The International Workshop on Disaster Risk Reduction and Education for Sustainable and Resilient Futures was warmly held at Tohoku University Graduate School of Education on March 7(Fri), 2025. There were many participants from universities in Japan as well as from East and Southeast Asia.
This workshop aims to enhance understanding of the global initiative of UNESCO and other stakeholders in the Asia-Pacific region to promote education for disaster risk reduction. Moreover, it is expected to bring researchers, educators, and higher education stakeholders together to share experiences and exchange ideas on transforming higher education for collectively promoting disaster risk reduction through an interdisciplinary and multi-stakeholder-based approach to achieve peace, sustainability, and resilience in the post-2030. Moreover, the workshop is expected to make a roadmap for universities in this region to establish a joint course on disaster literacy in the coming years.
First, Dr. Mee Young Choi, a chief of education, UNESCO regional office for East Asia, gave a keynote speech titled “UNESCO and Education for disaster risk reduction”. She gave us a valuable talk not only about UNESCO‘s Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction, but also about her experience at UNESCO Beijing office and other parts of the world.
Next, Dr. Takashi Oda, a professor of the University of Tokyo, gave a presentation titled “Disaster risk reduction and education in Japan” on the case of higher education in Japan. In particular, he introduced how to incorporate the perspective of disaster prevention in teacher training in Japan, using actual examples.
Through this workshop, we were able to gain valuable insights on disaster risk reduction and education for sustainable future in the Asia-Pacific region beyond 2030. We believe communication and exchange of experiences of teaching and learning for disaster risk reduction in this region is necessary and will be beneficial to all.