e-GLO is a 16-week interdisciplinary digital program, recognized by
UNESCO for promoting cultural diversity in education for sustainable
development.
Call For Action!
Make a difference. Make it possible for
youth leaders to join an intercultural experiential learning program that
equips them with leadership skills in sustainability, project and funding management, digital media and ethics.
Mission
“The purpose of the e-GLO (Earth Charter Global Learning Opportunity) course is to make a
positive impact on society by familiarizing local level Earth Charter youth
activists with sustainability leadership skills, shared ethics, and digital
collaboration tools. The ultimate aim is to develop the capabilities necessary
to create Earth Charter inspired creative products that advance local,
national, regional, and global sustainability goals.”.
e-GLO
e-GLO has trained more than 100
young activists from around the world, more than 90% of them from developing
countries. In a 2011 UNESCO study, e-GLO was named a Good Practice for
promoting cultural diversity in education for sustainable development. This is
because, through e-GLO, the participants will learn a multitude of cultural
perspectives, how to respectfully engage in discussion about differences, and
how to embrace differences in order to address universal ethical and
sustainability challenge.
(pictured above, e-GLO 3 participants)
The curricula of all three e-GLO courses have been a mix of Earth
Charter sustainability ethics, project development units, social media
training, social entrepreneurship units, proposal development, local action
project assistance, fundraising skills, and digital storytelling.
The upcoming e-GLO 4 will be an exercise in applied creativity focusing
on sustainability ethics, art, video, music and creative expression. The
objective is to unite young people from different parts of the world who have a
variety of specific skills and abilities such as videography, poetry,
philosophy, music, social media, and other abilities and who are also leaders in using their
creativity to foster sustainability towards a better, more sustainable
world.
The philosophy behind this e-GLO session is that art and creative expression
have the unique and timeless universal ability to create an emotional
connection through which transformation happens.
What e-GLO alumni say about the program:
“..Looking
back at my experience in e-GLO 3 and with the Earth Charter now after
all that has happened in my country, I am proud. Proud that I applied
for such a course and joined such a movement”! - Janna El Hadad, Egypt ( read more here: guest post from an egyptian youth and e-glo 3 participant )
"My
experience with e-GLO is my first great connection experience to the
world. Meeting and sharing with the people on one vision, getting
inspired together by the Earth Charter, and having one goal for peace
and a sustainable world are also an unforgettable experience. This final
session is not the end, but this is the start of stepping together to
make a better future for our world’" - Putri Ayusha, Indonesia
“There
were real solutions that were being posed to our different obstacles
and I felt a sense of community that I hadn`t felt in a while,
especially when one has to bear the solitude of leadership on some
decisions at least.” - Jessica, UK
“The sessions
really opened up the box and allowed us to think on how to apply the
Earth Charter to our local communities and create a better world.” - Wajahat Nassar, Pakistan
“The
lessons were superb and the presentations were excellent. The
intercultural exchange was very good and in a way we were able to share
and learn from colleagues the world over.” - Ndenge Godden Zama, Cameroon
"e-GLO
is a great connection experience. A place for everyone who is
interested in a sustainable way of living. Saving our planet is far from
easy. Through e-GLO 2, we reached many ideas, plans and attitudes that
are already developing or starting in many parts of the world." - Vinícius Almeida, Brazil
Background
The dominant patterns of production and consumption are causing
environmental devastation, the depletion of resources, and a massive extinction
of species. Communities are being undermined. The benefits of development are
not shared equitably and the gap between rich and poor is widening. Injustice,
poverty, ignorance, and violent conflict are widespread and the cause of great
suffering. An unprecedented rise in human population has overburdened
ecological and social systems. The foundations of global security are
threatened. These trends are perilous - but not inevitable.
The choice is ours: We can form a global partnership to care for Earth
and one another or risk the destruction of ourselves and the diversity of life.
Fundamental changes are needed in our values, institutions, and ways of living.
There is the need to train the next generation of sustainability
leaders for dealing with the highly interconnected and interdependent problems
in the world like climate change, social inequality, exploitation of natural
resources etc. The sustainability approach to leadership requires special
competencies to meet the ongoing challenges, compared to traditional
leadership; Knowledge about the impact of globalization, capacity for
innovation, dialogue and communication skills, systems thinking, global
mindset, peer networking ability and strong capacities in Information and
Communication technologies (ICTs), to mention a few.
With this aim, we want to equip young leaders through the Earth Charter
Global Learning Opportunity 4 (e-GLO4). These champions will promote our cause
for everyone to share responsibility for the present and future well-being of
the human family and the larger living world. The course aims to stimulate
discussion on sustainable development challenges, unite more young creative
activists across the world, rattle old paradigms, and create messages that
speak to different generations and cultures.
A total of 16 students will be
selected for this course, which is broken into eight 3 hour sessions
using our interactive online learning platform. They need funding
support so they can join the course. Help us train tomorrow's global
leaders!
The e-GLO course costs $1000 per student. Our goal for this campaign is to raise the e-GLO course payment
required to provide full scholarships for all the sixteen students from
different regions of the world. ($16,000)
Each contribution from you counts in helping young leaders foster
their knowledge and cultivating expertise in sustainable development.
Implementing organizations:
Earth Charter International
The
Earth Charter Initiative is the global network that embraces, uses and
integrates the Earth Charter principles. The mission of the Earth
Charter Initiative is to promote the transition to sustainable ways of
living and a global society founded on a shared ethical framework that
includes respect and care for the community of life, ecological
integrity, universal human rights, respect for diversity, economic
justice, democracy, and a culture of peace.
The ECI Secretariat, which is based at the United Nations-mandated
University for Peace in Costa Rica, endeavors to promote the mission, vision,
strategies and policies adopted by the ECI Council. It supports the work of the
Council, assists with strategic planning and coordinates many Earth Charter
activities. The Secretariat guides and liaises with efforts to bring the Earth
Charter to the fields of education, youth, business and religion, manages
communications with the larger Earth Charter network, and promotes the use of
the Earth Charter as an international soft law document.
Earth Charter International uses the Earth Charter document, which
is a declaration of fundamental ethical principles for building a just,
sustainable and peaceful global society in the 21st century. It is a vision of
hope and a call to action.
Principle 14 of the Earth Charter emphasizes the importance of
“Integrating into…education and life-long learning the knowledge, values, and
skills needed for a sustainable way of life”. Education is fundamental to the
mission of Earth Charter Initiative.
BeatBoard
BeatBoard is a youth leadership, new media and contemporary arts
education social enterprise based in Victoria, BC, Canada.For the past 18 years,
BeatBoard’s Mike Sheehan has been designing and delivering a variety of
educational programs for both youth and adults. His work is sought out by
Indigenous communities, conferences, school districts, alternative education
centres, youth detention centres, government and businesses. Mike is known for
creating meaningful and inclusive learning environments with a surprising level
of engagement and energy.
BeatBoard is committed to affecting positive change in communities
through delivering experiential education programs that value diversity,
inclusion and solutions for healthy living.
Mike has visited hundreds of thousands of youth in formal and non-formal
educational settings.
Source: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-earth-charter-s-worldchanger-scholarships
Source: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-earth-charter-s-worldchanger-scholarships
