Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) aims to equip learners with the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes necessary to act responsibly, respecting cultural diversity, for the protection of the environment, for economic sustainability, for a fair society for all genders, and for present and future generations. It will play a key role in the realization of all the SDGs.

This award recognizes outstanding ESD-related projects implemented by institutions or organizations engaged in ESD activities within the framework of "Education for Sustainable Development: Towards the Realization of the SDGs (ESD for 2030)", which was adopted at the 40th UNESCO General Conference and endorsed by the UN General Assembly in 2019. SEISA Africa Asia Bridge" has been selected by MEXT as a representative of Japan.

In July-August, an international jury established by UNESCO will recommend candidate institutions and organizations to the Director-General of UNESCO, who will then decide on the winning institutions and organizations.

SEISA Africa Asia Bridge is an event for children to discuss and share the diversity and potential of Africa with people from many countries, with the aim of realizing the goal of "learning about" and "connecting with" African countries.

This year's event was the sixth in the series, and was the first to be held online, with six simultaneous channels. 55,000 people participated from diverse backgrounds including students from SEISA schools all across Japan, embassy representatives from 32 countries, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of the Environment, Kanagawa Prefecture, and local children. This is an event where we can really learn KYOSEI “living together in harmony” in the future.

SAAB website in English:
https://seisasaab.com/en/

Announcement from MEXT in Japanese:
https://www.mext.go.jp/unesco/004/1415535_00001.htm

Project Summary: This project aims to engage and connect with the people of African and Asian countries in order to achieve a symbiotic society. Students from Japan, Africa and other Asian countries learn and exchange with each other through collaborative activities.

MEXT Evaluation Points:
In order to achieve a harmonious society, it is noteworthy that this project has been implemented on a large scale to interact with people from diverse cultural backgrounds. It is noteworthy that this event is being held on a large scale to bring together people from diverse cultural backgrounds in order to realize a harmonious society.
The collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders, including companies, local authorities and international organizations, is highly commendable.