Date and time: Tuesday 20 May 2025 12:30pm ET (6:30pm CET; 10:30am Costa Rica)
Earth Charter International and the UNITWIN Network on ESD and Social Transformation, are organizing a series of webinars to bring together educators from different contexts to share good practices on education for sustainable development.
The objective is to open a space for sharing and learning about how education for sustainability can be put into practice and get inspiration from concrete actions, from primary and secondary to higher education, in formal or non formal settings and from different cultural contexts.
In this webinar, we’ll have the opportunity to learn firsthand from teachers who are doing remarkable work on educating for sustainable futures at Ridge and Valley Charter School, located in New Jersey USA. https://ridgeandvalley.org/
This School believes that it is possible to create a more ecologically sustainable future and that children have a right to a planet of pure air, clean water, a vibrant natural world and a more just and equitable human community. This School’s education is an experience of emergence, wonder, support and guidance that allows young people to grow into the fullest expression of their interests, passions and joys so they become self-directed, confident, responsible and informed adults.
This School has just concluded the process to get the Earth Charter & ESD School Seal Certification, in this sense, we’ll learn how they achieved this certification, and how they have translated pedagogical elements associated with education for sustainable into practice, and many other innovations that will help to inspire educators who are wanting to transform education towards the vision of sustainability.
We’ll also have the pleasure to hear from Charles Hopkins, a renowned figure in education for sustainable development, who will offer his perspective on how this experience from Ridge and Valley Charter School connects with the international education agendas associated with sustainability.
This webinar is organized as part of our UNESCO Chair on Education for Sustainable Development with the Earth Charter, which develops education programmes and research in the field of education, sustainability, as well as values and ethics.
Speakers:
Traci Panullo is the Curriculum Coordinator, Leadership Team of Ridge and Valley Charger School. She holds a Post-Master’s Ed. Leadership Program, Thomas Edison State College (NJ); MA Science (Elementary Science Specialist), Fairleigh Dickinson University (NJ); BS Elementary Education, The College of New Jersey and BA Psychology, The College of New Jersey. Traci joined the Trustee circle in 2003, and then became the Curriculum Coordinator and a member of the Leadership Team after the school opened. Traci has a great respect for and kinship with the natural world, and uses that as a foundation to learn about and promote actions that are in alignment with the elemental processes of the universe, helping shape the school and its mission. She brings together her beliefs and practices of alternative forms of education, including Montessori, Waldorf, and Democratic, at RVCS.
Margaret Vitter is a teacher at Ridge and Valley Charter School, she holds a BS in Elementary Education (Specialization in Middle School Math and Special Education), West Virginia University (WV) and M Ed Integrated Learning, Endicott College (MA). Before joining RVCS in 2009, she taught for over a decade at various New Jersey’s public middle schools and high schools. She has also worked as a developmental interventionist and therapist for children with autism. In addition to Maggie’s masters in Integrated Learning, she is certified in special education, K-12 and Middle School Math.
A group of students from this School will accompany Margaret and Traci in their presentation.
Charles Hopkins holds the UNESCO Chair in Reorienting Education towards Sustainability at York University in Toronto, Canada. Internationally, Charles has a long relationship with education and sustainability, chairing the writing and adoption processes of several UNESCO ESD Declarations. An awarded education leader with several honorary doctorates and professorships, Hopkins has lectured and presented papers in approximately 75 countries. He is Co-Director of the Asia-Pacific Institute on ESD in Beijing, China. He has numerous publications and has lectured worldwide on a range of topics from quality education, global citizenship education and educating for a sustainable future. Charles has been awarded three honorary doctorates and seven honorary professorships spanning Europe, Latin America, and Asia. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in the United Kingdom, the Salzburg Global Citizenship Alliance in Austria and the Sejahtera Center for Humanity and Sustainability in Malaysia. Prior to his international career, Hopkins was a teacher, principal, regional superintendent and superintendent of curriculum with the Toronto District School Board.
Moderator:
Moderator: Alicia Jimenez Director of Programmes, Earth Charter International. Costa Rica. She is a biologist from the University of Costa Rica, with a MSc in Resource Development from Michigan State University in the United States and a PhD on Education from La Salle University, Costa Rica. In 2006, she joined the ECI, where she is involved with the Secretariat’s projects on education for sustainable development, facilitating courses, workshops, participating in research and writing projects. She has co-written two books, edited two books and written a number of articles and book chapters on ESD topics.
