I. SDGs Youth Action Project 2023 (Session 2)
 Students from Minatomiraihoncho Elementary School (left) and Ulaanbaatar 23rd School (riight) |
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An online exchange meeting between Minatomiraihoncho Elementary School and Ulaanbaatar 23rd School was held on November 20th. It was the second meeting between the two schools, following the first one held on October 10th with support from the CITYNET Yokohama Project Office (CYO). At the beginning of the meeting, Minatomiraihoncho students shared a video of them singing their SDGs-themed school song “Colorful Future” which had Mongolian subtitles. It was recorded at the CITYNET SDGs Cluster Seminar at the Asia Smart City Conference (ASCC), where they sang for participants from overseas. The students explained, “through our online exchange meetings, we are learning about the current situation in Mongolia and Japan together with the Mongolian students. We would like to continue to deepen our exchange and think about global issues as our own issues. We have created this SDGs school song in order to make everyone in the world smile. We hope that the world will be better and happier, and that the global environment will improve.” After watching the video, the Ulaanbaatar 23rd School students commented, “I was encouraged by the positive lyrics about making a future together,” and “I agreed with the message that you are not alone, and that we should all work together to move forward.” Next, a video message from Ulaanbaatar 23rd school was shown, where the students introduced their drawings for Yokohama’s Environmental Picture Diary Exhibition. Minatomiraihoncho students commented, “the drawings of the planet and nature were beautiful, and I think it is great that their thoughts about the SDGs are included.” Ulaanbaatar 23rd school students also gave presentations about their initiatives on waste management, with a student interpreting. Lastly, Minatomiraihoncho students gave presentations in groups about how to dispose of books after reading, reuse of plastics, recycling methods in Japan, activities done to reduce plastic bags, as well as the results of their voluntary “field survey” of the pollution of the sea in the neighborhood and creatures that live there.
III. SDGs Youth Action Project 2023 (Session 3)
The third online exchange meeting between Minatomiraihoncho Elementary School and Ulaanbaatar 23rd School was held on December 4th. They shared SDG initiatives that they had done or could do in the future at our schools, along with the related SDGs. These statements were compiled into an “SDGs Tree”. The students put their achievements and ideas, such as “Eat the amount we can” (Goal 2: Zero hunger), “Reduce wasteful water use when washing hands” (Goal 6: Clean water and sanitation), “Transport without electricity” (Goal 7: Affordable and clean energy), “Spread information to eliminate inequality” (Goal 10: Reduced inequality), “Choose environmentally friendly products” (Goal 13: Climate action), and “Use paper products instead of plastic products” (Goal 14: Life below water). All of them were considered as issues related to the students’ daily lives, and a colorful tree was created.
Since the 6th graders who have continued the exchange program until now will graduate in March, the 4th and 5th graders, who will be responsible for the exchange program in the future, were introduced. On the closing of the meeting, the representatives of the 6th graders expressed their gratitude. “Before the exchange, I was worried about whether I would be able to convey what I wanted to say, but as we interacted, we became friends, and I was glad to be able to connect with the world.” Ulaanbaatar 23rd school students responded, “The three exchange meetings gave us opportunities to think about the SDGs in detail. We were very impressed by your school song.” Thus, their goal to share the SDGs song was achieved here. Congratulations to the students of both Minatomiraihoncho and Ulaanbaatar 23rd!
IV. Workshop on Education for Sustainable Development and Environmental Education
 | The City of Yokohama has been cooperating and collaborating with the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) and Da Nang City, Vietnam in various fields. On November 8, a workshop on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and Environmental Education (EE) in Japan and Vietnam was held at the Yokohama International Cooperation Center. The seminar was organized by IGES and Da Nang University in cooperation with CYO. For more details, please check here. CYO introduced the SDGs Youth Action Project as one of CityNet’s ESD initiatives, as well as the successful waste management education activities of the City of Yokohama, highlighting the city’s achievements in waste reduction and how these experiences are shared with emerging cities, including Da Nang City, Vietnam, through inter-city cooperation. |
CYO will continue to utilize such workshops and seminars to introduce CityNet’s activities and Yokohama’s best practices, and to promote discussions on solutions to urban issues.
