14.12.2012

Simon Bolivar University's experience with the Earth Charter

The Urban Life and Environment research group of Simon Bolivar University has been actively using the Earth Charter for various academic activities.

You can find a report with details of the activities they have developed here (in Spanish only). The following is a summary of this document.

1. Urban Planning Course for social promoters

Session: Values and Ethics with the Earth Charter

Dates: July – August 2012

Content:

  • Introduction to Sustainable Development
  • The Earth Charter
  • Earth Charter pillars (adaptation and community analysis)
  • Group dynamics or practical exercise

2. Diploma in Sustainable Development challenge for entrepreneurs and business people

Session: The Earth Charter as a business evaluation tool

Dates: May – November 2012

Objective: To facilitate understanding of the ethical and strategic focus expressed by the Earth Charter, and apply this tool in the search for innovative solutions and in promoting the values ??????of the company.

3. Course for businesses: Towards an environmental culture in businesses. Working with the Earth Charter (6 hours)

Content:

  • Ethics, leadership, and environmental business values
  • The Earth Charter: background, concepts, and scope
  • Experiences of implementing the Earth Charter in businesses and organizations
  • Principles and values to achieve an ethics of the future, using the Earth Charter as a reference

4. Post-graduate study in environment and development

Session: City and environment, pillar 2 of the Earth Charter

Dates: January – April 2012

Objectives:

Study and understand the need for people to adapt to a lifestyle more compatible with the physical limitations of cities, to help achieve cities with sustainable urban life, where indicators reflect human needs and their compatibility with the environment where they are located.

Understand the diversity of cities where different styles of life, culture, and values meet and express themselves through environmental quality, in the form of provision of services, mobility, security, and housing location preferences, all as consequence of the forms of administration and management of production of the changes in the city that in most cases are becoming triggers of urban blight.

5. Career in Urban Planning (undergraduate)

Subject: Urban Planning workshop X.

Dates: April – July 2012

Content: Technical and socio-political viability of urban plans and projects

Workshop: The Earth Charter and EC Assess

Evaluation of urban planning proposals using the Earth Charter assessment tool.