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Annual competition in education for sustainable development
Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) ranks among OMEP’s highest priorities. Since 2010 we have sponsored a competition for outstanding projects focusing on sustainability education for young children, with emphasis on holistic and children's rights perspectives. Since 2019, we introduced a Student Award (ECEC teaching, bachelor or master degree).
The results of this work since 2010 are impressive. Each year OMEP members from 8 - 30 countries have submitted projects. Over the years, these projects have included 244 359 children, 82 950 teachers, 93 784 families, 1 144 student teachers, and more than 6 809 others. More than 30 countries have received awards.
For 2027 competition, we are looking for active, child- and play- centered sustainability education projects. Projects must focus on dimensions of sustainability (society, economy, environment and political). Children´s thoughts and ideas must play a leading role. And the projects must reflect children’s rights perspectives, with preference for holistic approaches.
Winner(s) are invited to present their project at the next-coming OMEP World Conference. They will receive some support for their travel and the conference registration fees will be waived. Winning projects will be uploaded on the World OMEP website and ESD Resource Bank and further disseminated in OMEP publications and webinars.
To apply, you need to be an OMEP member and your application shall be signed by your National President of OMEP. Please use the application form below.
QUALITY INDICATORS - Used for scoring by the committee
CALL 2027
Annual education for sustainable development (ESD) award competition for bachelors and masters levels students
Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) ranks among OMEP's highest priorities. Since 2010, OMEP World sponsors a competition with awards that include support to participate in the OMEP Annual World Conference to present outstanding projects developed by OMEP members.
We initiated a student award competition in 2019 because we recognize today's students as those who will be responsible for a sustainable future. OMEP invites all students to take part in this competition.
List of Winners in the OMEP ESD Award Project
Launched in 2009 at World Assembly in Lagos, Nigeria
| WA in Gothenburg Sweden - PPT or application found for all projects | ||
|---|---|---|
| Rosslynne Waiyigo Kiragu | Kenya | Water purification at Elimu daycare kindergarten |
| Shankar Musafir | India | Urban Jungle |
| Mariella Losso | Argentina | Learning together to inhabit our earth today and tomorrow |
| Han Chunhong and Shi Wenhua | China | Young children’s questions and concern about ESD |
| Elba Domaccin | Ecuador | Guardians of the environment with environmental awareness |
| OMEP Poland/Anna Wróbel | Poland | Ecological project - Peaceful Place |
| Kimberley Smith | England | Early Years ESD – A case study of children’s centre |
| Theodora Avgeri | Greece | Working together – Acting together World Environment Day |
| Agapi Liapaki | Greece | The Polar Bear Project |
| WA in Hongkong, China | ||
|---|---|---|
| Professor Ma | China | ESD in Science Education |
| Eunhye Park | Korea | Keeper of Green Earth |
| WA in Campo Grange, Brazil (texts and PPTs available) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Micheli Alves Machado | Brazil | Educacão na infância para a Sustentabilidade |
| Adriana Stoller | Argentina | Primera Infancia en el Siglo XXI: Derechos de los Niños a vivir, jugar, explorar y conocer el mundo |
| Alice Medina | Brazil | Los jugetes que han nacido en el patio de la sostenibilidad |
| WA in Shanghai, China | ||
|---|---|---|
| Mercy Murugi Macharia | Kenya | 'Matarajio' Project: Gender Equality in Kenya |
| WA in Cork, Ireland - PPT or application found for all projects | ||
|---|---|---|
| Dr Libby-Lee Hammond, Dr Sandra Hesterman, Dr Marianne Knaus and Mrs Mary Vajda | Australia | Children’s ideas about families’ access to food from a perspective of wealth and poverty |
| Jocelyn Uribe and Verónica Romo | Chile | Protección de la Madre Tierra (Protecting Mother Earth) |
| Mercy Murugi Macharia | Kenya | Matarajio: Gender equality in Kenya |
| Jarmila Sobotova | Slovak Republic | All the children of the world |
| WA in Washington, USA | ||
|---|---|---|
| Glynne Mackey | New Zealand | Loving the place where you belong: ecological identity |
| Incheon KCOMWEL Childcare Centre | Korea | Children grow at a vegetable garden |
| Rodrigues Cristina, Arto. Gabriela, Roxana Cardarelli, Ludovico Grillo | Argentina | Education for a Sustainable World: EDS Technology Project |
| Guangheng Wang, Xin Zhou | China | How to prepare teachers to incorporate ESD into their daily work with young children: from the experiences of Shanghai kindergarten teachers |
| Rigmor Sletten, Cecilie Hella, Jaemie Walde | Norway | A Musical Production that Promotes Global Social Fairness in Blaklokka Barnehage |
| Paulette Luff, Zoe Miles, OMEP UK | UK | The Bat Conservation Project. ESD resources for Teacher Training created via the OMEP UK pre-school partnership with ALDERHOLT sunbeams |
| Gustavo Riestra | Uruguay | The scientific curiosity in early childhood: something that should be life-long |
| WA in Seoul, Korea | ||
|---|---|---|
| Vassiliki Pliogou plus 5 researchers | Greece | Children’s curiosity finds solutions for energy: A project for renewable and non-renewable energy sources for early childhood children |
| Lilian Atieno Okal | Kenya | Water conservation in Kenya |
| Puttikul Patcharaporn, Udomluck Kulapichitr | Thailand | Education for Sustainable development in Thailand World Heritage site: Evidence based and Place based learning instructional model for enhancing environmentally responsible behavior of kindergarteners |
| Elizabeth Ivaldi (OMEP Uruguay) | Uruguay | Building a sustainable school |
| Valene Martinez | USA | ESD From cradle through College and Beyond: We’re in this together! Group |
| WA in Opatija, Croatia | ||
|---|---|---|
| Diane Boyd | UK | Embedding ESD within the Context of Policy and Practice within the in Early Childhood Education in England-developing an Early Childhood ESD pedagogical framework |
| New New Aung | Myanmar | Upgrading Capacity of preschool children, Early Childhood Teachers and Educators in Myanmar on Education for Sustainable Development by understanding of The OMEP ERS-SDEC |
| Ewa Lewandowska | Poland | How to begin Change-Campaign for ESD in early education in Poland- the beginning |
| Erica Figueroa, Ana Caneva | Argentina | Municipal schools of the local government of the City of Santa Fe: a policy for sustainable development focused on early childhood |
| Older Bustos Vera | Chile | I am responsible of the transformation of healthy educational spaces for the community: “Las Abegitas de Santa Babara” |
| WA in Prague, Czech Republic — PPT or application found for all projects | ||
|---|---|---|
| Neda Grbin | Croatia | Menu with taste and smell of Mediterranean |
| Heejin Kim, Hoewook Chung, Eunyoung Kim, Chowon Lee, Hyeyoon Choi | Republic of Korea | The Red Goat Project |
| Marina Bachmann, Kate Harris, Zane McCarthy | New Zealand | Exploring gender neutral curriculum/culture |
| Beatriz Elena Zapata Ospina | Colombia | Development of Scientific Skills in Early Childhood in the framework of Education for Sustainable Development |
| Jeanete Franco N., Mitzi Bown | Chile | Children, the future conscious citizen and the guardians of our plant and livestock heritage |
| WA in Panama City, Panama - PPT or application found for all projects | ||
|---|---|---|
| Tuğçe Akyol | Turkey | Education for sustainable development: From theory to practice |
| Marit Heldal | Norway | Learning from Sustainable Early Childhood Education and Care in a Refugee Camp |
| Mie Oba | Japan | Peace education for young children and future early childhood teachers with an effective learning resource Kamisibai of a story of Hiroshima |
| Bournier Florencia, Larrosa Veronica, Silva Fernanda, Zuccolo Sylvia | Uruguay | Project Turtles: In search of a sustainable environment |
| Student Award winners We have all applications, look for WEBB-PPT (Camila) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Marijana Tumpić | Croatia | Children’s development through sustainable development |
| Award winners | ||
| Maria Gerasina | Russia | Ecological quest-festival "Children on guard of the Earth!" |
| Robinson Andrés Garrido | Chile | To the encounter with our ancestors. Interculturality and sustainable education in kindergartens in the city of La Ligua |
| Adwoa Okuwa | Ghana | We can grow what we eat |
| Lis Mathiasen and Dawn Butterworth | Australia | Education for Sustainable Development: Focus on climate change |
| Student Award winners We have the applications | ||
|---|---|---|
| Anja Kočiš | Croatia | Finaktivci |
| Lucija Cimić, Petra Dumbović, Lucija Skuliber, Katarina Jelinek, Ivančica Žarković and Josipa Kodrić | Croatia | Recycle a toy, promote sustainability |
| Award winners We have applications and 1 PPT Look for WEBB PPT (Camila) | ||
| Hideki Oka | Japan | Work on sustainable online cross-cultural exchange that nurture the global sensitivity of young children |
| Sofia Zätterström | Sweden | edChild - Sharing educational activities within sustainable development through a global community of early childhood educators |
| Şebnem Feriver | Turkey | Children as System Thinkers: Exploring Water with Education for Sustainable Development |
| Student Award winners | ||
|---|---|---|
| Diane Boyd, Janet King, Stacy Mann, Joe Neame, Angela Scollan, Naomi McLeod | United Kingdom | 2022 Early childhood education for sustainability - SDG / STEM resource |
| Award winners | ||
| Jane Boyd, Janet King, Stacy Mann, Joe Neame, Angela Scollan, Naomi McLeod | United Kingdom | 2022 Early childhood education for sustainability - SDG / STEM resource |
| Oyindamola Sonola, Tokunbo Doherty, Funsho Chikezie, Tutu Odlélola | Nigeria | 2022 activity based, low cost initiative – from waste to experiential play, learning and development |
| Tania do Amaral Gomes, Carline Susan de Castro, Eloina Aparecida da Silva | Brazil | 2022 Nice at the Lagoon - De Boa na Lagona |
| Misun Kim | Korea | 2022 To us, by us and for our change |
| Student Award winner | ||
|---|---|---|
| Maria Fernanda Aburto, Fernanda Alvarado, Sofia González and Ursula Neculman | Chile | Center of Creative Reuse |
| Award winners |
||
| Mélanie Bélanger with colleagues Martine Bertrand, Carine Marina, Geneviève Goulet-Jutras, Annick Drouin, Monique Talbot, Lizbeth Gallego Robles | Canada | Sustainable preschool (CPE Durable) |
| Özge Metin Aslan and Esen Hacıömer | Turkey | Play for the Planet: Supporting Creativity and Sustainability in Early Childhood Education |
| Choi Eun-joo | Korea | Children and Teachers Together – A Study on ESG in Children’s Play - from a Teacher’s Perspective |
| Oh Young Hee | Korea | When Thoughts Grow, the World Changes |
| Student Award winner | ||
|---|---|---|
| — | No student awards recorded for this year. | |
| Award winners | ||
| Luciana Deschênes, Marie-Soleil Côté and Alicia Maltais | Canada | Sustainable preschool (CPE Durable) |
| Catalina Ignacia Sánchez Uribe | Chile | A world of cardboard |
| Tomoe Akiyama and Lemi Komai | Japan | Where does the river get polluted? Children's continuous learning from the nature around them |
| Shim Jung-sun, Heo Jee-hye, Seo Jee-hye and Lee Jeong-ha | Korea | Earth Loving Clothes |
| Melita Pušnik | Slovenia | Clothes and footwear exchange during the school year 2023/24 |
| John Siraj Blachford | United Kingdom | The Early Childhood Education for Sustainable Citizenship (ECESC) Award (2022-24) |
| Student Award winner | ||
|---|---|---|
| Suzan Özunluoglu | Sweden | Sustainable Development |
| Award winners | ||
| Ebenetta Palmer, Aminata Lahai and Cleopatra Warritay | Sierra Leone | Promoting sustainable agriculture: From the garden to the table |
| Amanda Winnett | Australia | Young children’s engagement in sustainable forest creation: an action research project inspired by the Miyawaki Method on the Swan Coastal Plain of Western Australia |
| Hajin Jung | Korea | Sharing, Caring, and Growing Together: Learning About Sustainable Economic Development Through 'Ice Cream Shop' Play |
| Sarah Bacinger, Daliborka Petrović, Suzana Nemet, Zdenka Đurđević | Croatia | Trash in the bin, let the eco fun begin! |
| Deniz Kahriman Pamuk, Sofia Ingvarsdotter | Sweden | What if children don't play? Reimagining our sustainable future |
| Anaid Llorente Topete, Berenice Rodríguez Gutiérrez | Mexico | Artistic spaces socio-constructed by children for community mental health |
| Student Award winner | ||
|---|---|---|
| Kim Hyeona and Shin Mi-young | Korea | When Children Speak Through Paper: A Play-Based ESD Project on Reuse, Participation, and Children’s Rights |
| Award winners | ||
| Milagros Perez Druille, Maria de los Angeles Villanueva, Agostina Fonseca and Leila Morel Hunka | Argentina | Buenos Aires ampliada: Jugar para aprender, amplificando las voces de los niños para la sustenibilidad (Ministerio de Educación, Ciudad autónoma de Buenos Aires) |
| Xuehua Qiu, Minyi Li, Fang Ta, Xi Zhang, Ying Li, Jingyi Xu, Li Chen, Jie Teng | China | Transforming Rainwater Collection Buckets - Children’s Agency in Promoting Sustainable Lifestyle |
| Particia Ong, Tanu Mendis, Sudesh Herath, Grace McCarthy and Madison Venner | New Zealand | Learning Sustainability Through Place and Relationships in Early Childhood |
| Martha Cecilia Amau Salazar, Angela Beatriz Vasquez Morales and Kenea Milagros Ruiz Rojas | Peru | Ecoaventuras de q’inti el colibri |
| Beatrice Hallgren and Therese Edenborg | Sweden | In a World of Possibilities - how children’s voices can create change and hope for the future |