A Southeast Asian intergovernmental organization and Japan’s education ministry are calling for entries for an award given to promote sustainable development in education.

The Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology - Japan, with support from UNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education and the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd, encourage all schools in Southeast Asia that have initiated educational projects/activities to foster positive values among students, teachers, and communities to compete for the 2013 SEAMEO-Japan Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Award.

First presented last year, the 2013 ESD is centered on the theme “Values Education” and intended to raise awareness of the importance of a value-based education, promote and share the best practices and initiatives of educational approaches, and enable the region’s schools to develop and improve their current practices.

The organizers will select winners with the best practices that promote students’ understanding and knowledge of values that develop a positive transformation of attitudes and student behaviour through an effective school policy, management plan, activities, curricula, and teaching strategies.

Each entry should demonstrate the school’s value-based program which has addressed either socio-cultural, environmental, or economic perspectives.

Cash prizes range from US$500 to $1,500, with the first-prize winner being granted the fund for a four-day study tour to Japan for four to six people.  

All winning schools will receive a plaque of recognition and a certificate for the teachers and students involved and a representative of the winning schools will be sponsored to participate in the award presentation ceremony to be held at the SEAMEO High Officials Meeting in November 2013 in Thailand.

Submissions must be sent to seameojapan.award@seameo.org and/or 920 Sukhumvit Road, Klongtoey District, Bangkok 10110, Thailand by September 16.

Detailed information can be found at http://www.seameo.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=474:2013-seameo-japan-esd-award&catid=103:seameo-japan-esd-award&Itemid=558.

The 2012 competition, under the theme “Education for Disaster Risk Reduction,” attracted entries from 69 schools in Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Schools from Myanmar, the Philippines, and Indonesia won the first, second, and third prizes, respectively.

Established in 1965, SEAMEO works to promote regional cooperation in education, science, and culture.