Okayama University has received a renewal of the approval for the establishment of the Okayama University UNESCO Chair on Research and Education for Sustainable Development from UNESCO. The renewal covers the period April 2015 to March 2019. Looking to the future, while taking into account the Global Action Program (GAP), the promotional framework for education on sustainable development (ESD) from 2015, and trends in new measures by the Japanese government, Okayama City and others for promoting ESD based on GAP, we intend to develop educational and research activities aimed at the further promotion of ESD.

The UNESCO Chairs Programme was launched in 1992, and has the aim of contributing to international capacity-building and human resource development through coordination between institutes of higher education in different regions of the world and the promotion of knowledge sharing. (http://en.unesco.org/unitwin-unesco-chairs-programme)

In April 2007, Okayama University was chosen to host the only UNESCO Chair in Asia with the goal of promoting activities for the United Nations’ ESD. Thus far, centring on the Graduate School of Environmental and Life Science, the Faculty of Environmental Science and Technology, and the Graduate School of Education, as well as providing support for the development, education, and practical activities for advanced specialist human resources with a foundation in ESD, we have participated in, among others, the HESD Forum (an ESD network linking institutes of higher education inside Japan), ProSPER.NET (an ESD network of the United Nations University that links graduate schools in the Asia-Pacific region), and ASPUnivNet (the Interuniversity Network Supporting the UNESCO Associated Schools Project Network), promoting ESD coordination with institutes of higher education both inside Japan and overseas.

Contact information
Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology Administration Office
kikaku(a)adm.okayama-u.ac.jp
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