1 March 2023: The ASEAN-Japan Centre's (AJC) second Symposium on Marine Plastic Waste Education featured selected schools and their student-led initiatives from Japan and eight ASEAN countries who participated in the AJC's Eco-school programme.
The symposium, conducted in a hybrid format, presented short videos showcasing activities led by students from elementary to high school in Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Thailand, which contributed to raising environmental awareness and reducing marine plastic waste.
The symposium also featured the lighting of candles whose holders were made of marine plastic waste collected from Tokyo Bay, to symbolise spreading the light and commitment to 'nurture good habits for cleaner oceans' involving AJC fellows and partner organisations, including ERIA's Regional Knowledge Centre for Marine Plastic Debris (the Centre). This represented a shared pledge to encourage behavioural change and promote a conscious effort to reduce plastic waste in the region.
The symposium is part of an AJC multi-year programme promoting educational awareness of marine plastic waste among the young generation, from elementary to high school. The programme, piloted in Hiroshima in 2021 in cooperation with the ASEAN Hiroshima Association, initially included three ASEAN countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. This year, the scope of participation expanded to eight ASEAN countries and four prefectures in Japan (Hiroshima, Osaka, Saitama, and Tokyo).
Around 7,000 elementary and high school students have taken part in the Eco-school project since April 2022. The Centre successfully encouraged 2,089 students from 10 schools in four countries – Indonesia, Malaysia, The Philippines, and Thailand – to take part in the project between August 2022 and March 2023. For this year’s symposium, the Centre mobilised 600 students from 16 schools in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand.
The AJC also cooperated with the following organisations to implement the Eco-school project: UN-Habitat Philippines; the Science, Technology and Environment Partnership (STEP) Centre, Brunei Darussalam's Ministry of Education; Cambodia's Ministry of Environment; and Lao PDR's Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.
H E Ekkaphab Phanthavong, ASEAN Deputy Secretary General for the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community, said the programme resonates with ASEAN’s agenda and commitment, as reflected in the ASEAN Regional Action Plan for Combating Marine Debris in the ASEAN Member States (2021–2025).
‘Promoting youth awareness and participation is among the priorities identified in the regional action plan. Nearly one third of the ASEAN population is made up of youth, making them a wider asset of our region. For this reason, we highly appreciate the ASEAN-Japan Centre’s initiative and unwavering commitment to organise this symposium. The symposium truly reflects the aspirations and allegiance from the youth, which I believe we and our future generation greatly depend on,’ he said during his opening remarks.
Mr Yasuyuki Hata, Director-General of the Environmental Management Bureau at Japan's Ministry of Environment, said that as the world is connected by a single ocean, it is essential for countries around the world, including Japan, to cooperate and work together to solve the marine litter problem.
‘We hope that when you become adults in the future, you will be the kind of people who can help create a beautiful society that co-exists with nature,’ he said, addressing the 1,600 youth participants from across the region.
Mr Michikazu Kojima, ERIA’s Senior Advisor for the Environment, said it was very encouraging to see so many young students who benefitted from the Eco-school programme either change the way they consume and dispose of plastics or reinforce their conviction to live more sustainably.
‘Although the weight of responsibility for the way we produce and consume plastics falls largely on adults, the consequences of its environmental damages will be shouldered by the younger generations,’ he said.
Mr Christopher Royo, Director of UN-Habitat Philippines, said it has developed a marine litter learning kit in partnership with the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) and Save Philippine Seas, to engage learners and facilitators in raising marine plastic litter awareness, and empower them to take individual actions in their homes, schools, and communities. The results have been encouraging, he said, with some parties keen to incorporate it into the school curriculum.
Also read: Eco-School Programme Aims to Raise Youth Awareness on Marine Plastic Waste
Youth Concern Over Marine Plastic Waste
Videos aired during the symposium showed a range of activities initiated by the students after receiving Eco-school lectures. Themes ranged from awareness raising activities and clean-up projects, to plastic waste segregation and recycling, making robots by reusing materials, and creating lesson plans.
The ASEAN-Japan Centre also announced the results of a student survey on plastic use and recycling knowledge, attitudes, and practices among 6,977 students who participated in the Eco-school lectures.
The survey, conducted in English, Japanese, Burmese, Khmer, and Lao, had a 66.3% response rate, and will be used to determine the baseline of plastic use and recycling knowledge, attitudes, and practices.
The majority of elementary students (1,986 people) are concerned about the plastic problem and agreed it is a bad idea to produce plastic waste. However, it turned out only about 50% knew anything about methods to reduce plastic waste.
High school students (2,643 students) also expressed high levels of concern on the plastic problem. However, when it comes to properly practicing waste segregation at school, at home, or elsewhere, the survey results fell short. But when it comes to the intention to reduce plastic waste, almost everyone responded very positively.
‘This finding gives us an important insight into the interest and the commitment of the students to change their behaviours and instil proper habits to reduce plastic waste,’ said Dr Katrina Navallo, Programme Manager of AJC’s Research and Policy Analysis (RPA) Cluster who oversees the Eco-school Programme.
‘This data does not give us the complete picture. In order for us to fully see what is going on at the community level, we have asked some of the participating schools in ASEAN countries and Japan to share with us the activities they have been doing as their contribution to the environmental solution,’ she added.
Mr Hirabayashi Kunihiko, AJC Secretary General, in his closing remarks reminded participants that we cannot have a healthy planet without healthy oceans.
‘The oceans must become a model of how children, people of all generations, all countries, and all institutions can work together to achieve concrete results. Today’s candle lighting ceremony has shown the world that children and young people, not weapons, can protect family, community, nation and the ocean through compassion,’ he said.
Communication Desk
1 March 2023: The ASEAN-Japan Centre's (AJC) second Symposium on Marine Plastic Waste Education featured selected schools and their student-led initiatives from Japan and eight ASEAN countries who participated in the AJC's Eco-school programme.
The symposium, conducted in a hybrid format, presented short videos showcasing activities led by students from elementary to high school in Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Thailand, which contributed to raising environmental awareness and reducing marine plastic waste.
The symposium also featured the lighting of candles whose holders were made of marine plastic waste collected from Tokyo Bay, to symbolise spreading the light and commitment to 'nurture good habits for cleaner oceans' involving AJC fellows and partner organisations, including ERIA's Regional Knowledge Centre for Marine Plastic Debris (the Centre). This represented a shared pledge to encourage behavioural change and promote a conscious effort to reduce plastic waste in the region.
The symposium is part of an AJC multi-year programme promoting educational awareness of marine plastic waste among the young generation, from elementary to high school. The programme, piloted in Hiroshima in 2021 in cooperation with the ASEAN Hiroshima Association, initially included three ASEAN countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. This year, the scope of participation expanded to eight ASEAN countries and four prefectures in Japan (Hiroshima, Osaka, Saitama, and Tokyo).
Around 7,000 elementary and high school students have taken part in the Eco-school project since April 2022. The Centre successfully encouraged 2,089 students from 10 schools in four countries – Indonesia, Malaysia, The Philippines, and Thailand – to take part in the project between August 2022 and March 2023. For this year’s symposium, the Centre mobilised 600 students from 16 schools in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand.
The AJC also cooperated with the following organisations to implement the Eco-school project: UN-Habitat Philippines; the Science, Technology and Environment Partnership (STEP) Centre, Brunei Darussalam's Ministry of Education; Cambodia's Ministry of Environment; and Lao PDR's Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.
H E Ekkaphab Phanthavong, ASEAN Deputy Secretary General for the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community, said the programme resonates with ASEAN’s agenda and commitment, as reflected in the ASEAN Regional Action Plan for Combating Marine Debris in the ASEAN Member States (2021–2025).
‘Promoting youth awareness and participation is among the priorities identified in the regional action plan. Nearly one third of the ASEAN population is made up of youth, making them a wider asset of our region. For this reason, we highly appreciate the ASEAN-Japan Centre’s initiative and unwavering commitment to organise this symposium. The symposium truly reflects the aspirations and allegiance from the youth, which I believe we and our future generation greatly depend on,’ he said during his opening remarks.
Mr Yasuyuki Hata, Director-General of the Environmental Management Bureau at Japan's Ministry of Environment, said that as the world is connected by a single ocean, it is essential for countries around the world, including Japan, to cooperate and work together to solve the marine litter problem.
‘We hope that when you become adults in the future, you will be the kind of people who can help create a beautiful society that co-exists with nature,’ he said, addressing the 1,600 youth participants from across the region.
Mr Michikazu Kojima, ERIA’s Senior Advisor for the Environment, said it was very encouraging to see so many young students who benefitted from the Eco-school programme either change the way they consume and dispose of plastics or reinforce their conviction to live more sustainably.
‘Although the weight of responsibility for the way we produce and consume plastics falls largely on adults, the consequences of its environmental damages will be shouldered by the younger generations,’ he said.
Mr Christopher Royo, Director of UN-Habitat Philippines, said it has developed a marine litter learning kit in partnership with the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) and Save Philippine Seas, to engage learners and facilitators in raising marine plastic litter awareness, and empower them to take individual actions in their homes, schools, and communities. The results have been encouraging, he said, with some parties keen to incorporate it into the school curriculum.
Also read: Eco-School Programme Aims to Raise Youth Awareness on Marine Plastic Waste
Youth Concern Over Marine Plastic Waste
Videos aired during the symposium showed a range of activities initiated by the students after receiving Eco-school lectures. Themes ranged from awareness raising activities and clean-up projects, to plastic waste segregation and recycling, making robots by reusing materials, and creating lesson plans.
The ASEAN-Japan Centre also announced the results of a student survey on plastic use and recycling knowledge, attitudes, and practices among 6,977 students who participated in the Eco-school lectures.
The survey, conducted in English, Japanese, Burmese, Khmer, and Lao, had a 66.3% response rate, and will be used to determine the baseline of plastic use and recycling knowledge, attitudes, and practices.
The majority of elementary students (1,986 people) are concerned about the plastic problem and agreed it is a bad idea to produce plastic waste. However, it turned out only about 50% knew anything about methods to reduce plastic waste.
High school students (2,643 students) also expressed high levels of concern on the plastic problem. However, when it comes to properly practicing waste segregation at school, at home, or elsewhere, the survey results fell short. But when it comes to the intention to reduce plastic waste, almost everyone responded very positively.
‘This finding gives us an important insight into the interest and the commitment of the students to change their behaviours and instil proper habits to reduce plastic waste,’ said Dr Katrina Navallo, Programme Manager of AJC’s Research and Policy Analysis (RPA) Cluster who oversees the Eco-school Programme.
‘This data does not give us the complete picture. In order for us to fully see what is going on at the community level, we have asked some of the participating schools in ASEAN countries and Japan to share with us the activities they have been doing as their contribution to the environmental solution,’ she added.
Mr Hirabayashi Kunihiko, AJC Secretary General, in his closing remarks reminded participants that we cannot have a healthy planet without healthy oceans.
‘The oceans must become a model of how children, people of all generations, all countries, and all institutions can work together to achieve concrete results. Today’s candle lighting ceremony has shown the world that children and young people, not weapons, can protect family, community, nation and the ocean through compassion,’ he said.
Communication Desk
