2025 SEAMEO-Japan ESD Award
August 15
Theme: Fostering Schools and Surrounding Communities’ Resilience through the Revitalisation of Local Wisdom in Disaster Risk Reduction
The SEAMEO Secretariat, in partnership with Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) and UNESCO Bangkok, is pleased to launch the 2025 SEAMEO-Japan Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Award!
This year, we shine a spotlight on how local wisdom can strengthen community resilience in the face of disasters—and how schools are leading the way.
Theme for 2025
“Fostering Schools and Surrounding Communities’ Resilience
through the Revitalisation of Local Wisdom in Disaster Risk Reduction”
This theme highlights the value of local wisdom in enhancing resilience against natural disasters, focusing on the role of schools and their surrounding communities. Southeast Asia and Japan are highly vulnerable to natural disasters, and the application of traditional knowledge can be a powerful tool in reducing risks. Local wisdom, shaped by generations of experience, often includes practices that promote sustainable resource management, early warning systems, and adaptive strategies for disaster preparedness. Schools can serve as platforms to bridge the gap between traditional knowledge and modern disaster risk reduction strategies, ensuring that these time-tested practices are revitalized in today’s context.
In addition to underscoring the critical role that schools play, the theme encourages schools to collaborate with local elders, experts, and/or community leaders to ensure that knowledge sharing is a continuous and evolving process. The theme emphasizes the need for effectiveness in knowledge sharing activities.
By promoting a culture of collaboration between schools and surrounding communities, this theme fosters a united approach to disaster preparedness. This collective approach ensures that disaster risk reduction measures are more widely accepted by the community as a whole, thus supporting their sustainability.
Furthermore, the theme emphasizes the importance of inclusivity. In many communities, marginalized groups may hold valuable insights into local disaster management practices. By involving all community members in resilience-building efforts, schools can ensure that their disaster risk reduction strategies are both comprehensive and equitable.
Considering these significances, the 2025 SEAMEO-Japan ESD Award selects the theme “Fostering Schools and Surrounding Communities’ Resilience through the Revitalisation of Local Wisdom in Disaster Risk Reduction”. The objectives of this year’s award scheme are:
- to increase public awareness and knowledge on the vitality of disaster-risk reduction and community engagement in solving present and potential problems;
- to encourage schools and communities in Japan and Southeast Asia to promote disaster-risk reduction through community engagement in developing a more sustainable future;
- to promote and share initiatives and good practices that integrate disaster-risk reduction and community engagement into teaching and learning practices and school’s programmes.
Under the theme of “Fostering Schools and Surrounding Communities’ Resilience through the Revitalisation of Local Wisdom in Disaster Risk Reduction”, the school entry should cover the following areas:
- The entry should be relevant to the theme and the scope of “Fostering Schools and Surrounding Communities’ Resilience through the Revitalisation of Local Wisdom in Disaster Risk Reduction” as defined above.
- The entry should highlight the school’s programme that promotes community engagement to promote disaster-risk reduction, such as a programme where the school develops disaster-risk reduction tools and knowledge sharing platform for the local community, or a programme where the school utilises its facilities to provide courses/trainings on disaster-risk reduction for its surrounding community. The entry should also describe how the school’s programme can contribute to a more sustainable society and environment.
- The school’s programme should be mainly led by students in cooperation amongst teachers, other students, parents and communities.
- The entry should clearly demonstrate the integration of the theme in the entire school’s policy, management plan, participatory planning and implementation, curriculum, teaching and learning practices, partnership efforts, parent and community participation, and so on.
Objectives of the Award:
Raise awareness of ESD in schools and communities across Southeast Asia
Promote and share best practices in ESD
Encourage regional and cross-country collaboration
Support the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Who Can Apply?
All public and private K–12 schools, including kindergarten, elementary, secondary, vocational and technical schools, in the 11 SEAMEO Member Countries.
How to Apply
Download the submission form and guidelines:
Click here to access
Upload your completed form and supporting materials by 15 August 2025:
Submit here
📧 Need Help?
Contact Ms. Chunkan Benchaporn, Programme Assistant
📩 seameojapan.award@seameo.org
(cc: chunkan@seameo.org)
