The Asia-Pacific Regional Meeting on Teacher Education for ESD:
Towards Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals through Education
Co-organized by Okayama University, UNESCO Bangkok, INTEI (UNESCO Chair at York University),
Okayama City, RCE Okayama and Asia-Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO (ACCU)(Okayama, 27 – 29 November 2018)
1. Background
Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), which UNESCO leads and coordinates globally since 2005, iscurrently promoted worldwide through the Global Action Programme (GAP) on ESD as well as through theSustainable Development Goal 4 on education under Target 4.7. ESD is also a vital means of implementation
for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and a key enabler of all the Sustainable DevelopmentGoals, as reaffirmed by the United Nations General Assembly in its resolution 72/222.
Okayama University holds the only UNITWIN/UNESCO chair programme on ESD in Asian countries and is akey member of the Okayama Regional Centre of Expertise on ESD (RCE Okayama) established by the United
Nations University. It has energetically promoted teacher education for ESD, and in November 2014 at theUNESCO World Conference on ESD, it cooperated with the International Network of Teacher Education
Institutions (INTEI) associated with the UNESCO Chair in Reorienting Education towards Sustainability at York
University Canada to organize the Eighth International Conference of the network. Moreover, together withRCE Okayama, Okayama University developed its teacher training programmes focusing on pre-service andin-service teachers in cooperation with the Associated Schools Project University Network (ASPUnivNet), anetwork of 20 universities in Japan that works to support UNESCO ASP schools. These tangible results led
the Okayama ESD Project to win the UNESCO/Japan Prize on ESD in September 2016. Moreover, Okayama
University received the special prize in the First Japan SDGs Awards in December 2017.
Building on the above achievements, Okayama University launched the core-to-core programme (20172019) “Formation of International Center of Excellence to Promote Teacher Education on ESD” with an aimto bring together teacher education institutions from different countries in Asia to jointly develop teacher
training programmes on ESD based on Lesson Study, a collaborative approach to learning and professional
development for teachers. In addition to Okayama University (Japan) and other universities (China, Indonesia,Lao PDR, Mongolia, Myanmar and Republic of Korea) are the core institutions of the programme. The
programme also aims to establish core institutions on teacher education for ESD, create academic networks
for ESD and foster future generations of ESD researchers. Through four meetings of the Asian Network toPromote Teacher Education on ESD held in Okayama, Kyoto, Ulan Bator and Toyama since June 2017, theprogrammme members have discussed the integration of teacher education and ESD and the developmentof frameworks and recommendations to reorient teacher education in Asia to address sustainability.
Also beginning in 2017, UNESCO Bangkok, together with UNESCO Almaty and the Southeast Asian Ministersof Education Organization Secretariat (SEAMES), embarked on the project Sustainability Begins with Teachers:
Integrating ESD in Teacher Education in Central Asia and Southeast Asia with the financial support of theGovernment of Japan. The project in Southeast Asia led to the creation of the Southeast Asia ESD (SEA-ESD)
Network, a network of teacher educators committed to ESD from 25 teacher education institutions anduniversities across Southeast Asia.
On the basis of these achievements and identified needs, and in order to further promote international
collaboration for advancing teacher education on ESD in Asia-Pacific region, Okayama University and UNESCO
Bangkok jointly propose to organize, in cooperation with INTEI (UNESCO Chair at York University), Okayama

City, RCE Okayama and Asia-Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO (ACCU), “the Asia-Pacific Regional Meeting ofTeacher Education on ESD: Towards Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals through Education” inOkayama on 27-29 November 2018. It is part of a research project titled “Development of Asia-PacificFrameworks for Teacher Education Programme on ESD: Towards Achieving Target 4.7 of the SDGs”,
supported by the Japanese National Commission for UNESCO.
2. Objectives
1) To develop an ESD teacher framework through the exchange of experiences in integrating ESD in teacher
education among the participating teacher education institutions.
2) To discuss possible blueprints of ESD teacher education BA and MA programmes that respond to the ESD
teacher framework developed above.
3) To plan actions to introduce or implement such ESD teacher education programmes in the participatingInstitutions.
4) To provide opportunities for teacher educators in Okayama and Japan to interact with teacher educatorsfrom other countries in the Asia-Pacific region, learn about the situations on the ground in those countries,
and develop deeper understandings of regional and global solidarity and partnership.
3. Expected outputs
1) A tentative Asia-Pacific ESD teacher framework.
2) Blueprints of ESD teacher programmes at BA and MA levels.
3) Action plans for the participating institutions to introduce or implement ESD teacher education
programmes.
4) Collaboration among the participating institutions to jointly promote the SDGs through ESD strengthened.
The ESD teacher education framework developed through the meeting will be presented at the TenthInternational Conference of the International Network of Teacher Education Institutions (INTEI) planned tobe held in Okayama, Japan in November 2019.
4. ParticipantsParticipants will come from the senior management level of teacher education institutions active orinterested in ESD, such as deans and vice-deans of faculties of education and directors of ESD centres or
institutes in countries in the Asia-pacific region, such as Australia, Cambodia, China, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan,Kazakhstan, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Tajikistan and Thailand.
Resource persons will be invited from Canada, Colombia, Japan, Russian Federation, the United Kingdom andUNESCO Bangkok.
5. Tentative time, Venues and Programme
27 – 29 November 2018 at Okayama University, Okayama, Japan.
Day1: opening, discussion on the ESD teacher framework, field visit, welcome function
Day2: Okayama University ESD lecture series, further discussion on the ESD teacher framework
Day 3: designing ESD teacher education programmes, action planning, wrap up, farewell function
6. Budget and Responsibility
1) Okayama University sponsored by the Japanese National Commission for UNESCO arranges and funds theinternational travel and board & lodging of participants. Moreover, the University coordinates theprogramme and arranges meeting venues at the University campus in Okayama.
2) Okayama City and RCE Okayama arrange and fund field visit & excursion programme and hospitalityfunctions.
3) UNESCO Bangkok provides technical support for the meeting concept and programme, and sponsors theair tickets of some of the participants.
4) INTEI (UNESCO Chair York University) and ACCU provides technical support for the meeting concept andprogramme.