Today’s sustainability challenges require a holistic perspective that embraces the critical relationship between the classroom and community service. This is evidence as human communities as well as their diverse biological and cultural heritage are increasingly threatened by mounting environmental and societal problems from climate change and exploitation of finite resources to the inequities and human costs of unsustainable practices and technologies.
Progress on these issues is often further complicated by the contemporary hegemonic mind-set of the status quo, resulting in complacency, inactivity and the general perception of individual futility. This is particularly pronounced in many developing countries in Asia in which the focus on economic growth at the expense of the environment and the failure to recognize the inextricable link between these sustainable domains are commonplace. That is why educators play a pivotal role in understanding, challenging and altering such destructive and unsustainable courses. By examining and interpreting humans’ beliefs about their relationship to nature and intertwining this knowledge and policies across the disciplines, educators can broaden our understanding of sustainability and forge new sustainable paths.
Our shared biosphere and rapid globalization ensure no country is immune from another country’s problems and risks, which means a collective and multidisciplinary approach is essential for integrating environmental and cultural sustainability. As education and sustainability cross over into multiple areas and disciplines, authors are welcome to submit from a range of topics, perspectives, and disciplines. The range of research submissions may include conceptual, empirical, experimental, and case studies.
The three-day, international, peer-reviewed conference will provide an interdisciplinary platform for academics, researchers, policy makers, activists, students and professionals. With the theme of Global Challenges and Opportunities, the conference will promote a critical understanding of the innovative and organic approaches from education toward sustainability.
Special ACES Topics
Education for Sustainable Development
Equity and Social Justice
Higher Education Sustainability
Home Education (Homeschooling)
Human Rights Education
Host Organizer Chairperson
Takayuki Yamada is a co-founder of the PRESDA Foundation of Japan. He currently serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors.
PRESDA is an independent, private, non-profit, chartered organization founded in 2010 by members of Rotary International to raise awareness in the realm of sustainable development and human rights and thereby increase the quality of life for the global community.
Mr. Yamada also serves on the Rotary International Polio Plus Committee of Japan. In 2011 and 2013 he led humanitarian and medical missions to India and Bhutan to assist with immunization efforts to eradicate polio in South Asia, while a third mission to India is now planned for early 2015. Most recently, Mr Yamada was appointed to serve on the Rotary International Youth Exchange Programme in Japan.
