Ep18 Mirian Vilela on a vision for a better world, education, social transformation, and a global movement

In this episode Mirian Vilela guides us through the importance of sustainable development.  She is originally from Brazil, but now she works in Costa Rica as the Executive Director of the Earth Charter International Secretariat and Earth Charter Center on Education for Sustainable Development. She is also a professor in the University for Peace teaching in the areas of Sustainable Development, Environmental Governance, and Education for Sustainable Development.

Mirian discusses the Earth Charter document that articulates values and principles for a more sustainable, compassionate world, explaining the document’s vision that inspires a global movement for a better world and social justice with ecological integrity. “I fell in love with the work of the Earth Charter because of the possibility to meet people from all regions of the world,” Mirian comments, highlighting the truly inclusive nature of the movement.

She presents the Earth Charter Center on Education for Sustainable Development and shines a spotlight on, “the importance of education as a main driver for social transformation,” and the need to cultivate this thinking around global issues. She describes the courses for young leaders, educators and professionals to develop research in training between sustainability, values and education. Education is fundamental, and at its core we must have a base for contributing to the wellbeing of society.

Mirian also discusses the relevance of individual actions and how they truly do generate an impact. She believes that the more knowledge we have, the more of a sense of responsibility to care for others and for the common good we should have. Aditionally, she talks about the Earth Charter’s theme for this year "Turning consciousness into action” and comments on previous years.

Applying this Earth Charter vision to the natural world, she suggests to move away from the anthropocentric overview to a more ecocentric view. This vision can also be applied in animals, to see things in a more horizontal way, not in domination of other living beings. In conclusion, she inspires us with messages about transformative education and shares some practical examples.

Find out more about Mirian and the Earth Charter HERE.