Tomorrow Today

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Integrating sustainability in teaching

and learning: the role of the Earth Charter

Mirian Vilela, Executive Director, Earth Charter International Secretariat, Earth Charter International

key question emerging from the UN Decade of Education

for Sustainable Development (DESD) is: what are the

values inherent in sustainable development that could

help us, as human beings, to realize the vision of sustainability?

The Earth Charter

is a good answer to this question as it is the

product of a worldwide, decade-long, cross-cultural dialogue on

common goals and shared values. It was drafted by a civil society

initiative and launched in 2000.

The Earth Charter reflects the consensus taking form in the emerging

global civil society on universal values for sustainable development and

can validly claim to represent a core set of shared ethical principles

with a broad and multicultural base of global supporters. In the holis-

tic sense promoted by the Earth Charter, sustainable development or

sustainable ways of living require changes in both the hearts and minds

of individuals, along with the reorientation of public policies and prac-

tices. Education is a key to advancing the transition to more sustainable

ways of living, as it can help rekindle more caring relationships among

humans and between humans and the natural world. It can facilitate the

creative exploration of more environmentally and socially responsible

forms of development. For this to happen, it is crucial to foster educa-

tion that helps people understand the fundamental changes needed if

sustainable development is to be realized.

The Earth Charter provides an integrated and coherent framework

for developing educational programmes and curricula aimed at teach-

ing and learning for a more just, sustainable and peaceful world. The

integrated approach promoted by the Earth Charter emphasizes the

relationships between the different challenges faced by humanity,

ranging from the eradication of poverty to the protection of Earth’s

ecological systems and the elimination of all forms of discrimination.

It is important to recognize that the Earth Charter contains

general ethical principles as distinct from rules. Rules tell one

exactly what to do in a specific situation. General principles tell

us what to think about when we are deciding what to do. It is also

useful to keep in mind that we live in a complex world and there

will at times be conflict between different ethical principles. For

example, there is frequently a tension between individual freedom

and securing justice for all. Likewise, there can be tension between

the needs of present generations and the needs of future generations

and between the short-term interests of people and the long-term

health of ecosystems.

The Earth Charter is designed as a vision of global ethics, which

can be used to promote ongoing reflection and dialogue across differ-

ent cultural perspectives. Global ethics are urgently needed in the

twenty-first century. All peoples live in an increasingly interdepend-

ent world. No group or nation can solve the major problems they

face by acting alone. International and cross-cultural

collaboration is essential. Effective collaboration

requires common goals and shared values, and that

means global ethics.

For the past ten years, a significant body of knowledge

has been developed around the use of the Earth Charter

in teaching and learning. Educators from all regions of

the world have contributed to this body of knowledge,

based on their practical experiences of applying the Earth

Charter in a diversity of educational settings.

In October 2003, UNESCO adopted a resolution

recognizing the Earth Charter as an important ethical

framework for sustainable development. The resolu-

tion affirms Member States’ intention to “utilize the

Earth Charter as an educational instrument, particu-

larly in the framework of the United Nations Decade for

Education for Sustainable Development”.

In a collaborative effort, UNESCO and Earth Charter

International put together a publication

with twenty-

seven illustrative stories from countries around the

world that share a common objective – to contribute to

building sustainable societies using the Earth Charter as

a tool for education for sustainable development. This

effort was put in place with the hope of stimulating and

inspiring new efforts to integrate the values of sustain-

ability into education and into all educational settings

across the globe. In addition, numerous resources have

been developed to help teachers use the Earth Charter

in education settings, such as a set of songs to use in

classrooms, along with stories and teachers’ guide-

books, which are all available on the Internet.

In order to ensure the transition to a more sustain-

able future, determination and collaboration will be

needed to re-orient educational systems and practices

to sustainability and this requires a special effort to:

• Shift away from a fragmented approach to educa-

tion and learning to a more systemic and holistic

approach

• Explore ways to work with transformative learning,

which itself requires working with our senses and

emotions

• Incorporate values and ethics of sustainability as a

cross-cutting theme in all educational settings.

The Earth Charter Initiative is committed to dedicating

significant efforts to this endeavour.