On 21 March 2024, UNU will host “Education as an Instrument of Social Transformation: Synergies Between Key UNESCO Education Agendas and the Earth Charter”, a BIG IDEAS Dialogue with Ms. Mirian Vilela, Executive Director of Earth Charter International. This hybrid event (online and in-person) will start at 18:00 on Zoom and in the 12F Conference Room at UNU Headquarters in Tokyo.
The Earth Charter is an ethical foundation for actions to build a more just, sustainable and peaceful global society in the 21st century. It articulates a mindset of global interdependence and shared responsibility. It offers a vision of hope and a call to action, while serving as an educational instrument and reference tool for development policies, planning and decision-making.
Ms. Mirian Vilela will join UNU Senior Vice-Rector Sawako Shirahase to explore the work of the UNESCO Chair on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) with the Earth Charter, which lies at the intersection of sustainability, ethics and education. The discussion will cover how this work is linked to the UNESCO ESD and global citizenship education agendas, as well as the Futures of Education initiative and UNESCO's Recommendation on Education for Peace, Human Rights and Sustainable Development.
This event will be an opportunity to consider the synergies among UNESCO efforts on education for change and the SDGs as well as to learn about the Earth Charter as an instrument of social transformation.
Please note this event will be in English; Japanese interpretation will not be provided. Advance registration by 20 March is required.
Additionally, please be prepared to present identification at check-in.
Registration
To attend this event in person at UNU Headquarters in Tokyo, register here: https://go.unu.edu/fI8E6
To attend this event online via Zoom webinar, register here: https://go.unu.edu/6LdKN
Online participants will receive an email on the day of the event with a link to join the Zoom webinar.
About the Speaker
Mirian Vilela is the Executive Director of the Earth Charter International and the Center for Education for Sustainable Development at UPEACE. Mirian has been working with the Earth Charter Initiative since early 1996. She coordinates the UNESCO Chair on Education for Sustainable Development with the Earth Charter and served as a member of the UNESCO Expert Reference Group for the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD).
Prior to her work with the Earth Charter, Mirian worked for the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) for two years in preparation of the 1992 UN Earth Summit and a year at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Mirian holds a PhD in Education from LaSalle University and a Master´s Degree in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, where she was an Edward Mason Fellow. She is originally from Brazil.
