On the 6th of September, two Earth Charter Young Leaders, Khadeejah bint Malik from the Philippines and Emma Feyeux from France, held the first Earth Charter poetry event! It gathered a group of girls and women from around the world inspired to share personal pieces of poetry and learn about sustainability, the Earth Charter, and how to turn conscience into action.
Poets and guests joined from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Costa Rica, France, India, Pakistan, Philippines, Sudan, Venezuela, U.A.E., and the U.S.A.
The participants were then invited to join a group to continue to share on sustainability, women empowerment, and education.
Below, you can find some of the beautiful writings that were read at the event, and get inspired by them as much as we did!
| “The Earth Charter and Us”, by Khadeejah bint Malik. Two visionaries once met and talked about society.” We stand at a critical moment in Earth’s history, A time when humanity must choose its future.” Where each community of life is a precious creature. Gorbachev and Strong sparked an idea that changed the world, In which, man should have already made it his duty and word. Common global ethics leads to an Earth that is sustainable, So why go beyond universal law and put Earth to crumble? Visionaries gathered on twenty-ninth June. With hope their collective views would bloom soon. A sixteen principle document was binded, When finally, the Earth Charter was founded. It is a tool for society. A sense of shared responsibility. “We are one human family, and one Earth community, with a common destiny.” With the rise of human population, Resources are in depletion, Species are in extinction, This is not anymore fiction. “It is imperative that we… declare our responsibility… “For life on Earth, decide to live with integrity. “We must join together”As if there’s no border.” Let ours be a time remembered… “And for each other,Commit to our Earth Charter. |
| “Remember the Earth and the Earth Charter…”, by Shipri Gupta On one oddly day, Three beings were sitting under the harmony tree, One was man, the second was nature and the third was society. Each saw what they wanted to see, The man never asked beyond “what’s in it for me?” Society simply beckoned to his humanity, Hence began nature’s destruction, Ignoring their mistake’s gravity. Natures pleads under the harmony tree, Why does your development come at the cost of me? Society continues its rampage as Man’s greed concours,and most problems unfurl. Man blames society, says “You are ruthless” Society simply says “I am but a reflection of your humanity” The harmony tree sighs, while nature becomes breathless. Agitated, hurt and abused nature pleads for a speck of sympathy, Man and society ignore her and carry on their quarrel of who’s right. Sensing a foreboding disturbance amongst the three, “It’s time to intervene” thinks the harmony tree. Grumbling and mumbling, “Shush!” it says, “Do you forget the Charter of Earth?” it asks the tree. Silence answers for them, as each realizes the disaster that could be. “Respect and Care, for the life within and around you, Care for your Nature’s Integrity, you exist on her subsistence, Justice can only be achieved on both man’s and society’s insistence. “Reminded the harmony tree, as all the three felt sorry. “Achieve Peace through the democracy, each supports the other under me, my shade does not differ, neither should your true peace be achieved without each one of you.” Declared harmony, as it stretched itself over the three. Now each one remembered The Earth Charter, each settled down a little smarter, Having prevented the disasters that could be, All three lived together forever in harmony! |
| “The Domes that Sustain Us”, by Tanvi Malhotra I breathe in the synthetic air, tasting the saltiness on my tongue. As I dig my feet into the sand, I notice the horizon looking pixelated than usual, it can never compare to the real thing. We only get ten minutes on the augmented beach a day, the closest thing to real nature. It’s 2096. There are 3000 of us left. We live in climate-controlled domes, making our own food and water. I was only 5 when my family rushed to survive in the domes. At least the algae tastes good, well, with a little pepper in it. I work in the electricity department, just like all the other teenagers, cycling away to generate electricity for the domes. I can feel my memories of the real earth, slowly fade away. The fragrance of wet mud, now being replaced with the metallic smells of the dome. Leaders have given up, scientists, not getting a glimpse of sleep, clacking over their computers in hopes of a better solution. The outside world is ravaged, dry winds banging against the domes, not a being in sight. |
