Report of Ecumenical One World Initiative (EOWI) Germany 2018

Ökumentische Initative Eine Welt / Ecumenical One World Initiative (EOWI) is an Earth Charter Affiliate from Germany.

The following are activities that they organized and that they took part, and their reflection about what they accomplished in 2018. In total, 135 people participated in the activities they organized, and 335 people in the events they took part.

Activities EOWI organized:

• October 2017 until June 2018: The Earth Charter Theatre Training “Die Zukunft wird verspielt…” (“Playing for time”) took place for the first time. In the five-part workshop series, various theatrical formats are linked to the four parts as well as the prologue and epilogue of the Earth Charter. The training was facilitated by Catriona Blanke, Friederike Gezork and Torben Flörkemeier. Its target groups are artists, teachers, social workers and other multipliers. Total participants: 20
• February: In the seminar “Transformation of the world by 2030 – with the Global Earth Charter Ethics as the Basis: A Seminar on the Contribution of the Earth Charter to the Sustainable Development Goals” all German Earth Charter Activists (Earth Charter Ambassadors) were invited to deepen their understanding of similarities and differences between Earth Charter and the SDGs. The event was facilitated and by Kerstin Veigt project coordinator of Earth Charter Germany and Rainer Mathar Senior Advisor and ESD-Expert. Total participants: 16
• March and May: The seventh Earth Charter Ambassador Training takes place on two weekends in spring. 15 participants from Afghanistan, Germany and Madagascar met in Warburg-Germete. They learned and tried out EC methods for educational work and had a lot of fun. Some of them are already active conducting their own EC projects. They are part of the almost 100 Ambassadors in Germany. The course was conducted by Kerstin Veigt, Sara Mierzwa and Torben Flörkemeier. Total participants: 17
• June: On 29^th June the international Earth Charter Day was celebrated in Germany for the third time. It took place in different locations and settings. Ambassadors and friends celebrated divers: Some invited for open-air cinema others presented the hand puppets “Caspar and the Erath-Charter” others facilitated a nature meditation session. Participants: ca. 50
• November 2018 until April 2019: The second run of “Die Zukunft wird verspielt…” (“Playing for time”) started in November 2018. Total participants: 20
• November: In the seminar “Earth Charter in Movement” Earth Charter Ambassadors are invited to learn how to plan, film and cut videos. Total participants: 12

Activities in which EOWI participated:

• February and April: Alana Wilhelm and Ulrike Berghahn lead an Earth Charter Training “Global Learning as a Religious Educational Task” at the School for Social Work of the Evangelical Diaconism Institute in Speyer with aspiring Educators. 31 participants.
• March: Barbara Ruthardt-Horneber, first chair of EOWI participated in the 2nd Regional Sustainability Initiatives Meeting about Agenda 2030 conducted by the federal Sustainability Council. Total participants: 100
• May: At the World Children’s Day in Stuttgart Catriona Blanke facilitated two Earth Charter Workshops. Total participants: 18
• June: At the Workshop Meeting “Global Learning for Sustainable Development in kindergarten” in Stuttgart, Sara Mierzwa and Torben Flörkemeier guided educators through a Workshop day on the Earth Charter. Total participants: 10
• July: At two official German Earth Charter Schools in Warburg pupils intensively deal with Earth Charter during project days. At the Warburg Secondary School the 7^th grade students learnt about EC and how to put it into action by the Earth Charter Scenario Games during the EC Compact Days. At the Marianum High School in Warburg 8^th and 9^th grade students focused on EC and Diversity at school and in the city. Total participants: 110
• July: What’s our hope? How does our Handprint look like? And what are our personal visions for the future? At the Annual Meeting of the National Labour Group for One World in Stuttgart, Sara Mierzwa facilitated a workshop on Earth Charter Projects for Kita and primary school children. In addition to a theoretical input, there were also practical exercises with stature theatre and other games. Total participants: 25
• August: During a school exchange at the Lichtenstein High School Friederike Gezork and Torben Flörkemeier engaged 24 Students from Yekaterinburg, Russia and German students from the Erzgebirge in an Earth Charter theatre workshop. Total participants: 24
• November: The students of the Earth Charter School Marianum presented the results of their Earth Charter project day to the mayor of Warburg. The city is interested in implementing the students’ recommendations for better conditions for insects in the city.
• December: Earth-Charter-Ambassadors and others celebrate the turn of year dealing with questions as: “What does homeland mean to us?” “And does it mean anything to us?” The Speakers Pepper (Ghana), Amanulla Peerzad (Afghanistan), Ulrike Berghahn (Lippe) contributed their experiences and perspectives of home. Total participants: 17

The year 2018 was manifold and comprehensive. We enhanced and perpetuated our theatre program. Especially people in the age between 20 and 40 are interested in this format. Until now we trained 40 people to be theatrical ambassadors. Our activities are attractive and usually fully booked. Our program is up to the actual topics and media. On the one hand we trained the German Earth Charter Activist in producing videos on the other hand we refer to the SDGs as one of the most recent topics within education for sustainable development.

At the events where we participated and presented the Earth Charter lots of participants and network partners are interested. Currently your network is continuously growing, our work reaches out to more divers target groups and it is well established within the field of sustainable development in Germany.

For 2019 we hope to extent collaborations with network partners. Additionally, we are planning to offer trainings for ambassadors to teach successful units such as the Earth Charter Scenario Game.