Earth Charter International mourns the passing of Oscar Motomura (on 14 July 2026), former Chair of the Earth Charter International Council, a long-standing and active member of the Earth Charter community, founder and CEO of Amana-Key, and the mind and soul behind APG, Brazil’s renowned professional development programme for executives.
Oscar led with elegance, wisdom, and kindness. He was deeply committed not only to fostering higher levels of consciousness and ethical leadership, but also to discovering meaningful ways to inspire and nurture these qualities in the minds and hearts of many.
Oscar had a unique way of designing and facilitating workshops, courses, and gatherings. He was a master at creating spaces for dialogue and experiential, transformative learning. He brought together art and storytelling with music, film, data, emerging science, philosophy, spirituality, business, and strategy, creating experiences that invited both reflection and action.
He constantly encouraged those around him to question mental models and the status quo, think differently, seek new perspectives, and embrace the bigger picture without losing sight of the details and subtleties that give depth and meaning to our work.
Oscar became involved with the Earth Charter Initiative in 2004 and soon played an active role in the major Earth Charter+5 event held in the Netherlands in 2005. Before long, he joined the Earth Charter International Council and became fully engaged in the leadership of the Earth Charter movement. He consistently asked thoughtful questions, offered insightful suggestions, built meaningful connections, and played a major role in shaping the vision and strategy of Earth Charter International.
He brought the Earth Charter into Amana-Key’s programmes in his own unique way. This was one of his defining qualities: whenever he embraced a cause, he did so wholeheartedly. He was very keen to sensitize business and public officials with the vision of the Earth Charter and engage with a new generation of young leaders.
About two decades ago, he helped us envision what it meant to move forward with the Earth Charter as a decentralized global movement and played an important role in the creation of the Earth Charter Education Center. In 2007, he organized an unforgettable gathering at Amana-Key, bringing together key members of our global community to collectively envision the future of the Initiative. In many ways, he was preparing the ground and planting the seeds for much of the work we continue to carry forward today.
Among his many other contributions, Oscar also served as a member of the jury for the UNESCO-Japan Prize on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), an international award recognizing outstanding projects in the field.
“Oscar was one of a kind. He was my mentor and friend for many years, and I am deeply grateful for the invaluable guidance, encouragement, and wisdom he shared with me, as well as for his extraordinary contributions and support to Earth Charter International. Sometimes I think he engaged with the Earth Charter movement because he liked the ‘challenge of impossible equations,’ as he used to say. Much of what we do today at the Earth Charter Education Center is, in many ways, a reverberation of what I learned from him. His influence will continue to inspire and guide our work for years to come.” Mirian Vilela, Executive Director, ECI
Some of Oscar’s contributions to Earth Charter International include:
Between 2006 and 2007, he:
- Envisioned a strategy to scale up the Earth Charter Initiative through a decentralized global movement—Earth Charter in Action—supported by a shared set of principles and a central international secretariat.
- Played a major role in shaping the strategy for the Earth Charter Education Center as an institution providing high-quality educational programmes on the Earth Charter and ethics.
- Hosted a major international workshop at Amana-Key in São Paulo on collaboration and the development of a decentralized global Earth Charter movement.
- Led the first Earth Charter course held in Costa Rica in July 2007, Does Your Leadership Contribute to the Common Good?, a collaborative initiative between Amana-Key and Earth Charter International.
In 2009, he:
- Envisioned expanding the Earth Charter movement by encouraging organizations and individuals around the world to embrace and use it as a guiding framework. As part of this vision, he ensured that the first Earth Charter short video was produced as a television spot.
- Promoted the creation of stories as educational resources to inspire others, including the story of the City of Sao Paulo UMAPAZ in video format.
In 2014, he:
- Envisioned a short online course to prepare young leaders to become multipliers and champions of the Earth Charter vision. This initiative evolved into what is now the Leadership, Sustainability and Ethics course.
Earth Charter International is profoundly grateful to Oscar and pays tribute to the extraordinary human being he was. His vision, generosity, wisdom, and unwavering commitment have left an enduring mark on all those who had the privilege of working and learning alongside him. His legacy will continue to inspire us for many years to come.
We take this opportunity to share:
- One of the articles he wrote on “The Earth Charter and the World of Business and Economics”, this one was for the book Earth Charter in Action published in 2005.
- A video he produced talking about the Earth Charter and inviting people to engage with it.
- An interview we made with him for the Earth Charter Podcast on “Conscious and Ethical Leadership and the Common Good”
- A video with his reflections on the Earth Charter
