ECI staff journeyed to the CIVICUS World Assembly, held May 23-27 in
Using a subset of the Earth Charter’s sixteen Principles and sixty-one Supporting Principles, evaluators identify which Supporting Principles are material (significant, meaningful, relevant) to the subject of the assessment. They then evaluate (1) the extent to which each Supporting Principle is espoused publicly, and (2) the extent to which actual planning and performance reflects the implementation of that Supporting Principle in practice.
The results allow the evaluator to identify areas where either the declared embrace of a Principle is strong or weak, and where the actual practice of a specific Principle is strong or weak. The EC-Assess process helps to harness the power of “cognitive dissonance” — that is, instances where actions do not mirror espoused values. These points of dissonance can be recognized as opportunities for launching campaigns to change personal behavior, strategy, and practice.
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With its focus this year on accountability, CIVICUS provided a timely and receptive atmosphere for the launch of EC-Assess. Many of the World Assembly workshops and plenaries – spread out over 4 days of learning and multi-sector networking – were devoted to media, government, and civil society accountability to the populations they serve; the Earth Charter, through EC-Assess, highlighted an additional understanding of accountability – that is, holding oneself and others to a common set of ethical ideals.
Four ECI staffers, including Executive Director
Dialogue.