This training programme seeks to enhance young people’s skills and knowledge to be ethical and effective sustainability leaders and implement Earth Charter-inspired projects, contributing towards a more sustainable and peaceful world.
Participants will receive a certification of completion as recognition of their successful completion of the “Leadership, Sustainability and Ethics” training and an invitation to become an Earth Charter Young Leader.
Course Features
- 10 weekly online modules (approximately 2-3 hours of learning)
- 5 live sessions with the course facilitators (approximately 1.5 hours each week)
Final project (approximately 10 hours of work) - Videos featuring inspiring case studies, explanations of sustainability, leadership, and ethics concepts, and explanations of weekly actions.
- Downloadable materials including articles, stories from around the world, practical tools, and various resources
- Weekly discussion forums
- Collaborative learning communities
Programme Objectives
This programme provides a space for participants to:
- Strengthen their capacity to be ethical sustainability leaders.
- Expand their Earth consciousness and worldviews.
- Understand sustainability, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Inner Development Goals, system thinking and the Earth Charter, and recognize their synergies.
- Utilize the Earth Charter as a framework for ethical decision-making and use it as a tool for personal growth in professional and personal contexts.
- Effectively develop and implement projects that reflect the values of leadership, sustainability, ethics, and the Earth Charter.
- Recognize and embrace their agency and global citizenship skills in driving positive change in the world.
- Establish connections with fellow participants from diverse cultures and contexts for ongoing support, collaboration and networking.
Participant’s Profile
This programme is designed for emerging young leaders who are interested in contributing to the realization of a more sustainable, peaceful, and just world. Participants must be between the ages of 18-30 and able to read, write, and speak in fluent English.
To participate in the course you must:
- Desire to know, collaborate and communicate with other young leaders in the field of sustainability and Earth Charter.
- Have a good command of the language in which the course is being held.
- Be willing to share the knowledge acquired with your context.
- Be part of a network of young people.
- Undertake a workshop for youth at the end of the programme to empower other youth to actively participate in the Earth Charter Movement.
Content
Over the 10-week programme, participants will engage with the theory and practice of:
- Leadership
- Sustainability
- Ecoliteracy
- Systems Thinking
- Ethics
- Facilitation
- The Earth Charter
Methodology
The programme relies on an online platform and weekly local or online actions to engage participants in the theory and practice of leadership, sustainability, and ethics. The curriculum incorporates multi-media methods, including articles, videos, written exercises, group activities, and discussion forums, and culminates in the development and implementation of a local workshop by each participant.
All participants from diverse regions of the world join together for five live video calls throughout the 10 weeks, and are able to enter the online platform and complete one session per week on their own time (requiring approximately 3-4 hours per week).
Participants lead their own way through the training and are invited to engage with one another through an online discussion forum. Participants also support each other in a peer review process while drafting and planning a workshop. Facilitators provide support and guidance during the programme.
Course Fee
US $299 for participants from the Global North
US $149 for participants from the Global South
*We provide a limited number of PARTIAL scholarships. In turn, scholarship recipients commit to assisting with additional tasks during the programme (negotiated with the facilitators).
Course Schedule
| Session | Topics | Date |
| 1 | Introduction, Worldviews and Global Challenges | 16 September |
| First live meeting | 17 September |
|
| 2 | Sustainability and Ecoliteracy | 23 September |
| 2 | Systems Thinking | 30 September |
| Second Live meeting |
1 October |
|
| 4 | The Earth Charter Part 1 | 7 October |
| 5 | The Earth Charter Part 2 | 14 October |
| Third live meeting | 15 October |
|
| 6 | Leadership and Ethics | 21 October |
| 7 | Ethical Dilemmas | 28 October |
| 8 | Final Project preparation | 4 November |
| Fourth live meeting | 5 November | |
| 9 | Feedback | 11 November |
| 10 | Let’s do this! (Final Project) | 18 November |
| 11 | Final live meeting | 26 November |
All live meetings will take place on Tuesdays at 7:00AM Costa Rica time via Zoom.
Meet the Earth Charter Young Leaders in the Movement Map
The ECYL Programme is a year-long focal point position in the Earth Charter Youth Network. Young Leaders connect with, motivate, and engage their contemporaries to join the Earth Charter movement and shape a more peaceful, just, and sustainable world.
