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EXPO Future Learning & Play: beyond SDGs is a forum to revisit the history and endeavors of humanity, life, and the Earth, and to reimagine the shape of future societies. By taking a long view of 4.6 billion years of co-creation and transformation, it invites us to reconsider what it means to live well — Well-Being — and to envision a society where diverse lives can truly shine, beyond the framework of the SDGs.

This talk reflects on the upcoming revision of Japan’s national curriculum guidelines and explores directions for next-generation education. It highlights the role of STEAM education, especially the integrative and creative power of the Arts, and the significance of “play” as a fundamental human practice that generates new learning and unexpected value.

Professor Kan Suzuki (University of Tokyo / Keio University), together with Jellyfish Pavilion Producer Sachiko Nakajima, a musician, mathematician, and STEAM educator, will discuss the future of education and social transformation from their respective perspectives. Under Expo 2025’s thematic project Invigorating Lives, the session will present motifs that look beyond the SDGs, inspiring more creative, inclusive, and resilient futures.

【Reflection】
On October 4, 2025, the Jellyfish: Playground of Life Pavilion hosted the thematic week dialogue event “EXPO Future Learning & Play: Beyond SDGs.” This program invited participants to reflect on Earth’s 4.6-billion-year history as a starting point for reimagining learning, creativity, and society beyond the framework of the SDGs. The dialogue featured Professor Hiroshi “Suzukan” Suzuki of the University of Tokyo and Keio University—former Vice Minister of Education and a leading figure in Japan’s education reform—and Sachiko Nakajima, Producer of the Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai Thematic Project “Invigorating Lives” and a cross-disciplinary creator active in music, mathematics, and STEAM education.

Opening the session, participants looked back on the journey of the Jellyfish Pavilion while Professor Suzuki introduced the concept of “Post-Modernity (Graduating from Modernity)”, discussing new paradigms of learning that transcend the boundaries of traditional education. He emphasized the need to shift from knowledge-based, memorization-driven learning toward education that empowers learners to ask their own questions and engage with society. At the core of this transformation, he noted, lie the creative forces of “play” and “art.”

Nakajima then shared examples from her own practice at the Expo and within STEAM education, stating that “learning and play are inherently inseparable.” Together with Suzuki, she highlighted how subjects often regarded as “minor” in Japan’s school system—music, art, physical education, home economics—are in fact the foundations of inquiry and creativity. When integrated with STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), these areas evolve into truly creative, interdisciplinary STEAM learning.

Their dialogue went beyond policy and pedagogy, delving into the essence of what it means to learn and to be human. Suzuki observed that the upcoming national curriculum revision must focus on cultivating the ability for students to define their own questions and pursue inquiry with autonomy. Nakajima responded, “We must move from education that searches for the right answer to education that creates through one’s own voice.” Together, they redefined education as an act of co-designing society itself.

In closing, the speakers and audience shared the message that “Play can change society, and creativity can shape the future.” The session invited participants to envision new possibilities for learning that are collaborative, joyful, and life-affirming. It vividly embodied the Jellyfish Pavilion’s philosophy—learning and play that enhance life and resonate with the diversity of all living beings—while expressing how STEAM education can drive the next evolution of education beyond the SDGs.

【Post EXPO Initiatives】
EXPO Future Learning & Play: Beyond SDGs is a dialogue platform that reexamines the trajectory of humankind, life, and Earth’s 4.6-billion-year history to envision the shape of future societies. Carrying this vision forward beyond the Expo, we aim to cultivate a more creative and resilient world — one that moves “beyond the SDGs.” Our theme centers on “Post-Modern Learning”—a concept that transcends modern educational frameworks by re-centering the fundamental human practices of play, art, and inquiry as the core of education for the next generation.

As discussed in the session, the Jellyfish Pavilion team believes that in the upcoming revisions to Japan’s national curriculum guidelines, the role of art and inquiry-based learning must be given even greater importance. The key question is how to embed the principles of STEAM education—which values not only science and technology but also emotion, imagination, and creativity—into the structures of society and the realities of school education. This inquiry aligns deeply with the Expo’s Thematic Project “Invigorating Lives.” Under the leadership of Professor Hiroshi “Suzukan” Suzuki (University of Tokyo / Keio University) and Sachiko Nakajima, we will continue fostering dialogues that connect education, art, and science to shape a new social model for learning and creation.

The general incorporated association steAm BAND, co-founded by Suzuki and Nakajima, continues to advance programs centered on “learning,” “creation,” and “collaboration.” Initiatives include the “Gomi Festival,” which uses waste issues as a lens for creative problem-solving, and the “STEAM Symphony Contest,” where young people express their research and inquiries through music and art—turning social challenges into opportunities for imaginative learning.

This year, “Future Earth School,” co-organized by steAm and steAm BAND, participated in the Jellyfish Pavilion’s signature event, the World Learning & Play Summit. The event brought together approximately 600 teachers and education enthusiasts from across Japan and around the world, welcoming more than 30,000 visitors. A wide variety of workshops and talks unfolded throughout the summit. Within the Future Earth School zone, educators and children from different countries connected both online and in person, exploring new possibilities for learning and play through STEAM. The result was the emergence of a growing international platform where the joy of learning transcends nations and cultures.

Looking ahead, we plan to continue hosting such dialogues, workshops, and collaborative programs regularly—together with university and high school students, educators, and artists from diverse backgrounds. By bridging the boundaries between academia and the arts, we hope to nurture an educational culture where everyone can learn, create, and resonate with society at their own rhythm. From the Jellyfish Pavilion to the world, we will continue to share the vision of “Post-Modern Learning”—an education of the future that elevates life and celebrates the harmony of diverse creativity.

Earth Literacy Program（NPO)

Kan Suzuki Laboratory (Suzukanlab)