“Education can change minds, if you can change minds, you can change mindsets, you change the behaviours and change the collective, so it is crucial”. - Alicia This week’s podcast utilises the audio from the webinar interview led by Alicia Jiménez which took place on the 29th of January 2021 from the AnimalConcepts platform. Let us welcome Alicia Jiménez, the Director of Programmes at the Earth Charter International Secretariat in Costa Rica. She has been working in the field of conservation and sustainable development since 1998. The conversation discusses why it is essential to work together to maintain nature. However, this would require a new mindset, through cultural transformation to expand our perception and rethink our values. Education is a key player in this and can influence change. The Earth Charter can be used as a guideline to produce lessons. The Earth Charter is a working document, containing sixteen principles within four pillars in sixty languages to promote a global impact by teaching a new way to relate to other living beings. “Across zoos and aquariums, not many people I have spoken to have heard about the Earth Charter. So it is wonderful that we converse together to spread the word, the message and the values”. – Sabrina Alicia, Irma and Sabrina then discuss the benefits of weaving stories into education especially in a zoo environment to create relatability and therefore teach people how valuable all life is. “The Earth Charter has a global effect, putting together how we should live on this planet”. - Irma Read about Alicia Jiménez HERERead the Earth Charter preamble HERE