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The following is a list of recommended, low-cost activities that can be implemented in order to present and learn about the Earth Charter and the principles of the Earth Charter. Please feel free to recommend any other fun and effective activities or ideas to the International Youth Facilitator at: youthcoordinator [@] earthcharter.org.

These activities are adaptable suggestions, and we encourage you to modify them in order to fit your community. 

• You can organize an essay competition in local schools about an Earth Charter related topic. The best essays can be published in the Earth Charter virtual library! Ask the students to read the Earth Charter first and then write about a topic they find most inspiring etc. This has been done, for example, by the ECYG AZUR Development in Congo on the topic of “How can women and girls contribute to sustainable development?” Essay competitions can be done on many different levels: from primary schools to universities (in a more academic way). Try to partner with the local newspaper and ask them to publish the winning essay. Remember to send the essays to Earth Charter International as well; we also want to see them! 
• Talk with your school teacher/university professor and ask them for permission to start a lecture with a 5 minute Earth Charter presentation. Briefly tell about the EC (you can use the official brochure of EC to guide you in this or even the Earth Charter PowerPoints), and at the end tell where you would meet interested individuals later. In that meeting you can try to encourage the interested students to start an Earth CharterYouth / Student Group or join your ECYG. 

• You can organize an Earth Charter Endorsement event in your community! On a busy day, set up a small table in the market place or outside of a university cafeteria and invite people to hear about the Earth Charter. Tell them shortly what this document is all about, and ask them to endorse it - right away! Also, make sure that you guide them to the EC website and tell how they can contribute (by joining your group, for example!). If you plan to do this, contact the International Youth Facilitator first in order to receive further ideas and instructions in order to be as effective as possible.  
• Organize a brainstorming event with your Earth CharterYouth / Student Group about what to do as a group. Divide the group into four subgroups and share the four pillars of the Earth Charter with them, one pillar per one group. Ask the groups to read the pillar thoroughly and then start creating ideas what types of an activities could be organized around those principles. Some examples what the Earth Charter Youth Groups have already done all over the world are:
  o bridging the digital divide in Rwanda,
  o promoting renewable energy on university campuses in the United States,
  o promoting sustainable lifestyles in the Philippines,
  o leading Earth Charter workshops in Brazil, and
  o conducting an Earth Charter radio series in Mexico. 
• You could also have a workshop on the Earth Charter and its implementation in daily life. This is a great activity you can do easily with your youth group, and it is totally free of cost, but very effective and meaningful. 
• Provide copies of the Earth Charter text, brochures or posters, downloading them from our website. Try to convince a local business to print them for you! This is a great way for them to contribute and join actions for a more sustainable future. One youth activist reported: “I gave an Earth Charter poster to my personal doctor, and he put one in his waiting room!” 
• Organize a drawing contest about Earth Charter principles at the local school, with the scouts or other youth organization. Present the EC to the students/participants and set up an exhibition at the mall, grocery store, library or church. If you want to have a winner, let the audience decide who the winner is by voting. You can mail the best drawings to the Earth Charter International Secretariat and we can write about the contests on our website! 

• You can organize a regular study group on the Earth Charter. There are plenty of articles, books and other publications in the Earth Charter Virtual Library that can be used for learning purposes. 

• Try to convince your local school/college/university to hold a course on sustainability and the Earth Charter. Earth Charter International has created a full university course about the Earth Charter and that can be distributed to the universities that are interested in it. Contact the International Youth Facilitator for more details about the course and the EC school network. 
• Use the Earth Charter in your studies; write a thesis, essays, articles etc. where you are using the declaration as a reference. If you do so, send your text to the International Youth Facilitator youthcoordinator [@] earthcharter.org to be published in Earth Charter's Virtual Library.
• Use performing arts to improve awareness about the Earth Charter. You can, for example, create a play based on the ethical values of Earth Charter and present it at a school or community center. If you are very musical, compose a song and ask the youth group to help with writing the lyrics! 
• You can ask your school/university to organize one day without cleaning. At the end of the day it will be a clear example of how much waste we make everyday. Likewise, you can encourage people to carry plastic bags with them where they put their own garbage for one day. Both these events will clearly demonstrate how much garbage we produce everyday!

Remember to share your experiences with the International Youth Facilitator and to update your ECYG’s wiki-profile with activities you have done. You are also welcome to write a blog entry for the Earth Charter youth-site! We are more than happy to receive photos, videos, songs, writing and other materials inspired by the Earth Charter and publish them on our website!

When planning or thinking about and activity to do, ask yourself: what are your strengths, skills and interests? How could you use them to promote Earth Charter? Concentrate on your own community!