The UNESCO-Japan Prize on Education for Sustainable Development is a UNESCO award of USD 150,000 awarded annually to three individuals or organizations for projects in favour of education for sustainable development (ESD). The award was established in 2014 by the Executive Board of UNESCO at the initiative of the government of Japan, as part of the UNESCO Global Action Programme on ESD (GAP). The prize winners are selected by a jury consisting of international members, and the Director-General of UNESCO appoints the jury, which meets annually in Paris, France.
The prize is awarded at a ceremony at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. The first prize was awarded in November 2015 by Director-General Irina Bokova [1]
Nominations for the prize can be submitted by Member States of UNESCO or Non-Governmental Organizations in official partnership for UNESCO each year.
Since October 2019, the prize will be delivered once every two years [2]
In order to be eligible for the prize, individuals or organizations have to:
The official criteria for assessment are [3]
Other mentioned criteria for selection are: contribution to the Global Action Programme on ESD, and impact and replicability of the project [4]
The first winners of the prize were announced in September 2015. To date, one laureate comes from Latin America, one from Europe and one from Asia and the Pacific.
The three winners of 2016 were: [8]
The three winners of 2017 were: [9]
The three winners of 2018 were: [10]
The three winners of 2019 were: [11]
The United Nations University (UNU) is the think tank and academic arm of the United Nations. Headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, with diplomatic status as a UN institution, its mission is to help resolve global issues related to human development and welfare through collaborative research and education.
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The Global 500 Roll of Honour was an award given from 1987 to 2003 by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The award recognized the environmental achievements of individuals and organizations around the world. A successor system of UNEP awards called Champions of the Earth started in 2005.
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