#TurningConscienceIntoAction
“When I got to know the initiative, the principles, and values of the Earth Charter, I realized the depth to which we have to change. And I changed my perspective a lot.”
Melchor first heard about the Earth Charter in 2012, when one of his university professors
introduced him to the Charter. Though he was immediately interested, it took him a few years to
get in touch with the Earth Charter International Secretary. Then, in 2016, he took the LSE course in Spanish.
Having spent most of his life in Cancún, Mexico, Melchor obtained his first degree in sustainable
tourism. Years later, he finished a master’s degree in integrated environmental management.
Now, he dedicates most of his time to his passion: environmental conservation in Mexico. Even
though many years have passed since Melchor took the course, he is still very engaged in the
Earth Charter Network.
Melchor has remained in contact with and became a friend of several other young leaders,
especially in Latin America. He has been able to meet some of them in person while travelling.
Since 2020, he is co-facilitating the LSE course in Spanish every year. Recently, he joined the
Mexican Earth Charter network. In the network, many people from different backgrounds get
together. This helps them to look at topics from different angles and to have critical discussions
about their ideas and activities. He dedicates his free time to facilitating workshops for NGOs and
companies that want to endorse the Earth Charter, or that want to become more sustainable.
Furthermore, since he has finished the course himself, he is regularly participating in the
webinars and masterclasses Earth Charter International offers.
Melchor has been able to embed the Earth Charter into his professional and private life. Teaching
at a university, he integrated the Earth Charter into the curriculum for the students. Privately,
his passion for environmental conservation and his relation to the Earth Charter made him
reflect on the values he wants to live by. He doesn’t define his or anyone’s worth by material
possessions, but tries to reconnect to his indigenous ancestors and knowledge. The Earth Charter
is to him more than a document:
“And for me, at least from my personal point of view, I would see it as a document, but to live it. Try to experience it. What it would be like to transition through these principles and values and turn them into a reality.”
In all his engagement with the Earth Charter, Melchor especially enjoys co-facilitating the LSE
course because he gets in touch with young people who are interested in getting to know more
about sustainability, leadership, ethics, and how they open to new perspectives from people who
have grown up in entirely different circumstances than themselves.
“Earth Charter gave me another vision of many things, even lifestyles, to see for example the issue of interculturality, how we should see respect, how we have to differentiate between equality and inequality. So it gave me a different approach to many things.”