Towards Sustainable and Inclusive Community Building (Vol.2)

As part of the UNESCO Future Co-creation Platform programme, commissioned by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) of Japan, the Asia-Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO (ACCU) has been implementing the project titlted “Promoting Inclusive Community Development” since 2022.

This initiative brings together three organizations from three countries: the Aikawa Project in Aikawa Town, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, which focuses on inclusive school development; the Phnom Penh office of the Association for Aid and Relief, Japan (AAR Japan), which promotes inclusive education in Cambodia; and the People’s Initiative for Learning and Community Development (PILCD), which works on disaster risk reduction and strengthening community resilience to climate change in the Philippines.

Through collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders–including schools, governments, private enterprises, and civil society–we have explored ways to foster inclusive communities by drawing on experiences and lessons from both Japan and overseas.

In the previous column, we introduced our activities carried out during the first and second year of the project (you can read it here). This time, we focuses on the activities of the final year–2024–and highlight the development of the Resource Pack, the project’s culminating outcome.

 

Final Year Activities and the Creation of the “Resource Pack”

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In the final year of the project (2024), we have been developing a “Resource Pack”—a set of experiential and practical learning materials designed to deepen understanding of inclusive community-building.

As part of this effort, we held a three-day regional meeting in Kanagawa Prefecture in October 2024, with the support of the Kanagawa Prefectural Board of Education, the Aikawa Town Board of Education, and the Yokohama Center of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA Yokohama).

(*The report of this reginal meeting can be download from here:  Report on Regional Meeting in Japan (EG))

 

International Symposium: “Towards Inclusive Community Development”

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The first day of the regional meeting featured an international symposium titled “Towards Inclusive Community Development.” The symposium opened with two keynote speeches: the first by Dr. Anupam, a former education administrator from India, who spoke on global trends in inclusion, drawing on examples from various countries; and the second by Ms. Furushima from the Kanagawa Prefectural Board of Education, who introduced Kanagawa’s approach to “learning and growing together” through special support education.

A key takeaway from both speeches was the emphasis on listening to children’s voices and translating them into actionable steps at the field level. Policy alone is insufficient if their intent and essence does not reach the field. Effective implementation requires policies that are informed by the voices of those who interact directly with children and should be supported by robust systems and structures to assist educators.

Following the keynote speeches, three projecr reports were whared by participating organizations.

• The Aikawa Project, represented by the Aikawa Town Board of Education, shared efforts to develop inclusive schools that ensure all children—particularly those with foreign backgrounds—feel safe and supported through the collaboration of school, municipality, and community.
• AAR Japan’s project in Cambodia focused on raising teachers’ awareness of inclusive education to enable children with disabilities to attend local schools. The presentation highlighted the transformation of “a local school” into “an inclusive school” with inclusive learning environments by engaging teachers, administrators, and the community in the change process.
• PILCD’s initiative in the Philippines addressed community resilience to disasters by ensuring that vulnerable groups actively participated in disaster risk reduction planning. By empowering marginalized individuals to take part in decision-making, the project fostered a more inclusive approach to whole-community resilience.

A common theme among all these initiatives was the importance of listening to individual voices. What does a safe and welcoming school environment look like for each child? What kind of support is most effective for students with diverse characteristics and needs? How do teachers perceive and implement inclusive education, and what challenges do they face? What do marginalized groups expect from their communities, and how can communities support them using their own resources? These questions call for a continuous process of listening, re-assessing available resources, and collaboratively creating environments that meet the needs of all.

At the same time, the symposium also illuminated persistent challenges: the difficulty of embedding individual voices into policy, building necessary support structures, and securing adequatehuman and financial resources. These discussions reaffirmed the importance of continuing dialogue among stakeholders to bridge the gap between policies and implementation at the field level.

 

School Visits: Learning from Aikawa Town’s Inclusive Education Model

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To further deepen our understanding, participants visited Nakatsu Elementary School and Aikawa Higashi Junior High School in Aikawa Town. One immediate impression was the high number of students with foreign backgrounds compared to typical schools in other regions. However, what stood out even more was the inclusive and welcoming atmosphere, where children interacted freely regardless of nationality and language barrier.

Both schools have adjusted curricula based on students’ Japanese language proficiency, developed original Japanese language learning materials, and engaged local volunteers to support Japanese language classes. Additionally, teachers actively participate in lesson studies focused on pedagogy for students with foreign backgrounds and implement school-wide initiatives to foster a multicultural learning environment. These efforts demonstrate the positive aspects of community collaboration in creating inclusive school settings.

 

Key Learnings from Three Years of Promoting Inclusive Communities

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Having worked in the field of international cooperation, I have seen how the concept of “inclusive education” has traditionally centered on ensuring access to education for marginalized children, particularly children with disabilities. Over the years, global frameworks such as EFA, MDGs, and SDGs have broadened the scope of inclusion. Inclusion efforts have evolved in response to emerging challenges—initially focusing on children with disabilities, then expanding to children with foreign backgrounds. At the same time, discussions have consistently included topics such as women’s education, literacy programs, and lifelong learning for individuals beyond school age. What to focus on and whom to support has always been influenced by social needs and strategic priorities set by international cooperation agencies or national governments. Still, the core principle has always remained: “leave no one behind.” But to truly uphold this principle, we must continuously ask ourselves a critical question: “Are we truly including everyone?” “Are certain groups unintentionally being left behind?”

This project was launched precisely to address such concerns—to ensure that no one is excluded from discussions on inclusion. It is essential to continuously engage with all stakeholders, listen to voices that might otherwise go unheard, and challenge our own biases. By fostering mutual understanding through dialogue, we can build truly inclusive communities.

 

Final Outcome: “A Resource Pack for Promoting Inclusive Communities”

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Our project is now officially releasing its final outcome, “A Resource Pack for Promoting Inclusive Communities.” We have developed this pack as a tool to provide hands-on understanding of the process of inclusive community-building and to promote mutual understanding among multiple stakeholders.

The Resource Pack consists of three main sections:

1. Introduction – This section provides an overview of the project’s background and key milestones.
2. Workshop Materials – Designed for practitioners, this section introduces role-playing activities based on real-world challenges in inclusive community-building. These interactive exercises help deepen understanding of collaboration, a fundamental aspect of inclusivity. The materials can be used for training professionals, engaging students, or preparing future project implementers to navigate real-life challenges with a broader perspective.
3. Case Studies – This section presents detailed reports from the three participating organizations, highlighting stakeholders involved, activities undertaken, and key lessons learned. By offering insights into practical implementation, we hope these case studies will serve as valuable references for future inclusive community-building efforts worldwide.

We hope this Resource Pack will contribute to fostering inclusive communities in various regions and that these activities will continue to expand globally.

Click here to download the Resouece Pack.

Message from Dr. Anupam Ahuja, Former Education Administrator from India / Advisor and Editor of the Resource Pack

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