UNESCO to unite schools in Asia Pacific in disaster awareness and remembrance for Japan
UNESCO Bangkok will unite students and teachers from across the Asia-Pacific region in remembrance and solidarity with those affected by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster.
The “Japan Solidarity Project” funded by the Government of Japan is a UNESCO Bangkok initiative for Japan and the international community to give comfort and hope to those affected by disaster, while building resilience to hazards and improving regional knowledge and understanding of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) through targeted activities among participating schools.
Its main area of activity involves the exchange of encouraging messages of hope, resilience and recovery to affected schools in Japan through the Associated Schools Project network (ASPnet). ASPnet is a global network of more than 9000 primary, secondary, vocational, and teacher-training educational institutions in 180 countries.
Founded in 1953, ASPnet supports international understanding, peace, intercultural dialogue, sustainable development and quality education in practice. By operationalizing the ASPnet as the primary vehicle for the exchange of the solidarity messages, the Japan Solidarity Project will simultaneously enhance the network’s capacity for working towards such outcomes.
The Japan Solidarity Project will also seek to enhance DRR knowledge and understanding among individuals and communities in the Asia-Pacific by encouraging the proliferation of DRR activities amongst participating ASPnet schools. The Asia-Pacific is highly prone to disasters and their consequences. Since 1997, 82 per cent of all disaster casualties have been in the region (Source: International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, IFRC and the World Bank) .
In addition to school-level DRR activities, a research and advocacy initiative spearheaded by a consortium of experts will work towards the development of a framework to systematize DRR in education curricula, policy and planning, and a study of lessons learned for disaster risk reduction in education from the 2011 East Japan earthquake and tsunami disaster.
Education can help prevent hazards from becoming disasters, because in many cases, hazards only become disasters due to a lack of preparedness. DRR in education can help build individual and community resilience towards hazards by equipping people with the knowledge and skills needed to minimize the possible damage, destruction and loss of human life, as well as the disruption to economic, social and cultural activities. What people know has been demonstrated to be more important than what they have when it comes to saving lives and reducing loss.
UNESCO Bangkok, under the leadership of Director Gwang-Jo Kim, is organizing and implementing the Japan Solidarity Project in collaboration with partners in Japan, including the Asia-Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO (ACCU). The added value of the exchange will be documented in a publication about disaster recovery, survival and solidarity, and will be shared at an anniversary event commemorating those affected by the disaster that will take place in Japan.
On 11 March 2011, the fourth strongest earthquake recorded globally in over a century struck the Tōhoku region of Eastern Japan. The earthquake and the tsunami that followed left over 19,700 people dead or missing and more than 900,000 properties damaged or completely destroyed (Source: National Police Agency of Japan, 30/09/11). The disaster has had a massive toll on the Japanese education sector, with thousands of schools having incurred structural damage, and virtually all surviving learners and educators in the region having been affected by direct or indirect experience of the disaster and its aftermath.
Although Japan is generally considered one of the world’s most prepared countries for natural hazards and for disaster management and response, the magnitude of the 2011 East Japan earthquake and tsunami was overwhelming.
“While the area is impressively recovering in some ways, many people have nonetheless lost their homes and loved ones, and some are still residing in evacuation shelters,” said UNESCO staff Vimonmas Vachatimanont, who recently visited Miyagi prefecture in Japan.
“In the months following the terrible event, the country received many messages of solidarity from across the globe,” she noted.
Local residents have acknowledged the role that these expressions of solidarity have had in providing support to local communities by letting them know the world is with them.
As the impact of the 2011 East Japan earthquake and tsunami disaster is likely to be felt for quite some time, there is a need for ongoing remembrance and sustained support from peers across the Asia-Pacific.
By Justin Alick
This article is being shared in conjunction with the International Day for Disaster Reduction, 13 October, which was first established in 1989. The objective of the day is to raise awareness of how people are taking action to reduce their risk to disasters. This year’s theme is “Making Children and Young People Partners for Disaster Risk Reduction.” As noted by our UN colleagues, “66.5 million children are affected annually by disasters. Because it is difficult for them to cope with unexpected and painful interruptions to their lives, they are often more affected than adults. Victims of disaster and climate change, children and young people can and should be encouraged to participate in disaster reduction and decision making.”