Arline Sobalvarro, professor of Humanities at the National Technical University of Costa Rica, instructed her students to use the Earth Charter as a thematic platform for their final projects.
Twenty-three students gave dramatic presentations covering various topics, such as: illegal trafficking of species, environmental crimes, problems faced by fishermen (including the unfortunate misconception that the drug business is a viable path out of poverty), and discrimination against indigenous people in Costa Rica.
Here are a few comments about the Earth Charter from the students:
“I think the Earth Charter helped us by giving more meaning to our work; it gave us a direction.”
“The Earth Charterit awakened our consciousness regarding what we are currently doing and what we should be doing to help our planet”
“The Earth Charter helped us to understand what is going on in our world today, because it is often the case that the media diverts our attention so we do not focus on what really matters… the Earth Charter also provides ideas for what we need to do for the common good.”