In the ACES project, we are investigating the impact of transformative education through playful approaches and experiences towards developing social resilience, targeting young people in Malaysia, Vietnam, and Indonesia. Aligning with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal on equitable, inclusive quality education, we are developing an innovative pedagogical model and its associated programme of playful, experiential, co-creative, and participatory activities. The ACES model aims to bridge formal and informal educational contexts and spaces towards an inclusive, safe, and resilient society.

Through the community-centred aspect of the approach, young people will be able to develop non-discipline specific capabilities that can sustain them as active life-long learners and contributors to their communities. Teachers and local community groups are engaged in the project to draw on local knowledge and experience, and to extend the co-creation and ownership of the educational process to the community. Project outcomes will be translated into policy and practice recommendations.