Peace Education, ESD and the Earth Charter: Interconnections and Synergies

This article provides a review of how the values and principles of the Earth Charter initiative relate to two specific innovative movements of educational transformation, namely peace education and education for sustainable development (ESD). The interconnections and synergies between these movements and the Earth Charter are highlighted. Conceptual and pedagogical implications are drawn for implementing all three initiatives in ways that mutually strengthen and enhance their shared vision and mission to build a world infused with values of nonviolence, justice, respect, reconciliation and sustainability. However, they also share various commonalities of purpose, understanding of the root causes of conflicts and peacelessness and optimal strategies for building peace at all levels of life. Drawing on a holistic multidimensional framework of building a culture of peace, the article provides exemplars of how peace education, ESD and the Earth Charter empower members of all societies to overcome militarisation, direct violence, local/global injustices, human rights violations, ecological destruction and inner peacelessness.