On Thursday, 25 October, a special event was organized at the National University of Costa Rica (UNA), to launch the publication of the Journal of Education for Sustainable Development translated into Spanish as part of the annual meeting of the network of educators Delta Kappa Gamma. This International Society of Educators seeks to contribute to the professional and personal growth of the educators who are part of this network. The translation of this publication was undertaken by Bianchinetta Benavides, professor at the School of Literature and Language Sciences of the National University, who shared reflections on the publication at this occasion.
The event “Our Common Home: Educating for Sustainable Development” featured reflections from the Rector of the UNA, Alberto Salom, the Dean of the Center of General Studies, Roberto Rojas, the Director of the Earth Charter International, Mirian Vilela and of the deputy-dean of General Studies, Miguel Baraona Cockerell, who offered an overview of the history of humanism. The event also counted with the participation of Ana Lourdes Acuña, President of Delta Kappa Gamma- Costa Rica, and Daniel Rueda, Vice-Rector of Research of the National University.
The publication launched showcases a series of articles on education for sustainable development, and the role of the Earth Charter as an educational instrument. It also provides examples of the use of the Earth Charter in education in various settings. For example, in the article “Living in the Earth: Towards an Education for Our Time” by Stephen Sterling, the author describes “the importance of recognizing the mismatch between a shared perception of separateness in Western thinking and the systemic and inevitably participative nature of the world.” He also “traces the development of forms of ‘education for change’ that seek to address sustainability issues that stem from dissociation.”
The article by Rose Marie Inojosa, “Promoting the Earth Charter in São Paulo’s Municipal Education System,” describes “the process of widespread teacher training based on the Earth Charter in the municipal area of São Paulo, Brazil, which diffused knowledge of the Earth Charter among 800 educators and through them, to one million children. This process was developed by the team from UMAPAZ.”
The translation and publication of this work in Spanish allows the reach of a greater number of readers, serving as a resource for all interested in the subject of education for sustainability, or in the Earth Charter in education in all the Spanish-speaking countries in Ibero-America. It is hoped that this publication will inspire many to use it and replicate teaching, research and activities related to values of sustainability and the Earth Charter.
This publication is the result of cooperative ties between the Center for General Studies of the UNA and the Earth Charter International Secretariat. The Center for General Studies of the UNA has being working with the Earth Charter for many years and offers a course on Planetary Citizenship and the Earth Charter to first-year students of the university.
The original publication was launched in 2010 with the aim of contributing to the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014), and continues to be a unique contribution to the process of education in sustainability values within the framework of the new Education 2030 Agenda.
We invite you to read the publication, use it and promote it.
Access the book by following the links:
English version: https://earthcharter.org/library/journal-of-education-for-sustainable-development-42/
Spanish version: http://cartadelatierra.org/biblioteca-virtual2/educacion-para-el-desarrollo-sostenible-y-carta-de-la-tierra/
Video of the launch: https://vimeo.com/297403960
Contents
Notes about the Translation, Bianchinetta Benavides-Segura
Editorial – An Ethical Framework for a Sustainable World, Kartikeya V. Sarabhai
Introduction to the Special Issue – Earth Charter Education for Sustainable Ways of Living, Rick Clugston
Opinion Essays
Peace Education, ESD and the Earth Charter: Interconnections and Synergies, Toh Swee-Hin (S.H. Toh) and Virginia Floresca Cawagas
Dangers Facing the Earth Charter, Javier Reyes Ruiz
The Why and What of ESD : A Rationale for Earth Charter Education (and Naming Some of Its Difficulties), Noel Preston
Earth Charter, ESD and Chinese Philosophies, Yunhua Liu and Alicia Constable
Reorienting Education Practices towards Sustainability, Moacir Gadotti
Living in the Earth: Towards an Education for Our Time, Stephen Sterling
Going Global in Arlington, Virginia, Edgar Miranda
Articles
CREADS, A Teacher Training Course on ESD in Costa Rica, Alicia Jiménez Elizondo
Promoting the Earth Charter in São Paulo’s Municipal Education System, Rose Marie Inojosa
Forging Inclusive Solutions : Experiential Earth Charter Education, Linda D. Hill
The Earth Charter Goes Interactive and Live with e-GLO : Using New Media to Train Youth Leaders in Sustainability on Both Sides of the Digital Divide, Mike Sheehan and Jaana Laitinen
Practicing ESD at School : Integration of Formal and Nonformal Education Methods Based on the Earth Charter (Belarusian Experience), Sofia Savelava, Savelau Dmitry and Marina Bakhnova Cary
The Methodist University Sustainable Program : Using the Earth Charter to Mainstream
Sustainability, Waverli Maia Matarazzo-Neuberger and Vicente Manzione Filho
Practices of Integrating the Earth Charter into Education Activities in German Federal States of Hessen and Rheinland-Pfalz, Reiner Mathar
Make a World of Difference : Hearing Each Other, Healing the Earth, Hiro Sakurai
Student Research
Using EC-Assess to Assess a Small Biofuels Project in Honduras, Franklin Chamda Ngassa
The Earth Charter and the ESDinds Initiative: Developing Indicators and Assessment Tools for Civil Society Organisations to Examine the Values Dimensions of Sustainability Projects, Dimity Podger, Georgia Piggot, Martin Zahardník, Svatava Janouškavá, Ismael Velasco, Tomás Tenía, Arthur Dahl, Alicia Jiménez and K. Marie Duro.