Localizing the SDGs through the spectrum of the Earth Charter Principles

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
- Nelson Mandela

The Covid-19 pandemic took the world by surprise and has shown the importance of mass
engagement across generations and sectors. The pandemic has also highlighted the need for
sustainability education to help build skills and resilience.
Literature shows that by 2030, a projected 70% of the world’s population will live in cities.
Although various attempts have been made to expand the role of youth, several stakeholders till
date still overlook this role and the opportunities it could present.
The Sustainable Development Goals provides an excellent avenue for global citizenship as it
involves addressing issues at individual, local, national, and global levels. Providing
sustainability education to young people and assistance in the process of identifying ways to
realize their ideas in addressing their local challenges could play a significant role in achieving
the Agenda 2030. This also opens opportunities for future research and entrepreneurship to
develop long-term solutions.
Earth Charter recognizes the power and importance of young people as agents of positive
change. Through its various programs and initiatives, the EC has continued to empower, inspire,
and engage youth from all over the world.
EC principle 14 calls for the integration of knowledge, values, and skills needed for a sustainable
way of life into formal and life-long training.
On the 22nd of March, EC Young Leaders Phil Eke-okocha and Emma Feyeux engaged the
international students of Rondine Cittadella della Pace on sustainability and the Earth Charter
principles. Rondine is an Italian organization that accommodates students from conflict and post-
conflict countries for a certain period and educates them on leadership, conflict transformation,
and peace building through its own method called the Rondine method. Each student must
develop a social impact project that will be implemented upon return to their home countries.
“It is important to have the Earth charter principles at the back of our mind in every action we
take.”- Daisy (Participant)
The workshop was designed to introduce the participants to the sustainable development goals,
the earth charter principles and for them to incorporate these elements into their projects. The
workshop aimed to explore the importance of the Earth charter principles and SDGs at the local
and global level and assist participants in developing an action plan, raising awareness, and
acting towards sustainability issues.
At the end of the workshop, participants correlated their projects to the SDGs and Earth Charter
principles.
“One needs to know in order to act accordingly, and I believe the EC principles can serve a compass that
will guide us in our daily effort towards achieving a sustainable and inclusive world”- Nirmeen
(Participant)

In order to achieve Agenda 2030, education has to be at the forefront of our efforts. Education is the key
to many other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be achieved by promoting actions and learning
experiences for transformative change. The Earth Charter principles provide the necessary actions to
power a global movement towards a more just, sustainable, and peaceful world.

The students showed a lot of interest and among the achievements of the workshop, some ideas
and proposals related to the Earth Charter principles were highlighted. For example: participation in
talks or activities related to the environment, the promotion sustainable development through art and
culture, using mass media to disseminate awareness, supporting educational processes for
vulnerable communities through volunteering, supporting the work of the organization of the Earth
Charter through community work, and care of the scenic beauty that this country offers.
For example, the Earth Charter Center offers a five-month Diploma Programme on ESD.  There are
programmes for policy makers, workshops for educators, and also an online course for youth on
leadership, sustainability an ethics.  In all these, we put in practice the pedagogical elements
mentioned before, so participants can learn about these in practice, and expand their knowledge on
sustainability and ethics. 

To conclude, I believe that the Earth Charter, integrated into pedagogical processes, can galvanize
the change in paradigm to tackle climate change and move away from the sustainability crisis we are
living. And, as Capra[1] said “recover the ecological consciousness that many have lost”.  Through
values based education processes we can recover and incorporate the values associated with
sustainability, redefining our relationships within ourselves, between us (humans) and between
humans and other living beings.