Okayama University Education for Sustainable Development Promotion Center

FY2025 Practical Exchange Meeting

FY2025 Practical Exchange Meeting Report

FY2025 Practice Session Group Photo

FY2025 Practice Session

Our theme this time was “Food x ESD x UNESCO Schools — What is Sustainability?” We held poster sessions to share what each school is working on and joined workshops created by high schoolers to learn about food issues together.

DATE：2025.11.16 Sun 10:00 〜 15:30
Venue: Okayama City Welfare Center for Workers
Participating Schools: 11 UNESCO Associated Schools in Okayama Prefecture, and Tottori Prefectural Tottori Nishi High School
Supported by: Okayama City SDGs & ESD Promotion Division

活動風景

■ Opening

A total of 92 students and teachers gathered from 11 schools across Okayama Prefecture, as well as from Tottori Nishi High School. Some students set off very early this morning to travel from far away. We even heard some participants saying, “We met at the last preparatory session, didn’t we?” This time, we adopted a different format than usual, conducting the opening ceremony and workshops in the morning.

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■ Lectures by Student Staff, etc

This time, we arranged the seats in a circle so that everyone could see each other’s faces, and we intentionally set a rule to “drop the formalities and speak casually.” Our goal was to encourage free interaction and mutual respect among participants as equals, regardless of their school or grade level.

We received positive feedback from participants, such as “I wasn’t nervous even though we met for the first time,” and “It was easier to talk than usual.” As we had hoped, we were able to create a warm and welcoming atmosphere.

Additionally, instead of participants choosing their own nicknames, we included an activity where they chose nicknames for their neighbors. This sparked natural conversation and further enhanced the friendly vibe of the venue.

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■ icebreaking game

Led by the student team from this year’s host school, Wake Shizutani High School, we played an icebreaking game. This helped participants who were meeting for the first time to relax and created an atmosphere conducive to smooth group activities.

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The icebreaker was a huge hit, featuring some “fancy” (?) prizes for the top teams!

The lineup included grapes grown at Okayama University for 1st place, Okara (soy pulp) cookies for 2nd, and items from the food loss reduction shop “Eco-Eat” for 3rd.

We selected these not just because they taste good, but to encourage actions like “local production for local consumption” and “reducing food waste.” We hope this event gave everyone a chance to think about the charm of our region and the environment.

■ poster session

During the poster session, students from participating schools shared their activities with one another. They wrote down points they liked on sticky notes and posted them, creating a scene where students were praising and acknowledging each other.


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Posters from Each High School

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■lunch break

During the lunch break, students from different schools gathered to eat and mingle—a rare opportunity for them to connect! The student staff joined the circle too, helping to liven up the conversation, and everyone had a wonderful time together!

■ workshop under the shared theme of ‘Food.’

We held a workshop under the shared theme of ‘Food.’ It was a fascinating event that explored a wide range of perspectives—from actual tasting experiences to crafting accessories using deer antlers.


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Workshop by Student Staff

Student staff members also took part in the ‘Hamburger Connection’ activity. While playing the simulation game alongside high school students, they explored the question: ‘Is a more sustainable hamburger possible?’


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■ Next Steps・Reflection

We received an explanation about the newsletter initiative, where this year’s activities will be summarized on a single page and published as an annual report. Additionally, we used Mentimeter to facilitate a reflection session for each participating high school.

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■ Closing

Students from this year’s organizing school, Wake Shizutani High School, and next year’s organizing school, Gakugeikan High School, shared their feedback. We received numerous positive comments, such as “it was very enjoyable,” making for a fruitful meeting.

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■ Group Photo

Feedback from Participating Students

(Excerpts)
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“While my school tends to be more research-oriented, I found it interesting that many other schools focus more on practical implementation. Through interacting with students from other schools, I really enjoyed meeting and talking to people whose ways of thinking were the complete opposite of mine. It was also a good experience as it made me realize the shortcomings in my own thinking.”

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“Comparing our school with others, I found it interesting that the thought processes, measures taken, and the problems identified were completely different. It was a great learning experience to hear perspectives I didn’t have, such as how to eliminate or reduce food loss and what issues are connected to it. I am glad I learned so many interesting things, including the relationship between local people and their traditions.”

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“During the initial conversations, I was able to actively reach out to people from other schools and make many new connections. During the poster session, I was able to ask questions about things that intrigued me or that I wondered about. Reflecting on my own presentation, I wish I had put more emotion into it and used gestures to make it easier for the audience to understand. I was able to compare our presentation with those of other schools and identify the strengths and weaknesses of our research. I also made friends by eating lunch with students from other schools. The poster presentations really highlighted the unique characteristics of each school. I would love to participate again if there is an opportunity, and I want to apply this experience to my own research project.”

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“It was great to discuss issues regarding ‘food’ with students from various high schools. What left a particular impression on me was Kourakukan High School’s initiatives regarding food loss (in their school cafeteria), such as actually taking student surveys and setting up a suggestion box. Since my family sometimes has leftovers or ends up throwing food away, I want to incorporate what I learned today at home. What made me happy was receiving feedback after the workshop; people ate the seaweed chips and said, ‘It’s delicious!’ or told me, ‘I liked your TikTok video!'”

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“Listening to opinions from other high schools about measures against food loss, I learned that there are many different ways to approach the issue. Therefore, I want to incorporate ideas from other schools while continuing to solve the problem of food loss. I also want to participate again next year and spread this message to more people around me.”

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