Celebrating the Journey, Renewing the Commitment: The Earth Charter and its 25 years in Mexico

With vibrant collective energy, the city of Puebla hosted the commemorative event for the 25th anniversary of the Earth Charter in Mexico on October 24, 2025. This celebration was a meeting point for multiple social actors, educational institutions, civil organizations, government agencies, and committed citizens, who reaffirmed their commitment to an ethical, global, and transformative vision for sustainability, justice, and peace.

During this celebration, panel discussions, keynote addresses, cultural activities, awards ceremonies, the signing of alliances, and book presentations took place, with significant participation from young people, Indigenous communities, academics, public servants, and representatives of national and international networks. The event was convened by the Mexican Earth Charter Network, in collaboration with the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (BUAP), the Salvatierra Foundation, the Pact of Women Business Leaders, and the Medicine Wheel.

It was a timely opportunity to share and learn what is being done with the Earth Charter, especially in Mexico, and a valuable space for universities, educational institutions, and companies to sign or renew a commitment to the vision of sustainability framed in the Earth Charter.

The opening and formal ceremony included the participation of:

• Manuel Sandoval Delgado, General Coordinator of Sustainable Development at BUAP, representing Dr. María Lilia Cedillo Ramírez, Rector of the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla.
• Rebeca Bañuelos Guadarrama, Secretary of Environment and Territorial Planning of Puebla, representing Governor Alejandro Armenta.
• Pedro Álvarez Icaza Longoria, the national commissioner of the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas, representing the secretary of SEMARNAT Alicia Bárcena Ibarra.
• Teresa Salvatierra, president of the Salvatierra Foundation.
• Michael Bracken, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Earth Charter International.
• Mateo Alfredo Castillo Ceja, representative in Mexico of the International Earth Charter Initiative, coordinator of the Mexican Earth Charter Network and research professor at the Michoacan University of San Nicolás de Hidalgo.

During this event, various higher education institutions from the state of Puebla took part in the Signing of the Alliance for Sustainability, an initiative promoted by the Puebla Education and Talent Development Cluster, along with civil society organizations. This alliance represents a symbolic and formal commitment by Puebla’s universities and clusters to the ethical, social, and environmental principles of the Earth Charter.

The first dialogue, titled “Earth Charter+25: Planetary Consciousness, Ethics of Care, Intergenerational Justice, and Action in the Face of Global Challenges,” facilitated by Rafael Martínez, brought together:

• Sam Crowell (USA), president of the Earth Charter International Council; (click here for more on this)
• Michael Bracken (USA), Chairman of the Board of Directors of Earth Charter International.
• Paul Lubbers (Netherlands), member of the Earth Charter International Council;
• Mirian Vilela (Costa Rica/Brazil), Executive Director of the Secretariat of the Earth Charter International;

• Laura Viviana Pinto Araújo, Faculty of Philosophy and Letters of the BUAP.
• Verónica Tellez Ponce, national president of the Pact of Women Business Leaders.
• Beatriz Quintero Hernández, Focal Point in Nayarit and Secretary of Research and Postgraduate Studies at the Autonomous University of Nayarit.

Panel 2. “Education and Youth: Actions for Peace and Sustainability. Inspiring Experiences and Perspectives for Action from Universities, Collectives, and Civil Society Organizations,” facilitated by Amorita Ivonne Salas Westphal, Focal Point in Durango, featured the participation of:

• David Velazquez, UAEM, Focal Point in the State of Mexico.
• Margoth Lugo Machado, Autonomous University of Sinaloa.
• Valentina Campos Cabral, COMPLEX.
• Luis Felipe Guevara Díaz, Earth Charter-Youth: Mexico.

Open Forum: “From the Heart of Mexico: What’s Next for the Earth Charter?”

Facilitated by Edgar Ulises Salmerón Ramos, Focal Point in Guerrero, Gina Mirella Ventura, Focal Point in Aguascalientes, and Luis Alberto Peralta Peláez, Focal Point in Veracruz. This moment invited all participants to reflect on key guiding questions, such as the opportunities and barriers to advancing the Earth Charter in Mexico and putting its principles into practice.

Collective reading of the Declaration approved by the Earth Charter International Council, led by Jazmin Hildabel Moreno, Focal Point in Morelos, and Ignacio Rojas González, Focal Point in Puebla.

This anniversary did not mark an ending, but a new beginning. This sentiment was expressed by various leaders during the event, highlighting that the future of the Earth Charter depends on its adoption by new generations. In the words of Dr. Mateo Alfredo Castillo Ceja, coordinator of the Mexican Earth Charter Network:

“We must build a transgenerational continuity, with girls, boys, and young people who feel that life — all life — deserves to be loved, protected, and celebrated.”

The commemoration concluded with a vibrant call to keep this ethic alive for the present and the future, strengthening conscious alliances and transformative actions that make the dream of a full, just, peaceful, and sustainable existence for all forms of life on the planet a reality.