Education for Sustainable Development
October 2004
Banner photo: © SEKAI BUNKA PHOTO
"Seeds of Change: The Earth Charter and Human Potential" Exhibition
Schoolchildren in Taiwan learning about protection of the environment
"No matter how complex global problems may seem, it is we ourselves who have given rise to them. They cannot be beyond our power to resolve." A message such as this, and examples which illustrate the point, provide a hopeful and refreshing perspective on a topic that more readily provokes a response of bleak despair.
The text above comes from the introductory panel of "Seeds of Change: The Earth Charter and Human Potential," an exhibition initially created by SGI and the Earth Charter Initiative for the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg, where it won third place in the independent exhibits category.
The now updated exhibition links panels on the state of the world with a hopeful message about the potential of even one individual to make a positive change. It is structured around the Earth Charter--a declaration of ethical principles for building a just, sustainable and peaceful global society--and presents the Charter as a tool for understanding and achieving the vision of a sustainable world.
The exhibition is being used as a key resource by SGI and Earth Charter-related organizations in their efforts to promote sustainable development in countries around the world. Its purpose is to offer inspiration and hope, as well as facts and information. Responses such as, "I have been deeply moved and inspired. I will do something from today," illustrate the kind of effect that it aims to achieve.
Learn, Reflect, Empower
Three panels are devoted to explaining the Earth Charter. These describe the Charter as a blueprint for sustainable development which gives a concrete breakdown of what the elements of a sustainable future should be. The panels describe the birth of the Charter, present its principles and show how it can be and has been used as an effective resource for education for sustainable development.
Preceding these is an introduction of the concept of sustainable development--perhaps most succinctly expressed as development that "addresses the needs of the present without jeopardizing the ability of future generations to meet their needs."
Education is fundamental to bringing about the shift from exploitative development to sustainable development. The UN Decade of Education For Sustainable Development, the subject of the fifth panel of the exhibition, presents a critical opportunity to promote this urgent change of consciousness on a global level.
The SGI feels a particular commitment to this Decade, as it was proposed originally by Soka Gakkai representatives (to a Japanese NGO forum before becoming part of the Japanese Government's input to the 2002 WSSD and being finally adopted by the UN General Assembly in December that year).
The exhibition in France
[Richard Wable]
This fifth panel presents the key themes of a proposal by SGI President Daisaku Ikeda suggesting a broad theoretical framework for conceiving the challenges of the Decade. These can be summarized as the need to learn, reflect and empower. "Learning" involves "the need to deepen our awareness of environmental issues and realities as well as to understand the causes driving environmental destruction." Perhaps more fundamentally, it implies the imperative to "understand the realities of those who suffer, embracing their pain as our own." To "reflect" indicates the conscious effort to "understand the way environmental problems connect to our daily lives," which education should encourage. To "empower" describes the imperative of education to "inspire faith that each of us has both the power and responsibility to effect positive change on a global scale." Education is more than just providing information; people must be empowered with the courage and hope to take concrete action.
What brings all this theory into poignant focus is a series of panels at the center of the exhibition which describe how individuals in different parts of the world have tackled problems in their local communities and, in the process, become a force for global change. These include people like Wangari Maathai who, disturbed by the problem of deforestation in her native Kenya, created a tree nursery in her backyard and encouraged other women to do the same. The initiative escalated and now over 20 million trees have been planted. As importantly, the impetus has led to a range of positive social changes in local communities throughout Kenya, empowering women and alleviating poverty.
Professor Maathai's story, together with two other case studies, one of which is also described in the exhibition, is the subject of the related award-winning documentary film, A Quiet Revolution. This film, a collaborative project by the SGI, UNEP, UNDP and the Earth Council, is frequently used together with the exhibition and is a popular educational resource in its own right.
Three new panels have recently been added to the exhibition. These give examples of how groups in different countries around the world have used the Earth Charter in initiatives promoting positive social change.
The final panel offers a list of simple suggestions of ways in which the viewers can initiate their own process of positive change, wherever they are, whether it be planting a tree or using the Earth Charter as the basis for discussion on our common future.
Local Initiatives
The exhibition has now been translated into Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, French, Italian and German and is being widely used by SGI and other organizations around the world, often in tandem with related activities, from environmental initiatives such as recycling and clean-up drives to interfaith seminars. It is often also supplemented with additional content, such as nature photographs, inspirational quotations and children's drawings.
In the U.K., the exhibition was enhanced by activities that included computer and Internet-based children's activities and displays on practical ideas for sustainable living, recycling and renewable energy.
In Taiwan it formed a central element of Taiwan Soka Association's "Community Friendship Cultural Festivals," held from September 2003. The aim of the festivals was to energize local communities in the aftermath of the SARS epidemic which had forced people to stay at home. It was shown in over 120 locations throughout Taiwan. "It was extremely well received," says Landy Lin, a student division leader of Taiwan Soka Association. "It addresses a growing national concern over environmental problems and offers an encouraging message of the potential of each individual to make a positive difference. Many schools have requested to keep the exhibit permanently."
In Canada, some of the panels and the A Quiet Revolution video have also been incorporated into an educational resource kit created by Classroom Connections called Creating Peace--Taking Action, which is being used in some 80 percent of Canadian schools. Students' responses to the exhibition, such as the following, typically show their sense of social responsibility, "This presentation has opened my eyes to how one person can make more of a difference than expected. I only hope I can find the courage to make a difference now."
A member of SGI-South Africa explaining the exhibition to a visitor
[Helmuth Rautenbach]
SGI-Italy is using the exhibition in a public youth program that generates discussion on social issues and sustainable development. "It is very, very useful as a tool for education. It definitely changes people's views and gives them a means for taking action," says Godelieve Cooymans of SGI-Italy.
The exhibition is available in digital form (for printing) to interested organizations and individuals from the SGI Office of Public Information.
LATEST ISSUE
Developing Creativity