During November 2-3, President Makino and his group visited the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France, to present Okayama University’s efforts for Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), which UNESCO is leading, and also the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which the UN is trying to achieve with the global community. Information was also gathered on implementation of SDGs and ESD.

UNESCO is an agency within the UN that led the 2005-2014 “UN Decade of ESD” and leads the 2015-2019“Global Action Programme (GAP) on ESD.” In 2005, the Okayama region became a Regional Centres of Expertise on ESD (RCE) and in 2007 Okayama University was approved as a UNESCO Chair. In 2014, the UNESCO World Conference on ESD was held in Okayama city, which shows how the Okayama region and Okayama University have been leaders for ESD and has developed a close relationship with UNESCO.

During the visit, President Makino and his group of three joined gatherings for organizations that won awards related to the 3rd UNESCO-JAPAN Prize on ESD, which are given in conjunction with the UNESCO General Conference. They also attended publication parties related to SDGs and ESD. Opinions were exchanged in a meeting with: MEXT Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, who attended as a representative of the Japanese government which sponsored the UNESCO-JAPAN Prize on ESD; UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education Qian Tang; UNESCO Education Sector EDS Section Chief Alexander Leicht and Miriam Tereick. The Makino Vision along with SDGs and ESD programs that are unique to Okayama University, were also presented with passion during the exchange.

Additionally, Okayama University, the United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS), and RCE Okayama, will host the “Frist RCE Thematic Conference: Towards Achieving the SDGs” in Okayama city for three days, from December 5-7.