Report on the AXA-UNESCO Disaster Risk Reduction Education Programme
Executive Summary
This report details a disaster risk reduction education programme initiated in 2014, representing a partnership between AXA and UNESCO. The programme’s core mission is to leverage the experiences of the Great East Japan Earthquake to foster a sustainable and resilient society. By educating teachers and communities, the initiative makes significant contributions to several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).
Programme Objectives and Alignment with SDGs
The primary objectives of the programme are strategically aligned with building long-term community resilience and sustainability.
- To Preserve and Transmit Knowledge: The programme aims to ensure the lessons from the Great East Japan Earthquake are not forgotten, using this historical experience to inform future disaster preparedness.
- To Foster a Sustainable Society (SDG 11): A central goal is to utilize learned experiences to prevent and reduce disaster risks, thereby establishing safer and more resilient local communities.
- To Enhance National Education on Disaster Risk (SDG 4): By targeting schoolteachers, the programme integrates critical disaster preparedness knowledge into the national education system, ensuring it reaches a wide audience.
Methodology and Implementation
The programme employs a “train-the-trainer” model to disseminate information effectively across Japan.
- Target Audience: The initiative focuses on approximately 30 elementary and junior high school teachers selected annually from across the nation.
- Immersive Learning: Teachers participate in an annual field visit to the area devastated by the earthquake to gain firsthand knowledge of the event and its aftermath.
- Knowledge Dissemination: Participants are tasked with bringing their learnings back to their respective classrooms and local communities, ensuring a broad impact.
- Curriculum Focus: The training is comprehensive, covering both practical and emotional aspects of disaster preparedness.
- Practical Skills: Includes instruction on how to react during a disaster, build emergency shelters, and implement self-protection measures.
- Emotional Resonance: Emphasizes the human experience to ensure the memory and its lessons are retained by future generations.
Contributions to Sustainable Development Goals
The programme directly supports the achievement of key SDGs:
- SDG 4 (Quality Education): By empowering teachers with specialized knowledge in disaster risk reduction, the programme enhances the quality and relevance of education, preparing students to face future challenges.
- SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities): The initiative is fundamental to Target 11.5, which aims to significantly reduce the number of deaths and economic losses resulting from disasters. It builds local capacity for disaster prevention and resilience.
- SDG 13 (Climate Action): While focused on a seismic event, the programme’s framework for building resilience is crucial for adapting to the adverse impacts of climate change, which include an increase in the frequency and intensity of natural disasters.
- SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals): The collaboration between AXA (private sector) and UNESCO (international organization) is a prime example of a multi-stakeholder partnership working effectively to achieve sustainable development objectives.
1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?
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SDG 4: Quality Education
The article focuses on a “disaster risk reduction education programme” targeting schoolteachers. The primary goal is to educate them so they can pass on knowledge to their students and communities, which directly relates to providing quality education.
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SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
The program’s stated aim is to “establish a sustainable society” and “reduce disaster risks for local communities.” This aligns with making human settlements safer, more resilient, and sustainable.
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SDG 13: Climate Action
Although the article mentions an earthquake, the program’s broader objective is to “prepare for future natural disasters.” This contributes to strengthening resilience and adaptive capacity to natural disasters, a key component of climate action.
2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?
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Target 4.7: Education for sustainable development and global citizenship
The article describes a program that aims to “pass on the experiences” of a disaster to “establish a sustainable society.” By educating teachers on disaster risk reduction, the program ensures learners acquire knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, as this education equips them to build more resilient communities.
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Target 11.5: Reduce the number of deaths and people affected by disasters
The program’s purpose is to “prevent and reduce disaster risks for local communities” and teach people “how to protect themselves.” This directly contributes to the goal of reducing the human impact of disasters.
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Target 11.b: Implement policies and plans for disaster risk reduction
The article highlights a “disaster risk reduction education programme” that is implemented nationwide with teachers. This represents a tangible plan and action towards disaster risk reduction at the community level, aligning with the development and implementation of holistic disaster risk management.
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Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters
The program’s focus on using lessons from the past to “prepare for future natural disasters” is a direct effort to strengthen resilience. By educating communities on “what to do in the event of a disaster,” it enhances their adaptive capacity.
3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?
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Indicator for Target 4.7: The article explicitly states that “Every year, about 30 teachers from elementary and junior high schools all around Japan go to the devastated area.” This provides a direct quantitative indicator: the number of teachers trained annually in disaster risk reduction education. The program’s existence since 2014 is also an indicator of sustained effort in education for sustainable development.
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Indicator for Targets 11.5, 11.b, and 13.1: The primary indicator is the existence and implementation of the “disaster risk reduction education programme” itself. The article describes it as a nationwide program targeting schoolteachers, implying a strategy for disaster risk reduction. The number of teachers trained (“about 30 teachers… every year”) serves as a proxy indicator for the number of communities being reached and strengthened against future disasters.
4. Create a table with three columns titled ‘SDGs, Targets and Indicators’ to present the findings from analyzing the article.
| SDGs | Targets | Indicators |
|---|---|---|
| SDG 4: Quality Education | 4.7: Ensure all learners acquire knowledge and skills needed for sustainable development, including disaster risk reduction. | Number of teachers trained in the disaster risk reduction program annually (stated as “about 30 teachers”). |
| SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities | 11.5: Significantly reduce the number of deaths and people affected by disasters.
11.b: Implement integrated policies and plans for disaster risk reduction. |
Existence and implementation of a nationwide “disaster risk reduction education programme.”
Number of local communities reached through trained teachers. |
| SDG 13: Climate Action | 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to natural disasters. | Implementation of an educational program to “prepare for future natural disasters.” |
Source: axa.com
