Earth Charter Scholarship
The Earth Charter
We must join together to bring forth a sustainable global society founded on respect for nature, universal human rights, economic justice, and a culture of peace. Towards this end, it is imperative that we, the peoples of Earth, declare our responsibility to one another, to the greater community of life, and to future generations.
The Earth Charter, Preamble, paragraph one
The Earth Charter Initiative involved the most open and participatory consultation process ever conducted in connection with the drafting of an international document. Thousands of individuals and hundreds of organizations from all regions of the world, different cultures, and diverse sectors of society participated. The Charter was shaped by scientific experts, government and civil society leaders, students, and representatives from indigenous groups and grassroots communities. It is a fundamental expression of the hopes and aspirations of the emerging global society.
While a growing number of faculty at colleges and universities are attempting to teach about sustainability, the obstacles are considerable: First, the definition of sustainability continues to be problematic. Educators and others struggle with vague and, even, conflicting notions of the concept. The promise of the Earth Charter is that it provides an integrated ethical vision of sustainability built on a broad global consultation. The Earth Charter unites ecological and sociological conceptions of sustainability, empashzing care for nature alongside democracy, social justice, and peace.
For University faculty members and students alike, the Earth Charter provides: a comprehensive and validated description of the necessary and sufficient conditions for sustainable development; a statement of specific principles that can serve as guides for actions that are sustainable and ethical; and a call-to-action to move toward a culture of collaboration for ensuring respect for life, ecological integrity, social and economic justice, and a culture of peace. The Earth Charter provides higher education with a vision of another way, and with methods and a network of tertiary educators throughout the world who are promoting more humane and sustainable ways of life.
To read the Earth Charter and learn more about its drafting process, visit the Earth Charter Initiative's website.
The Earth Charter Scholarship Project
The Center recently laid plans to pursue a global role in Earth Charter scholarship. In partnership with Advisor Rick Clugston and the Earth Charter Initiative, the Center sought financial support from private foundations to advance its leadership role in promoting Earth Charter scholarship in the international Earth Charter movement. We received a grant from the Rockefeller Philanthropic Collaborative to convene a small group of internationally-recognized Earth Charter scholars for a residency at Florida Gulf Coast University and on Sanibel Island in February 2009. Rick Clugston also successfully applied for a grant from the Germeshausen Foundation
The Earth Charter Scholars Consultation took place on Sanibel Island, February 18-24, 2009. The meeting focused on understanding and strengthening the Earth Charter’s contribution to education for sustainable living in higher education.
Over the twenty years that individuals and organizations have been drafting the Earth Charter and translating it into action, a wide variety Earth Charter based educational resources have been developed. Tasks for the assembled Earth Charter scholars were to review these educational resources, to identify those of high quality, and to organize these resources and determine what additional resources should be developed. They also explored the best strategies for working with the almost 300 universities that have endorsed the Earth Charter and supporting the broad network of college and university scholars and educators that are using the Earth Charter in their teaching, research, and service.
The Scholars focused on six tasks during their working sessions on Sanibel Island:
- Evaluating educational resources that reference the Earth Charter
- Identifying the best essays on the Earth Charter and suggesting how these could be organized and published
- Drafting an Earth Charter Education Handbook or Manual that combines material from various Earth Charter documents
- Putting together a resource package or database for colleges and universities featuring “Humane Sustainable Living with the Earth Charter” materials
- Inventorying and structuring the Earth Charter Archives, including materials from the drafting and implementation phases, from different offices, and so on
- Identifying Earth Charter scholars for the higher education network
The Earth Charter Scholars Consultation is a first since the Earth Charter was finalized in 2000. Many scholars participated in the development of the Earth Charter between 1987 and 2000 and many areas of scholarship have evolved in the current decade. This is the first gathering, however, for the purposes of setting the scholarly agenda for Earth Charter education. Visiting participants in the consultation included Steven C. Rockefeller, Mary Evelyn Tucker, Mirian Vilela, Kiran Chhokar, Shafía Sucar, Brandon Hollingshead, Brendan Mackey, and Michael Slaby. Since the Earth Charter has been such an inspiration for the Center for Environmental and Sustainability Education, we saw this as a fitting way to mark our Fifth Anniversary Celebration. Our Anniversary wascelebrated with the Rachel Carson Distinguished Lecture Weekend on Friday, February 20, 2009 and Saturday, February 21, 2009, during the Earth Charter Scholars Consultation. The Scholars were our lecturers and joined our Annual Fundraising Celebration on Saturday.
We will continue to update this section of our website as the Earth Charter Scholarship Project unfolds. We also intend to add resources for teaching the Earth Charter to this page.
