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It was organized for the first time in April - June, 2008. e-GLO is offered for youth activists, aged 15 - 33, that are motivated community development project planners.

This Earth Charter International and BeatBoard's project is implemented in Heart In Action Enterprise’s interactive multimedia platform, e-GLO Virtual Seminar Room.

Participants meet online via webcam and mic, every second week, for a period of three hours. The sessions include networking, workshops, presentations, and interviews with participants and expert guests, as well as cultural performances. Between sessions participants are engaged in homework assignments carried out individually, in pairs, and larger groups.

OBJECTIVE
e-GLO aims to make a positive impact on society by familiarizing local-level youth activists with sustainability leadership skills and shared ethics through the use of new technologies that foster interaction, inclusive culture, and the wide distribution of global youth perspectives. The ultimate goal is to further develop the capabilities necessary to conduct Earth Charter-inspired action projects in the participants’ own communities, as well as collaborative projects that impact communities on an international level.

OUTCOMES
It is expected that:

• participants will leave with a deeper understanding of ethics, sustainability, and social responsibility
• participants will  learn to use a set of tools to plan, fundraise, raise awareness, and carry out local development projects
• participants will develop new competencies utilizing current social media techniques that support their work on a local and international level
• participants will utilize the social capital of the e-GLO alumni network to better allocate resources such as funding, research, and peer support for their initiatives

IMPACT OF e-GLO
Since 2008, e-GLO has trained more than 100 youth from more than 50 countries, 90% of which are in the developing world. An evaluation made on the course clearly showed that e-GLO is effective in empowering participants. 92% feel they gained essential skills, which are important in finding solutions for the issues they face in their communities. After the course, these leaders are equipped with a solid foundation in sustainability ethics and trained in project planning, communications and marketing skills for their community projects.

These youth take an active role in their communities to promote a more just, sustainable, and peaceful world and the majority stated that they feel more capable to act as a sustainability leader as an e-GLO alumni than on their own. The e-GLO alumni’s work after the course has been substantial and the Earth Charter Initiative and the world benefit immensely from the course participants’ contributions.

KEY LESSONS LEARNT
e-GLO has created a vibrant network of young leaders who are making significant positive changes in their communities. The importance of teaching sustainability leadership within a multi-cultural classroom allows for true intercultural understanding and plants the seeds of meaningful global collaboration.

According to the evaluation conducted on e-GLO, the course has successfully promoted the values associated to sustainability leadership and the values related to the Earth Charter. It was proven that values such as empowerment, respect and care for the community of life, justice, integrity, and collaboration in diversity were successfully enhanced during the semester long course.

Through every interaction e-GLO is working to strengthen global cross-cultural understanding and respect. The program motivates all involved to learn, grow, and work together for a more sustainable and peaceful future.

JUSTIFICATION
The problems of today’s world are more complex, highly interconnected, and interdependent. We face climate change, overuse of natural resources, excessive population growth, growing wealth inequity, and various other social injustices, among others. To be able to respond to these challenges, future leaders need new and innovative interdisciplinary approaches.

Therefore, there is a need to train the next generation of sustainability leaders. The sustainability approach to leadership requires special competencies compared to traditional leadership; knowledge about the challenges of globalization, capacity for innovation, dialogue and communication skills, systems thinking, a global mindset, peer networking ability, and strong capacities in Information and Communication technologies (ICTs), to mention a few.

MORE INFORMATION

UNESCO Good Practices -- e-GLO
http://www.earthcharterinaction.org/content/articles/718/1/UNESCO-Good-Practices--e-GLO/Page1.html

SAGE Publications, Journal of Education for Sustainable Development
The Earth Charter Goes Interactive and Live with e-GLO
Using New Media to Train Youth Leaders in Sustainability on Both Sides of the Digital Divide

IUCN website
Expanding the Earth Charter Global Learning Opportunity (e-GLO)

e-GLO is a creative collaboration between ECI and Beatboard and is implemented in Heart in Action Enterprises' platform


 

e-GLO is organized in e-GLO Global Online Live & Interactive Seminar Room that is a product of Heart In Action Enterprises' and Asita Informatica.

Interactive New Media Web Multimedia Events -
“The power to touch the world continues through secured multimedia communication platform for social new media projects”.