Nakayoshi Gakuen's 'Learning Connected to the World' Lecture Wins Category Award at 12th JACE Event Awards

The specified non-profit organization Nakayoshi Gakuen Project announced that its "Learning Connected to the World" lecture, developed in collaboration with schools, municipalities, and companies nationwide, has won the Category Award in the "Students, NPOs, Various Organizations, and Individuals" category at the 12th JACE Event Awards.

The JACE Event Awards, established in 2014 by the Japan Association for the Promotion of Events (JACE), is a comprehensive recognition system targeting domestic and international events. It seeks broad submissions of creative and innovative events, aiming to raise the overall standard of the event industry through discovering and honoring individuals who lead the era.

This time, Nakayoshi Gakuen's "Learning Connected to the World" lecture was featured on the JACE Event Awards official website as a winning project in the aforementioned category.

More Than Just a Lecture: Transforming "I Might Be Able to Do Something" Into Action

The "Learning Connected to the World" initiative deployed nationwide by Nakayoshi Gakuen is not merely a lecture. It is an educational program that re-evaluates global issues—such as war, poverty, refugees, disasters, and educational inequality—not as events in distant countries, but as "issues that can be engaged with from our own communities and schools."

Students do more than listen; they brainstorm what they can do and connect it to concrete actions, including material creation, peace message production, international exchange, support activities, product development, and local dissemination.

Shifting learning from simply "wishing for peace" to "taking action for peace" has been a central focus. Having this approach recognized in the form of an Event Award is a great joy for Nakayoshi Gakuen.

The Innovation Recognized: Going "Beyond the Lecture"

The JACE Event Awards' common selection criteria emphasize three perspectives: "Idea/Concept," "Impact/Economic Effect," and "Operation/Technology/Design." In particular, solving social issues, changing participants' awareness and behavior, and initiatives for sustainability and diversity are included as evaluation points.

Nakayoshi Gakuen's "Learning Connected to the World" is exactly an initiative that has implemented this shift "from awareness to behavioral change" in the educational setting.

Children and students who listen to the lecture feel:
"I might be able to do something too."
"We might be able to connect with the world from our school."
"Peace is not something created by someone else; we can also be involved."

They transform that passion into specific activities. Designing this "step beyond the lecture" is a major characteristic of Nakayoshi Gakuen's activities.

In February 2026, their activity of shifting "from being supported to supporting" was evaluated by UNESCO IEA, and a case study was published on its website.

The History of Nakayoshi Gakuen and Educational Activities Connected to the World

Nakayoshi Gakuen was founded in 2007, starting with relief activities for bullying and school refusal. Subsequently, they conducted classes at evacuation centers during the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, and in 2013, began educational support in Cambodia. Since then, they have expanded their activities to Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, including Rwanda, Nepal, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, South Sudan, and Syria. Currently, they are involved in educational support, disaster relief, vocational training, peacebuilding, food assistance, and independence support through corporate partnerships.

The organization's activities have also been introduced at the UN Headquarters, ACUNS Academic Council, UNESCO-related venues, and Windsor Castle in the UK. Furthermore, practical knowledge born from sites worldwide—such as rehabilitation support for former child soldiers in the DRC, volcanic disaster relief, classes in refugee camps, and educational and food support in South Sudan—is fed back into the learning of Japanese children.

Based on such field experiences, "Learning Connected to the World" is an educational model that connects Japanese schools, communities, and companies with overseas support sites, creating a cycle where learners become supporters, and supporters further become learners.