A Guide for Using the Earth Charter in Education (original) (raw)
Related papers
Earth Charter, Education and the Sustainable Development Goal 4.7: Research, Experiences and Reflections , 2020
For more than 20 years, several individuals and organizations have worked with the Earth Charter in education settings, contributing to the field of Education for Sustainability and of Education for Global Citizenship with a special focus on values clarification and analyses. These experiences demonstrate that values-based education can be accomplished through self-reflections on practical and real-life situations, interactions, dialogue and participatory processes. They also demonstrate that this process does not have to be abstract, rigid, vertical or by imposition. In this article, I share the results of my research on experiences of Earth Charter workshops and courses offered between 1996 and 2018. The research involved identifying 126 and analyzing more closely 44 Earth Charter education experiences carried out in diverse contexts by various groups in all seven continents of the world, as well as my own experience. This chapter offers an overview of the research and especially the findings. These allowed to identify seven pedagogical elements used in processes of education and learning related to values of sustainability and global citizenship with the Earth Charter. These may be considered useful for future work in the field.
Learning and living with the Earth Charter
2007
We must join together to bring forth a sustainable global society founded on respect for nature, universal human rights, economic justice, and a culture of peace. Towards this end, it is imperative that we, the peoples of Earth, declare our responsibility to one another, to the greater community of life, and to future generations. (Earth Charter Preamble) Social learning towards a sustainable world
Education for Sustainable Development based on the Earth Charter
2008
Implementation establishes the linkages between the Millennium Development Goals on universal primary education for both boys and girls, but especially girls, and the Dakar Framework for Action on Education for All. The creation of a gender-sensitive education system at all levels and of all types-formal, non-formal and informal-to reach the unserved is emphasized as a crucial component of education for sustainable development. Education is recognized as a tool for addressing important questions such as rural development, health care, community involvement, HIV/AIDS, the environment, and wider ethical/legal issues such as human values and human rights. 4 Goals of the Decade The primary goal for the DESD is laid out in the United Nations General Assembly resolutions 59/237 in which the General Assembly 'encourages Governments to consider the inclusion…of measures to implement the Decade in their respective education systems and strategies and, where appropriate, national development plans'. Furthermore, the General Assembly 'invites Governments to promote public awareness of and wider participation in the Decade, inter alia, through cooperation with and initiatives engaging civil society and other relevant stakeholders, especially at the beginning of the Decade'. 5 The subgoals at national levels are to: • Provide an opportunity for refining and promoting the vision of and transition to sustainable development-through all forms of education,
The Heart of the Matter: Infusing Sustainability Values in Education
Earth Charter International is pleased to release this publication to mark the end of the United Nations Decade for Education for Sustainable Development (UNDESD), and celebrate the launch of the Global Action Programme on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). In 2003, UNESCO recognized the importance of the Earth Charter for ESD in Resolution Reference 32C/17, which states: “...recognizing the Earth Charter as an important ethical framework for sustainable development”, affirms member states’ intention to “utilize the Earth Charter as an educational instrument, particularly in the framework of the United Nations Decade for Education for Sustainable Development”. Over the course of the Decade, Earth Charter International has contributed to the efforts of the UNDESD by organizing workshops, courses, teacher trainings, and events. ECI has produced several publications about the Earth Charter in ESD initiatives and this publication highlights only a few of the more recent stories. The collection showcased in this publication celebrates the ongoing global effort to bring ethics and values into education at all levels. The Earth Charter proposes that we “Integrate into...education and life-long learning the knowledge, values, and skills needed for a sustainable way of life.” The 19 stories in this publication detail initiatives to further that goal. These examples show the amazing diversity and creativity of educators around the world who are finding ways to bring sustainability values into teaching and learning, and by doing so are helping to accelerate sustainable development. One example is the experience of Nelly Kostoulas-Makrakis from the University of Crete, Greece, who said: “I was searching for ways to overcome current tendencies toward compartmentalization of knowledge and neglect of ethics and values education that are inherent in the concept of sustainable development (SD). Through my search, I identified the Earth Charter as a potential framework that could fulfil my critical pedagogy needs.” The stories in this publication have several themes in common. It is clear that the authors of these chapters have identified many of the same socio-ecological challenges to our collective wellbeing. They have also understood that at the heart of these challenges is the issue of our value system, and the need to change conventional ways of teaching. The experience of the University of Granada exemplifies this: “A common goal between the Earth Charter and the University of Granada is to carry out the development of other intelligences... (we have) attempted to produce an experiential learning experience of connection to nature with an impact on emotional and spiritual dimensions.” Alfonso Fernández Herrería And, finally, they all share the common vision that using the Earth Charter as a guide towards reorienting that global value system is a powerful method for achieving a sustainable perspective for present and future generations. These examples illustrate the transformative power of the Earth Charter to open our eyes to the beauty, interconnectedness, and integral nature of the world we live in. They also tell stories of how the Earth Charter is shaping the kind of citizens and societies that understand their responsibilities and that will joyfully celebrate all life on Earth. “This Earth Charter experience has taught us to respect the environment and to give value to everything nature gives us; it has brought the class together”. Alice, student from Italy Earth Charter International is honored to offer this publication at the end of the UNDESD as a contribution of the UNESCO Chair on ESD with the Earth Charter. We hope that the examples of good practice in this publication will cast a bright light of hope on the future and ECI would be happy to learn that these stories inspire new educational initiatives that will also strive to take on the challenge of our societies towards values of care, compassion, respect, and universal responsibility.
The Earth Charter youth initiative: an ethical approach to justice, sustainability and peace
The Earth Charter is a framework of shared values for building a just, sustainable, and peaceful world. It is a people's charter that resulted from one of the most inclusive and participatory consultation processes ever associated with an international document. It was launched in 2000 at the Peace Palace in The Hague, the Netherlands, and has been endorsed by tens of thousands of individuals and over 5,000 organisations worldwide, including UNESCO and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The Earth Charter is comprised of four core pillars: respect and care for the community of life; ecological integrity; social and economic justice; and democracy, nonviolence, and peace. Incorporating these principles, the concluding section of the Earth Charter, 'The Way Forward' , invoke a call to action for a holistic and integrated vision of sustainability: 'Let ours be a time remembered for the awakening of a new reverence for life, the firm resolve to...
Over the course of the Decade, Earth Charter International has contributed to the efforts of the UNDESD by organizing workshops, courses, teacher trainings, and events. ECI has produced several publications about the Earth Charter in ESD initiatives and this publication highlights only a few of the more recent stories. The collection showcased in this publication celebrates the ongoing global effort to bring ethics and values into education at all levels. The Earth Charter proposes that we “Integrate into…education and life-long learning the knowledge, values, and skills needed for a sustainable way of life.” The 19 stories in this publication detail initiatives to further that goal. These examples show the amazing diversity and creativity of educators around the world who are finding ways to bring sustainability values into teaching and learning, and by doing so are helping to accelerate sustainable development. The stories in this publication have several themes in common. It is c...
Canadian Journal of Environmental Education, 2020
The Earth Charter has become a dated guiding document for the field of environmental education. When the document debuted in 2000 as the global "framework to guide the transition to a sustainable future" (Earth Charter Initiative, n.d.-a, para. 2), the writers promoted it as a solution to environmental problems that incorporated voices of a wide spectrum of diverse communities from across the globe. The Earth Charter is a broad and ambitious document, designed to encourage action at local, national, and international levels (Earth Charter Initiative, 2009). Using critical discourse analysis methodology and social justice lenses, this paper examines the value of the Earth Charter as an educational tool as we enter the Anthropocene, a new geologic period in which our species is the largest force influencing and changing the planet (Olvitt, 2017). We argue that the Earth Charter reinforces dominant oppressive myths of sustainable development and excludes concerns voiced by marginalized populations. In perpetuating problematic narratives, we question the Earth Charter in its current form as a relevant and useful framework for informing environmental education 20 years after its publication. We suggest a method for updating the Earth Charter with social justice framing, using democratic, co-creative tools that are accessible to communities around the world, in their own languages. Résumé Publiée en 2000, la Charte de la Terre est aujourd'hui dépassée en tant que document-guide en éducation à l'environnement. Présentée à l'époque comme un cadre mondial qui guiderait notre transition vers un avenir durable (Earth Charter Initiative, s.d., paragr. 2), elle apportait, selon ses auteurs, une solution aux problèmes environnementaux qui conjuguait les voix d'une pluralité de groupes dans le monde. Document large et ambitieux, la Charte se voulait un moteur d'action à l'échelle locale, nationale et internationale (Earth Charter Initiative, 2009). La valeur de la Charte de la Terre en tant qu'outil éducatif à l'aube de l'Anthropocène, cette nouvelle période géologique où, de toutes les espèces, c'est l'humain qui exerce la plus grande influence sur la planète (Olvitt, 2017), est revue à la lumière d'une analyse critique du discours et sous l'angle de la justice sociale. Nous avançons que la Charte de la Terre renforce non seulement les mythes oppressifs dominants du développement durable,
The Heart of the Matter: Infusing Sustainability Values in Education Experiences of ESD with the Earth Charter Celebrating the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, 2014
In this chapter, the way the Earth Charter has been used at the Primary Teachers Education Department at the University of Crete is presented. The Earth Charter provides a useful tool which merges the 3Hs strategy which responds to the need for adopting a holistic approach to teaching and learning in order to live together sustainably.