Earth Charter International’s Crowdfunding Campaign was launched with the purpose to fund scholarships for Young Leaders. ECI has a network of Young Leaders, who are alumni of our training programme scattered all over the world, working to make the world a better place. Our goal at ECI is to engage, empower and equip young people with the knowledge and tools they need to be ethical and responsible leaders committed to sustainability and contributing to the common good.
Our efforts seek to enable them to turn their conscience into action. We seek to enhance young people’s capacity to be ethical leaders through our Leadership, Sustainability, and Ethics course. This 10-week online course, offered by the Earth Charter Education Centre in English and in Spanish, brings together participants (18 to 30 years old) from all regions of the world, who are able to connect, converse and form friendships with like-minded people from different contexts and cultures. Once they graduate from this training programme, they are invited to become Earth Charter Young Leaders (ECYL).
The ECYLs do a lot of different things to contribute to the process of making their community more just and sustainable. First and foremost, the Young Leaders are inspired to advocate in their communities for the values and principles of sustainability outlined in the Earth Charter document. Many develop local sustainability projects and/or sensitize their community on the importance to turn the values and principles of sustainability into action. Often, after taking the Leadership, Sustainability, and Ethics (LSE) course and becoming an ECYL, Young Leaders will help co-facilitate a future LSE course on a volunteer basis, giving them extra experience in a multicultural environment and an opportunity to enhance their skills to facilitate workshops, communicate and collaborate. They frequently host workshops and webinars for their networks and communities about the challenges of unsustainable societies, the vision of the Earth Charter, and the importance of addressing social injustices and bringing sustainability into action.
Through this crowdfunding campaign, we want to fund 150 scholarships per year to allow future Young Leaders to take the LSE course and start their path toward agents of change and helping to make the world a better place. Now, let’s meet some of the current ECYLs.
Emma Feyeux, France
Over the last few years, I have developed a real passion for the environment, as I feel it’s where I can make the biggest difference and find the most personal fulfillment.
This journey has allowed me to meet incredible people and increase my understanding of the world. The Leadership, Sustainability, and Ethics course I participated in at the end of 2020 played a big part in it, and my internship at Earth Charter International makes me see things from another viewpoint. Apart from that, I’ve always been an incredibly active person, and I love taking on new projects and new teams!
In the future, I hope I will be able to continue to fuel these interests by working for the environmental cause, and I am particularly interested in law as a tool to fight for the environment.
Emmanuel Niyoyabikoze, Burundi
I am a 24-year-old man from Burundi, and I am studying at the National Institute of Public Health in the Department of Health Sciences.
I am a young man who fights for global change, and at the same time, I contribute to community development to combat climate change, for example, protecting the environment by planting trees to stop erosion in my community of origin.
With the knowledge and competencies that I received during the Leadership, Ethics and Sustainability training, I feel I have more capacities and strength in my life to collaborate with Earth Charter International and promote its objectives and mission here in Burundi.
Greshma Pious Raji, India
Greshma is a young professional, who has a strong desire and passion to be a peacebuilder interested in promoting international collaboration through various programmes and projects. To complement her goal, she earned an MA in International Peace Studies from the University for Peace, Costa Rica.
As part of the programme, she did her internship with the Earth Charter International Secretariat. She has published and presented on various topics including peace, interfaith, spirituality, amongst others. Currently, she is in charge of a global campaign, ‘One Billion Youth for Peace’, initiated by the United Religions Initiative South India region.
Oswaldo Alvizar Banuelos, Mexico
Oswaldo is a Mexican educator, activist, and social entrepreneur. A graduate of the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana where he majored in sociology, he has collaborated with non-profits and universities in different eco-pedagogy, human development, and peace culture projects. Oswaldo is looking forward to spreading the content of the Earth Charter through actions and meaningful dialogues.
Who and What is the Earth Charter?
The Earth Charter involves a document, a non-profit organization, and a global network. The Earth Charter document articulates values and principles of sustainability, as such, it is a blueprint to make the world a better place. The network is a global community made up of people and organizations using the Earth Charter in various ways and working to make the world a more just, sustainable, and peaceful place to live. The non-profit organization, Earth Charter International (ECI), based in Costa Rica, powers the Earth Charter global movement by providing guidance, networking, and educational opportunities such as online and in-person courses about the values and principles of sustainability articulated in the Earth Charter and education for sustainability. The Earth Charter Education Centre, found within ECI, focuses on research and training and providing tools to current and future educators.
Focus on Young Leaders
The Earth Charter Young Leaders (ECYLs) are a network of young people spread across the globe, committed to sustainability, and making a difference in their community. They are promoting sustainability and helping to raise awareness of the Earth Charter and the worldview that is articulated in it. Earth Charter Young Leaders are making a difference in their communities, no matter where in the world they are. They also work to curate articles for the Earth Charter website to keep the community informed and tightly-knit. Our Young Leaders allow us to keep one foot in the present, and the other in the future.
What are we asking for?
We need your help to keep engaging and empowering these young leaders to pave the way for a better tomorrow. ECI is asking its community, you, for support in funding this programme to give them the guidance and tools they need. The cost for ECI to facilitate the Leadership Sustainability and Ethics (LSE) course is $300 per student; although we’ve lowered the cost in the past, many future leaders still require scholarship support to make their participation possible. You can help us do that. We need to raise $45,000 in scholarships to reach our goal of enrolling 150 leaders in the course per year. Every donation, whether $300, $100, $50, or $10, goes directly to funding course scholarships for our Young Leaders. Your contribution will make a difference. Help us help the next generation of change-makers and be a part of something big.
Click here to learn about other ways to donate.
