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UNESCOChair

Education for Sustainable Development in Japan and Germany: Okayama University Delegation in Lüneburg

Education for Sustainable Development in Japan and Germany: Okayama University Delegation in Lüneburg
Colleagues from Okayama University and Leuphana’s SETRI institute at the joint research seminar, © Mariia Statkova

Last week we at Leuphana University Lüneburg had the pleasure of welcoming colleagues from Okayama University, Japan. 

As part of the visit, Prof. Hiroki Fujii, Director of the Okayama University ESD Promotion Center and its UNESCO Chair in Research and Education for Sustainable Development, delivered an insightful lecture as part of our UNESCO Chair Lecture Series. His talk highlighted developments in Education for Sustainable Development in Japan and collaborative efforts in bridging together research, curriculum development, and teacher training to advance sustainability across the Asian region. A recording of the session will be made available shortly.

In the afternoon, colleagues from Okayama and Leuphana’s SETRI institute came together for a joint research seminar to exchange ongoing ESD research projects and approaches. A particularly interesting point of discussion was on the similarities between the subjects “Sachunterricht” in Germany and “Living Environment Studies” in Japan that both aim to introduce elementary school children to natural sciences and social studies through lifeworld-based observations. 

Visit to St. Ursula School, ©Daniel Fischer

A highlight was the visit to St. Ursula Schule, a local elementary school that has for a long time worked with innovative pedagogical approaches. We had the opportunity to observe how the children independently worked on their biweekly work plans for the first two hours of the day. A next step the school will take is to introduce FreiDay, a regular time slot for project-based learning on the SDGs. We are very grateful to principal Patrick Schnüttgen for taking the time to show us his school, including the impressive “room of silence”. 

The visit was the result of our long-standing collaboration with Okayama University within the UNITWIN Network on Education for Sustainable Development and Social Transformation. We are looking forward to continuing our exchange in the future!