In Conversation with Mirian Vilela: Regenerative ESD and Peace with Nature
How can we foster collective human agency to build a reciprocal relationship with nature? On International Mother Earth Day, 22 April 2021, the dialogue series “In Conversation with …” hosted Mirian Vilela, Executive Director of Earth Charter International, under the theme “How can we build collective conscience and action to rise better, resilient and sustainable from COVID-19? Re-generative ESD to make peace with nature?”.
The conversation explored how sustainability learning can be taken beyond the walls of educational institutions, and how the scope of education can be broadened to include the reconciliation of the relationship between humanity and the Earth.
Key points from the conversation
The following points were recorded after the conversation:
- Learning does not happen in a controlled way. We as educators must learn to let that go and need to be flexible with the goals we set and the learning experience we are willing to generate. The education system consists of so much planning and “having control”. The vertical education system belongs to the old paradigm which needs to change.
- Learning about nature can be approached cognitively but also experienced non-scientifically. Amidst our busy lives, we need to try to learn how to pause and reflect, look around and appreciate – that can be done everywhere, even in urban spaces.
- It is important to think of the impact and the consequences of our choices and whether the choices we are making contribute to the wellbeing of people and the planet. Education needs to invite us to constantly think, be conscious and mindful about the choices we make and the impact they have.
- Value education is a space to examine our day-to-day life and our decisions. It is about questioning our assumptions, the underlying roots of our worldviews and asking if it is contributing to the wellbeing of the people and the planet. It is not about learning things by heart but about looking at what is bad and what is good from different perspectives and from the perspective of the common good.
- Embedded in the Earth Charter is a specific vision of cultivating – not imposing – a sense of interdependence and connection with the living world, as well as a sense of responsibility for wellbeing and the common good, and solidarity. The heart of Earth Charter is “ethics of care and respect”.
- It is important to know that we need a change of mind as well as a change of heart. We need not only to learn from our cognitive selves but also experience things from our inner self. When we are able to experience that and therefore have that kind of new consciousness and deep connection with the world, kindness will be flourishing and radiating from us.
- The global challenges of the future do not lie in the hands of future generations, but in the hands of everybody; it is a shared responsibility. The more knowledge we have, the more power and responsibility of addressing the common good we have. It depends on the position we have and where we are.
- We can help learners see the impact of the lack of responsibility and that the consequences are on others as well as on oneself. We must focus upon stimulating the thinking about “What is the impact of not caring and not being responsible?”.
- Building bridges better with those who do not see the world through the same lenses is a key challenge. It is important to look at the ones who are not collaborating in sharing the vision of changing the direction of our world. Changing how one communicates with them in a way that it does not hit against walls can only happen through deep dialogue.
- Educators, school principals, administrators and students should be engaged and involved in creating a culture within the school that is caring, respectful, mindful, and sensitive towards social issues jointly. That requires an ongoing effort because school is never detached from its environment. Schools need to envision their role more as facilitators rather than only producing knowledge.
Speaker: Mirian Vilela, Executive Director of Earth Charter International and Director of the Center for Education for Sustainable Development at the University for Peace, Costa Rica
Moderation: Matthias Barth, Leuphana University Lüneburg
About Mirian Vilela
Mirian Vilela is the Executive Director of the Earth Charter International Secretariat and the Center for Education for Sustainable Development at UPEACE. She coordinates the UNESCO Chair on Education for Sustainable Development with the Earth Charter, a founding member of the UNITWIN network, and served as a member of the UNESCO Expert Reference Group for the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. The Earth Charter is a document with sixteen principles that supports a global movement towards a more just, sustainable and peaceful world.
This conversation was part of the dialogue series “In Conversation with …”, which the Institute for Sustainable Development and Learning (ISDL) and the UNESCO Chair in Higher Education for Sustainable Development at Leuphana University Lüneburg ran in 2021 as part of the cooperation in the UNITWIN network. The series asked how Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) can help to build forward better after the COVID-19 pandemic and highlighted the role of Global South–North partnerships in achieving the 2030 Agenda.
