By Ainhoa Garayar Erro, University of the Basque Country, Spain.
At the University of the Basque Country in Spain, professor Ainhoa Garayar Erro, academic director of the Master’s Programme in Leadership and Change Management for Sustainability, with a background on Business Administration and Management and a PhD in Economic and Business Sciences, has been concerned with “how can we equip our students not only with technical knowledge and practical skills, but also with the wisdom, compassion, and ethical commitment needed to build a more just and equitable world in harmony with nature.”
In her journey exploring how learning can change the way people relate to themselves, their communities, and the living world, she found the Earth Charter and took part in the ECI professional development Programme on Education for Sustainable Development.
Following that, Ainhoa designed, with her colleagues, a new Masters Programme, inspired by a range of theories and pedagogical frameworks that promote deep learning, critical reflection, and transformative action, including the Earth Charter. Drawing on the Earth Charter as an ethical guide for education that connects personal growth with collective responsibility, the programme combines reflective seminars, transdisciplinary action labs, and personal development activities. Students work on challenges brought by community organisations, public institutions, and businesses. Alongside this practical work, they explore their own values and practise the empathy and emotional awareness needed to collaborate through uncertainty.
In the early results described in her article, students reported greater self-awareness, stronger collaboration, and a deeper commitment to sustainability. For Ainhoa, these experiences reinforced the importance of nurturing the inner capacities that make responsible leadership possible. Inspired by the Earth Charter, her teaching connects the work of changing ourselves with the work of caring for our shared world.
