Taking advantage of the interesting and beautiful exhibition “Homage to Earth” at the National Gallery of Costa Rica, the Earth Charter Center for Education for Sustainable Development organized two workshops.
The first workshop was held on June 28th, 2016, organized in conjunction with the Commission on Environmental Education of the National Council of Rectors of Costa Rica (CONARE).
Around 35 teachers and curriculum advisors participated, from four public universities in Costa Rica: The National University, University of Costa Rica, National Technical University and Distance State University.
The workshop lasted 4 hours, during the first half of the workshop, the participants had the opportunity to learn more about the Earth Charter; later they learned about an initiative that helps include the concepts of sustainability and environment in the curriculum of different careers in these universities, using indicators aimed at this purpose.
The second workshop was conducted on June 29th, on Earth Charter Day, with young people between ages 13 to 16, from the Yurusti College in Costa Rica. We offered an interactive talk about the Earth Charter and then, as we did with the adult group the day before, they explored the exhibit “Homage to Earth” using the Earth Charter.
We ask them to form groups and choose one principle that called their attention, and then had them look for a work of art that expresses this principle. This activity turned out very fun, and it helped have moments of reflection on what the values of the Earth Charter express, and how art can help illustrate these concepts that are sometimes a little abstract.