This year, Vihren Mitev, Earth Charter Young Leader (ECYL) from Sofia, Bulgaria, published the article titled “Ecological Manifesto: The Next Ten Years.” The article shares perspective on the early links between the Industrial Revolution and the harm that it is going to cause to the atmosphere in correlation with the exponential growth of human population. It presents the views of many scientists and it is making a call for faster achievement of circular and shared economies around the globe. The article is based on the original Ecological Manifesto, which is advocating for the creation of a global movement that consists of same-minded people who understand the current environmental situation and are ready to work for protecting nature. It is a call for climate action, a fight against injustice and for eradication of poverty. The Ecological Manifesto can be found in the Earth Charter Virtual Library and it is inspired by ECI’s Leadership, Sustainability and Ethics course.
Vihren is founder and director of the “Ecological Manifesto – ManEco” Foundation. He has a Ph.D. in Philosophical Anthropology from the Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”. His dissertation A Concept of Personality in an Anthropology of Personality explains the genesis of the concept and the importance of the context in which the personality exists – the so called from the ancient Greeks οἶκος that we find in the terms eco-logy and eco-nomy. Vihren has master’s degree in Global Studies where he worked on the existential consequence from the modernization that influence nowadays people. He also has a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy. In the field of environmental protection, Vihren has few articles on the topics of Ecological Diplomacy, Un «manifeste» pour une communication diplomatique écologique préventive and Threats Posed by the Effects of Climate Change.
Currently Vihren Mitev is advocating through his organization for mandatory environmental education in schools, just transition through carbon taxation, zero waste and recycling, circular and shared economy, awareness on environmental topics, youth involvement, transparency of institutions, participatory democracy and active citizenship.