD. The 2012 Symposium was also sponsored in collaboration with the Japan National Commission
for UNESCO, JICA, Ibaraki University and the International Cooperative Education Program for Creation ofHarmonious Asian Countries. Twenty-one participants from 9 countries: Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, USA,Afghanistan, Kenya, Ghana, Laos and Japan. In addition, more than 53 university students presented posters
during the poster session, high school students from Indonesia and Japan also participated in the poster session.
2. This Year's Theme:
The Role of Universities in Promoting Agricultural Education for Sustainable Development (Ag-ESD)
3. Objective:
In the sixth year of the APEID 8th program, we will focus on issues in the role of universities for promoting
agricultural education for sustainable development
4. Organization:
The Agricultural and Forestry Research Center of the University of Tsukuba organizes the symposium under
the auspices of the APEID program of UNESCO.
5. Co-sponsors:
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Ibaraki University and the International Cooperative
Education Program for Creation of Harmonious Asian Countries of the University of Tsukuba are additionalsponsors of this year’s symposium
6. Date:November 25 – 29, 2013
The schedule of the symposium will be as follows:
・November 24 (Sun.)
Arrival at Narita, Japan・November 25 (Mon.) – November 29 (Fri.)
Invited Lectures, Discussion with students, Poster Presentations, and Study visit
・November 30 (Sat.) Departure from Narita, Japan
7. Venue:
November 25 (Mon.) – November 29 (Fri.) University Hall, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
8. Invited Participants:
1) International experts:
International experts involved in agricultural education for sustainable development with technologicalinnovations to reduce environmental impacts in Asian-Pacific countries are the most suitable for fulfilling theobjectives of the symposium. The participants will be experts in an area relevant to the symposium themeand will review the actual situation in his/her institution and country.
32) Japanese experts and commentators:
Several Japanese experts and commentators from various scientific fields relevant to the theme will also beinvited.
9. Main Working Language:
English
10. Preparatory Work:
1) Report:
To meet the objectives of the symposium, each invited participant is requested to prepare a presentation forthe meeting and write a full paper to publish after the meeting. Please send a one page Summary (approximately500 words) of your presentation in the format of the attached form with a recent color picture to the organizing
committee of the Ag-ESD Symposium by August 15, 2013. This summary will be included in the program to be
distributed to persons attending the meeting. Participants will be allowed 30 or 20 (young researchers) minutes
during the meeting for their presentation followed by 10 minutes of discussion.
Participants are also requested to submit a Full Paper to the organizing committee by September 1, 2013.
After the seminar, the papers will be published in the Journal of Developments in Sustainable Agriculture an
online peer reviewed journal published by the Agricultural and Forestry Research Center, University of Tsukuba.
Please carefully follow the “Instructions for Authors” (pages 6-8 of this circular) and the checklist and examples(pages 9-14) of the journal for the organization and preparation of your papers. Any questions about the journal
format should be addressed to the editor of the journal (jdsa@nourin.tsukuba.ac.jp). The papers will be peer
reviewed and corrections may be needed before actual publication in the journal. The papers are expected to beavailable online in early 2014 at URL: http://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/browse/jdsa/.
2) Equipment available for the presentation:(1) Laptop computer (Windows 7) with Microsoft Office 2010.
(2) Liquid Crystal Display Projector (Computer projector).
11. Financial Arrangements for Participants:
Each invited participant will be provided with an economy class roundtrip ticket from the airport nearest theirhome to the Tokyo Narita International Airport, roundtrip travel expenses from Narita Airport to the University ofTsukuba, and costs of room and board for the duration of the symposium. Participants are strongly encouraged topurchase Travel Insurance to cover their stay in Japan. No responsibility for insurance or any other expenses
incurred on account of illness, injury, temporary or permanent disability, death and damage to a third party will beassumed by the organizer.
12. Pre-registration:
Each candidate must fill out the pre-registration form attached with this circular and return it to theOrganizing Committee of Ag-ESD Symposium 2013, the University of Tsukuba as soon as possible so a formal
letter of invitation can be sent. This letter and other documents will be necessary for participants to obtain a visa toenter Japan. Please be sure to fill out all information requested on the pre-registration form to facilitatepreparations for your participation.
In addition, please send a scanned copy of your passport to agesd@nourin.tsukuba.ac.jp so we can prepare
the necessary documents for you to obtain a visa and reserve your flights.
13. Travel to Japan:
Participants will receive an e-ticket from a travel agency designated by the organizing committee. Further4

instructions will be provided in a Second Circular.
14. Second Circular:
Participants will be given more details on the Ag-ESD Symposium 2013 and arrangements of theirtransportation, accommodations, study visits, etc. in a Second Circular. Don’t hesitate to ask questions at anytime.

15. Correspondence:
All correspondences should be addressed to:Organizing Committee of Ag-ESD Symposium 2013
Agricultural and Forestry Research Center
University of Tsukuba
Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8577 JAPANE-mail: agesd@nourin.tsukuba.ac.jp
URL: http://www.nourin.tsukuba.ac.jp/~agesd/
Fax: +81-29-853-6205, Tel: +81-29-853-2545, 2755

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