In the year 2000, the Earth Charter was officially launched on June 29th in a ceremony in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands. The launch was preceded by nearly a decade of efforts in the most participatory manner ever achieved by a civil society initiative to agree on the universal ethical principles of sustainable development. Since 2000, the Earth Charter has spread around the globe, has been translated into more than 40 languages, and has inspired millions of actions, activities, initiatives, organizations, and individuals, all to make a more peaceful, more, just, and more sustainable world.
Now, fifteen years later, the world is in some ways better, in other ways the same, and in still other ways is worse. 2015 is a moment for us to rekindle the torch of hope that the Earth Charter represents. It is a moment for the world community to recommit to achieving the lofty goals set forth in the Charter. And so, ECI is officially launching its EC+15 Campaign with the following logo and slogan:
ECI will be holding several events, mostly online, and will also organize two artistic contests, one for photos and another for videos over the course of the year. The schedule of planned events include webinars in February, April, June, and another one near the launching of the SDGs in September, and a final one to reflect on the year in December.
On 20 March ECI plans to organize, in collaboration with partner organizations, a face-to-face event at its facilities in Costa Rica called “Finding Synergies, Building Bridges. Reorienting Education towards Sustainable Development, Sustainable Consumption and Global Citizenship”.
Several ECI Affiliates have already announced their own celebrations. The Mexican network is planning a suite of events around Earth Day (22 April) at the University of Coahuila, and ECI Affiliates in the Netherlands will also hold events on 29 June in the Peace Palace in The Hague.
Earth Charter International would like to invite all of you, individuals and organizations, to plan actions and activities under the slogan “One Earth Community, One Common Destiny” during 2015 to celebrate the Earth Charter and initiate action and awareness in your communities. The more actions and activities that the global EC movement can organize, implement, and share worldwide will add strength and vitality to the movement.
ECI would like to have as much news about these celebrations as possible, leverage social media, and offer as many people as possible the chance to learn about and learn how to use the Earth Charter. So, start thinking about how you, your community, or your organization can participate.
Let us know by sending us information, posting on facebook and other social media platforms, and use the hashtag #ECplus15.
Thanks and we look forward to celebrating the Earth Charter with you next year!