Frank van Beuning
Frank van Beuning is the founder of PYMWYMIC (Put Your Money Where Your Meaning is Community)
Sherlien Sanches
For many years, I have been working for the Earth Charter. It has enriched me with extraordinary people, all striving for a peaceful and sustainable world. People who bear a universal responsibility for the care of humanity and nature.
What does the Earth Charter mean to me…?
Awareness!
From all aspects of the Earth Charter, it has always been the intention to connect these remarkable people, to network, and to build bridges to a better world. A caring and loving world that we try to achieve with solidarity and compassion!
With my own company “A Touch of Spirit,” I organize events. A Touch of Spirit provides a platform for world changers and inspiring guests with a message of connection with each other and nature. We are organizing to connect!
Connectedness.
“A Touch of Spirit” conveys that we are all connected. Of course, we are individuals, responsible for
our own judg
ments and possessing free will, but nonetheless, we are part of something larger. You can call it the “collective unconscious” or spirit or li
fe force. Whatever you may call it, the point is that we are not completely separate from each other. Nor from the Earth and life on Earth. This sense of connectedness entails certain responsibilities. If each of us is part of a greater whole, then we should not harm others. Because in doing so, we would harm ourselves. This sense of responsibility is the foundation of “A Touch of Spirit.”
The Earth Charter is such a “Touch” of The Spirit for me! It makes people aware of where it touches all of us, in heart and soul. Because only with heart and soul can one change the world.
Sherlien is part of the Earth Charter team.
Read Sherlien’s blog on the occasion of the International Day of Indigenous Peoples. In it, she highlights the human rights violations of the indigenous population in Suriname. Moreover, Sherlien invites all of us to sign the petition for the recognition of the rights of indigenous peoples.
Wim Oolbekkink
Nature is much more than a metaphor for collaboration. Nature is collaboration, balance, and equilibrium. That’s where I feel at home.
The Earth Charter slowly but surely entered my life. It began in 2018 when I attended the Earth Charter celebration for the first time at Zonheuvel Estate. I remember the story about drinkable rivers by Li-Ann Phoa. Growing up in the water-rich region of Overijssel, I always kept my mouth shut while swimming in rivers and lakes. The idea that you can let the water flow through you was a revelation for me. It strengthened my desire to contribute to a better Earth (and to swim in a drinkable river someday). The estate where I am a program manager is a grateful practice ground to translate that desire into concrete actions. It ranges from planting trees, and cultivating oyster mushrooms to training programs for sustainable entrepreneurship. When Earth Charter adopted a new organizational form in 2019, it was not complicated for me to get more involved. Now I am deeply immersed and wherever possible, I connect the Earth Charter with my work for the SDG House network and activities that I develop with campus partners on the estate.
I am delighted to be part of the Earth Charter Netherlands team. I am the program manager of the Campus op Landgoed Zonheuvel (Campus of Zonneheuvel Estate) and the driver of SDGhouse Utrechtse Heuvel. Campus Landgoed Zonheuvel is also the home base for the SBI Foundation – Earth Charter Netherlands.