[2026年9月28日]
ID:85722
The ESD Okayama Award recognizes outstanding ESD (Education for Sustainable Development) activities undertaken around the world. This year, two projects have been selected for the award from a shortlist of 10 projects that passed in the first round of selection.
This year we received applications of 252 projects from 80 countries worldwide. Ten projects from Asia, Africa and Americas were selected for the final review.
The ESD Okayama Award 2026 Ceremony will be held as Part I of the Okayama ESD Forum 2026 on Saturday 14 November 2026 at the Okayama International Center (2-2-1 Hokancho, Kita-ku, Okayama City, Japan). Representatives of the organizations of the winning-projects will be invited to present their projects at the ceremony.
SERES Association （Republic of Guatemala）
4,11&13
This educational initiative cultivates young leaders to drive sustainable transformation in rural, indigenous, and climate-vulnerable communities across Guatemala and El Salvador. More than 50% of participants are indigenous youth and 51% are young women. Participants engage in experiential and participatory learning processes focused on sustainability, climate resilience, and other topics. It aims to foster youth leadership, enhance community engagement, promote the transformation of values and behaviors toward sustainability, strengthen local resilience, and support the emergence of youth-led networks capable of advancing sustainable development within their own communities.
Young people from Suchitoto, El Salvador, exploring the connections among the challenges and threats affecting the web of life during the Activate program
Young leaders exploring Ulew Fuego—Land of Fire—SERES’ field school in Escuintla, Guatemala, where they use their senses to learn from demonstration plots featuring agroecological practices that regenerate soils and restore habitats for birds and other living beings
【Photos by SERES Association】
Rajamangala University of Technology Lanna （Kingdom of Thailand）
1,3,4,5,8,9,10,11,12,13,15&17
The Lanna Koyori project is a regenerative ESD model that uses culture as the root for solving real community challenges. Inspired by the Japanese Koyori tradition of twisting delicate paper into a strong cord, it connects artisans, youth, Thai and Japanese universities, professors, students, designers, scientists, technologists, business specialists, language students and community partners into a learning network. Its goals are to empower craft communities as active co-creators, regenerate cultural wisdom, create dignified livelihoods, bridge intergenerational gaps, and address sustainability challenges through local knowledge and cross-disciplinary collaboration.
Students engaging in Thai experts’ review and evaluation of creative design works as part of the Koyori Project
Students learning Karen weaving as part of the Koyori Project
【Photos by Rajamangala University of Technology Lanna (RMUTL)】