“Green Blue Education Forum 2025” to be held and participant applications now open – August 10, 2025 (Sunday) at the Osaka-Kansai Expo “World Play & Learning Summit” –

The Green Blue Education Forum Executive Committee (Chair: Noriko Ishizaka, Representative Director, Ishizaka Sangyo Co., Ltd.) will participate in the “Global Play & Learn Summit,” a signature event of the 2025 World Exposition in Japan (hereinafter “Osaka-Kansai Expo”), and will hold the “Green Blue Education Forum 2025 (hereinafter “GBEF”)” at the EXPO Messe “WASSE” on Sunday, August 10, 2025 (co-hosted by the Ministry of the Environment).

This sixth GBEF will be held within the “Global Play & Learn Summit” hosted by Producer Nakajima, and will be a place where children will be at the center of the event, experiencing, learning, and thinking together in the same space about what we can do for our beloved Earth. The aim is to involve many people and create new, outstanding initiatives.

Specifically, the GBEF Competition is calling for submissions of videos from children under the age of 25 in Japan, showcasing activities and proposals on the theme of “The environment we want to preserve and the future we want to create,” based on their own experiences. The competition will award winners through a judging process. It will also feature a “Future Interview & Discussion” with experts and a participatory discussion using picture scrolls called “What can we do for our beloved Earth?” The competition will provide an opportunity to learn about the potential for social implementation, whereby children can change the future of the Earth themselves, and encourage them to “make everyone’s Earth colorful.”

In response to this, the GBEF Competition began accepting submissions on Tuesday, April 1st.

■ Green Blue Education Forum 2025 Overview
Title:　Green Blue Education Forum 2025
Date:　Sunday, August 10, 2025, 10:00-15:00
Venue:
Within the “World Play and Learning Summit” to be held at EXPO Messe “WASSE” at the 2025 World Exposition, Japan (Osaka-Kansai Expo)
Organizer:　Green Blue Education Forum Executive Committee (within the “Expo Opportunities for Experience” Research Organization)
Co-organizer:　Ministry of the Environment
Supported by:　Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Osaka Prefecture (application pending), Japanese National Commission for UNESCO (application pending)
Sponsors:　Platinum Partner Special Sponsors (in alphabetical order as of April 24, 2025):
　　　　　　Ishizaka Sangyo Co., Ltd.
　　　　　　, Kayama Kogyo Co. , Ltd.
　　　　　　, Koen Cross Organization (General Incorporated Association)
　　　　　　, TSDO Co.
　　　　　　, Ltd., Paradox Co., Ltd.
　　　　　Gold Partner Special Sponsors :
　　　　　　Daiwa Lease Co. , Ltd., 　　　　　　
　　　　　　Unifina Are Co., Ltd.
　　　　　 Silver Partner Sponsors: 
　　　　　　Gunze Limited, Asia-Pacific Cultural Center for UNESCO
 　　　　 Bronze Partner Sponsors
 　　　　　　: Koiwai Farming Co., Ltd. 
Programs (planned):
 PROGRAM #1 My Action! Experience Report / GBEF Competition <75 minutes (planned)> 
Students, pupils, and children (including graduate students) from Japan under the age of 25 will present the insights, thoughts, and actions they have gained through their various experiences on the theme of “The environment we want to protect and preserve, the future we want to create.” At the venue, past competition winners and companies will present their experiences in a “My Action! Experience Report,” along with a pre-screening winners’ announcement and award ceremony, providing an opportunity to explore the possibilities of social implementation. 

PROGRAM #2 Future Interview & Discussion (50 minutes, planned) 
An international discussion on the theme of “The Future of Humanity and Nature.” Children will engage in a dialogue with experts working to solve social issues from around the world, reflecting on the future of humanity and nature with the audience and broadening their perspectives based on global trends.

PROGRAM #3 What Can We Do for Our Beloved Earth? (75 minutes, planned) 
A discussion will be held that will engage everyone, including the children and experts who appeared at GBEF and the audience. Based on the theme of “What can we do for our beloved Earth?”, Graphic Facilitator® Yuniko Yamazaki will be joining us to compile the voices of the audience into a single picture scroll. Everyone in the audience will be able to interact and deepen the dialogue. 

■ GBEF Competition Application Details 
Application Period: Tuesday, April 1, 2025 – Monday, June 30, 2025.
Eligible participants: Japanese students, pupils, and children under the age of 25 (including graduate students). Individuals and teams are welcome. 
Details: Based on what you have felt through school classes and extracurricular activities, as well as through community activities and other “experience activities,” you will be asked to think about “the environment we want to preserve and the future we want to create,” and submit a video presentation of no more than three minutes that covers the attractiveness of the environment as you see it, the challenges in preserving it, and practical measures you can take to preserve it. 
How to apply:Upload your video online (LINE, Dropbox, YouTube, etc.),fill out the required information on the entry form, and submit it to the Green Blue Education Forum Executive Committee. URL: https://gb-ef.org/entry/Selection
and Judging: Applicants and teams will undergo an initial screening process using their submitted video and entry form, and teams that pass will then proceed to a final screening process.
Initial Screening: Selection will be conducted based on the submitted video and entry form.Teams that pass the initial screening process will be announced online in early July 2025.
Final Screening: On July 7th, the submitted videos of individuals and teams that pass the initial screening process will be judged to determine the winning individuals or teams.
*An award ceremony and announcement of the winning teams will be held at the Osaka-Kansai Expo site on August 10th.
Award Types: Environment Minister’s Award, Special Sponsor Company Award, and others planned. Judging Criteria: Evaluation will be based on the originality of the theme, originality of the proposal, expressiveness, overall structure, and empathy.

<What are Signature Events?>
The Osaka-Kansai Expo features eight Signature Pavilions, each individually planned and organized by eight producers active at the forefront of their respective fields, each focused on a life-related theme.

<What is the “World Play & Learning Summit?”>

This is a signature event for the “Playground of Life: Jellyfish Pavilion,” produced by Sachiko Nakajima. For five days, from Wednesday, August 6th to Sunday, August 10th, the summit will share the common philosophy of “creating a creative space where diverse life forms can shine with excitement and creativity in their own unique way.” Organizations such as steAm Inc., the Japan Pair Go Association, the Japan Institute of Invention and Innovation, the Ritsumeikan Trust, Pia Corporation, and the “Experience Opportunity Space” Research Organization will provide a platform for multifaceted discussion and expression of the future of play and learning, transcending national boundaries, positions, and generations. We aim to “democratize creativity” by building a society and culture where everyone can unleash their diverse creativity through interactive exhibitions and experiences that use all five senses, diverse workshops and events, and interactions with a diverse range of people.

<About the “Experience Opportunities” Research Organization>

The organization was established by businesses certified as “experience opportunities” by prefectural governors and other organizations with the aim of further enhancing experience programs from a private perspective. Currently, 17 organizations are members. Chairperson: Noriko Ishizaka (Representative Director of Ishizaka Sangyo Co., Ltd.). In
October 2022, we signed an agreement with the Ministry of the Environment to enhance and expand “experience opportunities” based on the Environmental Education Promotion Act.
“Place of Opportunities for Experience” Certification System　https://www.env.go.jp/policy/post_57.html
“Place of Opportunities for Experience” Research Organization　https://esd-place.org/

<Contact for this matter>
Green Blue Education Forum Executive Committee (within the “Place of Opportunities for Experience” Research Organization)
TEL: 049-259-5800 / FAX: 049-259-7636 / Email: info@esd-place.org