10 July 2023
The UNESCO Multisectoral Regional Office in Bangkok is delighted to announce the launch of the Asia-Pacific Living Heritage Lesson Plan Contest 2023. We invite educators from across the Asia-Pacific region to showcase their creativity and pedagogical expertise by submitting innovative lesson plans that integrate Living Heritage or Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) into the classroom. This exciting competition aims to foster a deeper understanding and appreciation of the rich cultural traditions and practices that shape our diverse communities. By bringing living heritage to life through engaging lesson plans, we hope to inspire a new generation of learners to connect with and preserve our shared heritage.
This contest is supported by International Information and Networking Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region (ICHCAP) and Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding (APCEIU), Republic of Korea.
In recognition of the outstanding efforts and contributions of educators, the contest will give 4 grants for the most exceptional lesson plans that UNESCO culture and education expert panel anonymously aspire to see put into action and set as regional good practices. The recipients of these prestigious grants will not only receive well-deserved certificates of recognition; in addition, they will be granted USD$1,000 each to pilot and record their lesson plan usage, and then send the recordings to UNESCO for public dissemination.
Four (4) primary grants to support lesson plan using at the winning schools are for the following categories:
The Living Heritage Advocate Grant emphasizes outstanding efforts in raising awareness, advocating for the importance of safeguarding living heritage, and actively engaging with communities to ensure their continuity.
The Pedagogical Innovator Grant recognizes the remarkable ways in which educators have integrated living heritage into their teaching practices, resulting in enhanced creativity and effectiveness. Grantee lesson plans need to exemplify a range of innovative pedagogies, methods, and tools that effectively engage students and encourage active participation in their learning journeys. These approaches may include the utilization of information and communication technologies (ICT), flipped classroom, project-based learning (PBL), creative use of local resources, collaboration with multiple people, multiple intelligence, and so forth.
The Sustainable Development Contributor Grant honors the exceptional dedication and contribution to sustainable development and recognizes outstanding efforts in designing and implementing lesson plans that effectively raise awareness about broader societal, economic, and environmental issues while inspiring and empowering youth to take meaningful action.
The Special Grant goes to a lesson plan that performs exceptionally well in multiple criteria categories.