A change of worldview has been increasingly seen as crucial to move away from the environmental and civilization crisis we are living in and to enter a space of contributing to a more just, sustainable, and peaceful world. This change of worldview involves examining and rethinking the values and cultivating certain skills, attitudes and knowledge associated with sustainability. Young people are key actors in the process of social transformation, as they are effective change makers to change the course of our current situation and how our choices today will impact future generations. This is affirmed by many UN agencies.
Humanity depends on the boundless energy, ideas and contributions of youth everywhere. Today and every day, let’s support and stand with young people in shaping a just and sustainable world, for people and planet. –António Guterres, UN Secretary General
Aligned with this understanding, over the past 20 years, Earth Charter International has been engaging, educating, and empowering young leaders to be ethical leaders, conscious, and capable of driving progress in a good direction. In this context, The Earth Charter Education Center, host of the UNESCO Chair on Education for Sustainable Development with the Earth Charter, has been working on developing and implementing trainings for young people on sustainability from an ethical perspective, fostering leadership skills to be agents of change in their communities and areas of influence. This new course, designed for teens ages 15 to 18, creates a space for participants to foster skills, values and principles associated with sustainability, in an environment of interculturalism, optimism and innovation.
Course objectives
This training provides a space for participants to:
- Raise awareness of the current world situation, reflect on how this relates to participants’ lives and context, such as the current situation in their communities, their countries, and identify signs of hope for the well-being of all.
- To explore one’s own worldview and what could be the worldview associated with a sustainable, just, and peaceful world.
- To learn about systems thinking and to learn about tools designed by systems thinkers.
- To deepen their understanding of the values and principles of the Earth Charter and how these are associated with the worldview of sustainability.
- To foster communication, self-management, empathy and leadership skills associated with agents of change.
- To promote intercultural understanding of global challenges, a sense of global citizenship and their local expression.
Overall, this course will help participants learn to live together in an increasingly interdependent world.
Upon successful completion of the course, you will have the opportunity to join the Earth Charter youth network, an international online community of motivated individuals turning conscience into action, and the larger Earth Charter Movement.
Course features
- 6 weekly online modules, approximately 2-3 hours of learning
- 6 live sessions with the course facilitators, approximately 60 minutes each week
- Videos featuring inspiring case studies, explanations of sustainability, leadership, and ethics concepts, and explanations of weekly actions. Videos are followed by comprehension questions.
- Downloadable materials including reading materials, stories from around the world, practical tools, and various resources
- Weekly discussion forums
- Collaborative learning communities
Live sessions
When: Thursdays at 5PM Eastern Time
Platform: Zoom
Facilitators:
Amanda Bennett, Earth Charter Youth Coordinator, MPP
Guest speaker: Mirian Vilela, Earth Charter International Executive Director, PhD
Course schedule
| 1 | Introduction and inner development and wellbeing Live session |
Monday, 30 October
Thursday, 2 November |
| 2 | Sustainability and Ecoliteracy Live session |
Monday, 6 November Thursday, 9 November |
| 3 | Systems Thinking Live session |
Monday, 13 November Thursday, 16 November |
| 4 | The Earth Charter No live session |
Monday, 20 November |
| 5 | Leadership and Ethical Dilemmas Live session |
Monday, 27 November Thursday, 30 November |
| 6 | Final project Live session |
Monday, 4 December Thursday, 7 December |
| 7 | Final live session | Thursday, 14 December |
All live sessions will be held on Thursdays at 8AM Costa Rica time via Zoom.
Participant profile
High school students (15-18 years old) who are interested in learning about our current global situation and how to turn that conscience into action.
Language requirement: English
Cost
US$100
You may also reach out to us at [email protected] to learn more about our group packages and payment plans.
What is Earth Leadership?
According to Fritjof Capra, Earth leadership is a new kind of leadership that requires the understanding and internalization of the values and principles for sustainability and peace, such as those set forth in the Earth Charter. In addition, it requires certain intellectual skills and capabilities, among them:
- ecological literacy (knowledge and understanding of the principles of organization the Earth’s ecosystems have evolved to sustain the web of life);
- systemic thinking (thinking in terms of relationshiops, patterns, and context, which leads to the recognition of the fundamental interdependence of our global problems).
Fritjof Capra is an Austrian-born American author, physicist, systems theorist and deep ecologist.
Facilitators
Amanda Bennett
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Amanda Bennett is the Programme Manager of the Youth Programme at the ECI Secretariat and the Center for Education for Sustainable Development at UPEACE. She co-facilitates the Earth Charter Education Center’s youth courses, as part of her role in the youth programme.
She was born in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, and grew up in South Carolina, United States. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Experimental Psychology at the University of South Carolina, and a Master’s in Public Policy at the University of Maryland. While studying in Maryland, Amanda interned at the National Center for Healthy Housing and the Fundred Dollar Bill Project. After graduating, she moved back to Costa Rica and taught English in San José and briefly in Cusco, Peru. Amanda is currently pursing a Master’s Degree in Environment, Development and Peace at the University for Peace.
Sam King
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Sam King serves as a Research Associate for the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology and a Teaching Assistant for the Yale course on Asian Religions and Ecology. He is currently a graduate student in Religion and Ecology at Yale Divinity School, while also completing a Master of Arts in Creative Writing at Dartmouth College. At The Hotchkiss School, Sam taught courses in Philosophy and Religion, developed curricula for the interdisciplinary Humanities program, and organized a project-based learning trip for students in Sri Lanka and India. He was also a Fulbright Scholar in Sri Lanka, where he taught English at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura and conducted research on agrarian Buddhist rituals. Sam earned a Bachelor of Arts in Religion and Environmental Studies from Bowdoin College. He enjoys spending time in the outdoors, practicing meditation, and writing creative nonfiction.
“We know that the crisis is getting worse every single day, and many of us are losing hope for our future. But despair is not an option. We must rise up to meet the greatest challenge of our lives with stubborn optimism.” -Xiye Bastida, Mexican climate activist and member of the Indigenous Otomi community