Using the Earth Charter as AOF Taxonomy +6
Edit this Page
This is a follow-up of a suggestion I made in the "Developing a top level taxonomy for the 46 different Areas of Focus" discussion in exploring the possibility of using the Earth Charter's principles and sub-principles to reorganize WiserEarth's current AoF taxonomy.This document is just a place to put my thoughts on this possibility.
"We stand at a critical moment in Earth's history, a time when humanity must choose its future. As the world becomes increasingly interdependent and fragile, the future at once holds great peril and great promise. To move forward we must recognize that in the midst of a magnificent diversity of cultures and life forms we are one human family and one Earth community with a common destiny. We must join together to bring forth a sustainable global society founded on respect for nature, universal human rights, economic justice, and a culture of peace. Towards this end, it is imperative that we, the peoples of Earth, declare our responsibility to one another, to the greater community of life, and to future generations." (Earth Charter preamble)
"Toward a Just and Sustainable World Created by Community" (WiserEarth slogan)
We can say, the Earth Charter and WiserEarth complements each other nicely. For starters, both are working toward the same ends as described in the quotations above.
Moreover, the Earth Charter is described as
"... a declaration of fundamental values and principles for building a just, sustainable, and peaceful global society in the 21st century. Created by the largest global consultation process ever associated with an international declaration, endorsed by thousands of organizations representing millions of individuals, the Earth Charter seeks to inspire in all peoples a sense of global interdependence and shared responsibility for the well-being of the human family and the larger living world.
Thus, the next important nexus between the Earth Charter and WiserEarth is community.
If we read the history of the charter (here and here), we will discover that it truly is a people's document. A document created by the global community of concerned citizens. WiserEarth on the other hand, aims to be that very same community in the "virtual", cyberspace sense (and also with "physical", real world connection).
Toward the same benevolent ends by community. The Earth Charter and WiserEarth simply are natural allies.
When we read the Earth Charter, we will realize that:
But before we do that, let's have a brief survey of the Earth Charter.
The Earth Charter consists of three parts:
1. Preamble
2. Principles
3. The Way Forward
In this excercise we will only use the second part on principles, which consists of four principles stating the goals humanity should achieve and twelve principles stating the principles we must follow to achieve those goals. Each principle has sub-principles, but first, we will only list the main principles.
I. RESPECT AND CARE FOR THE COMMUNITY OF LIFE
1. Respect Earth and life in all its diversity.
2. Care for the community of life with understanding, compassion, and love.
3. Build democratic societies that are just, participatory, sustainable, and peaceful.
4. Secure Earth's bounty and beauty for present and future generations.
In order to fulfill these four broad commitments, it is necessary to:
II. ECOLOGICAL INTEGRITY
5. Protect and restore the integrity of Earth's ecological systems, with special concern for biological diversity and the natural processes that sustain life.
6. Prevent harm as the best method of environmental protection and, when knowledge is limited, apply a precautionary approach.
7. Adopt patterns of production, consumption, and reproduction that safeguard Earth's regenerative capacities, human rights, and community well-being.
8. Advance the study of ecological sustainability and promote the open exchange and wide application of the knowledge acquired.
III. SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC JUSTICE
9. Eradicate poverty as an ethical, social, and environmental imperative.
10. Ensure that economic activities and institutions at all levels promote human development in an equitable and sustainable manner.
11. Affirm gender equality and equity as prerequisites to sustainable development and ensure universal access to education, health care, and economic opportunity.
12. Uphold the right of all, without discrimination, to a natural and social environment supportive of human dignity, bodily health, and spiritual well-being, with special attention to the rights of indigenous peoples and minorities.
IV. DEMOCRACY, NONVIOLENCE, AND PEACE
13. Strengthen democratic institutions at all levels, and provide transparency and accountability in governance, inclusive participation in decision making, and access to justice.
14. Integrate into formal education and life-long learning the knowledge, values, and skills needed for a sustainable way of life.
15. Treat all living beings with respect and consideration.
16. Promote a culture of tolerance, nonviolence, and peace.
Under principles 5 ~16 are 53 sub-principles which details what are the leverage points under each principle which should be put to action in moving toward a just, peaceful and sustainable world. We will look at these sub-principles later on in our exercise.
Now, if we assume that the above classification is comprehensive, we should be able to fit WiserEarth's 379 sub-AoF (and 46 main-AoF) under those principles and sub-principles and have a clearer and more navigable taxonomy. Let's see how this turns out to be.
Reclassifying WiserEarth's 46 Main-AoF Under Earth Charter's 12 Main Principles
Here's what happen if we do so:
(Click on the thumbnail below to download the image. It's a 345 kB, 920x4264 pixels image. Scroll further below to read explanation on how to read the chart)
As a result of this, we will have a four-tiered taxonomy with the topmost being Earth Charter's "Ecological Integrity", "Social and Economic Justice" and "Democracy, Nonviolence, and Peace", and the lowest being WiserEarth's 379 Sub AoF. The second level of the taxonomy will follow Earth Charter's 12 main principles and the third level of the taxonomy will follow Earth Charter's 53 sub-principles.
So, here we go:
(Click on the thumbnail below download the image. It's a 926 kB, 1573x9300 pixels image. Scroll further below to read explanation on how to read the chart)
Here's some explanation for the charts above (click on the image to enlarge):
2. About half of the 379 sub-AoF can be classified under "I. Ecological Integrity", while the other half is split in two under "II. Social and Economic Justice" and "III. Democracy, Nonviolence, and Peace".
3. Some sub-AoF can be associated with Earth Charter's main principle. For example, "(Gender) Gender Equality" with "II.3. Gender Equality and Equity". Some others can be associated with Earth Charter's sub-principles. For example, "(Women) Women's Rights" with "II.3.a. Women's Rights". While some others, as shown below in point 4, can not even be categorized directly under any 53 sub-principles of Earth Charter.
4. Some sub-AoF seems too specific to be put directly under Earth Charter's sub-principle. For example, "(Men) Male Circumcision", which seemingly can only be classified under "(Health) Public Health", under "1.3.f. Sustainable Lifestyle and Well-Being". Even this, seems trivial.
5. Sub-AoF from several Main AoF can be categorized under a single Earth Charter sub-principle. This is well reflected in complex issues such as "I.1.b. Natural Reserve and Biodiversity" and "II.1.a. Resource Sharing to Meet Basic Needs".
6. Some Earth Charter sub-principles does not have any sub-AoF classifiable under them (though some are associated with sub-AoFs):
7. Following on No.6, we can add topics not yet listed in the current sub-AoF, such as "The Natural Step Framework" (green-colored) under "I.2.c. Decision-Making with Sustainability Vision" and "Interfaith Dialogue" (also green-colored) under "III.4.a. Mutual Understanding, Solidarity and Cooperation".
8. Some sub-AoF, like those under the main-AoF Animalia, seems too academic and not enough action-oriented. In other words, more "about" than "toward".
All in all, the initial premise of "if we assume that Earth Charter' s classification is comprehensive, we should be able to fit WiserEarth's 379 sub-AoF (and 46 main-AoF) under those principles and sub-principles" seems to have been proved by this exercise. We can also improve the current taxonomy as a result of our exercise (for example, see point No.7 above).
Now that we've finished our simple excercise and done some simple analysis on the possibility of using Earth Charter as a guidance for WiserEarth's AoF taxonomy:
Concluding, integrating the Earth Charter into WiserEarth's AoF taxonomy and AoF portals, could I think add more weight to each part of WiserEarth's slogan: "Toward", "a Just and Sustainable World" and "Created by Community". It can also add a stronger sense of focus on purpose and of direction and movement to the resources and activities in the upcoming newly designed AoF portals.
(Short comments are welcomed in the comment section below, but please share your further thoughts in the "Should We Use the Earth Charter for WiserEarth's AoF Taxonomy?" discussion. Million thanks!)
"We stand at a critical moment in Earth's history, a time when humanity must choose its future. As the world becomes increasingly interdependent and fragile, the future at once holds great peril and great promise. To move forward we must recognize that in the midst of a magnificent diversity of cultures and life forms we are one human family and one Earth community with a common destiny. We must join together to bring forth a sustainable global society founded on respect for nature, universal human rights, economic justice, and a culture of peace. Towards this end, it is imperative that we, the peoples of Earth, declare our responsibility to one another, to the greater community of life, and to future generations." (Earth Charter preamble)
"Toward a Just and Sustainable World Created by Community" (WiserEarth slogan)
The Earth Charter and WiserEarth
We can say, the Earth Charter and WiserEarth complements each other nicely. For starters, both are working toward the same ends as described in the quotations above.
Moreover, the Earth Charter is described as
"... a declaration of fundamental values and principles for building a just, sustainable, and peaceful global society in the 21st century. Created by the largest global consultation process ever associated with an international declaration, endorsed by thousands of organizations representing millions of individuals, the Earth Charter seeks to inspire in all peoples a sense of global interdependence and shared responsibility for the well-being of the human family and the larger living world.
It is an expression of hope and a call to help create a global partnership at a critical juncture in history. The Earth Charter’s inclusive ethical vision proposes that environmental protection, human rights, equitable human development, and peace are interdependent and indivisible. It provides a new framework for thinking about and addressing these issues."
WiserEarth on the other hand, is intended to be a virtual headquarter providing the platform and tools for the community of concerned citizens and non-governmental organizations in organizing their effort to create a just and sustainable world. In other words, to help us help ourselves in bringing the Earth Charter vision and principles into actions and concrete changes the world desperately needs.Thus, the next important nexus between the Earth Charter and WiserEarth is community.
If we read the history of the charter (here and here), we will discover that it truly is a people's document. A document created by the global community of concerned citizens. WiserEarth on the other hand, aims to be that very same community in the "virtual", cyberspace sense (and also with "physical", real world connection).
Toward the same benevolent ends by community. The Earth Charter and WiserEarth simply are natural allies.
Earth Charter's Principles and WiserEarth's AoF Taxonomy
When we read the Earth Charter, we will realize that:
- the ethical ethical vision contained in it's principles covers the whole range of issues that are crucial in creating a just and sustainable world.
- it manages to identify the leverage points among the jungle of issues and possible actions to take in working toward that end.
- it's principles are oriented toward learning and action.
- yet, it presents those principles with clarity in the way that no unnecessary overlaps occur between the principles, and the classification of those principles struck home to the three big theme that the community of Earth's people must address: "Ecological Integrity", "Social and Economic Justice", "Democracy, Nonviolence and Peace".
- WiserEarth presents the range of issues in our cause under 379 sub-AoF and classifying it under 46 main-AoF. Several users have put forward concerns on the long list of issues to choose from, which they think as somewhat overwhelming and tedious.
- If we look closely, at the level of sub-AoF we have very big, urgent, popular and action-oriented issues which correlate closely with WiserEarth slogan such as "Human Rights Protection (10116 organizations) (300 users)" and "Environmental Education (13176 organizations) (1007 users)", while on the other hand, we also have very small, less important, unpopular, and less action-oriented issues which correlate distantly with the slogan such as "Male Circumcision (9 organizations) (24 users)" and "Shrublands (11 organizations) (35 users)".
- We will also find similar issues listed as separate Sub-AoF under separate Main-AoF such as "Natural Resource Conservation" sub-AoF under "Conservation" main-AoF and "Natural Resource Management" sub-AoF under "Greening of Industry" main-AoF.
- The similarity of issues might produce unnecessary redundancies at present and in the future which might confuse users and duplicate efforts across sub-AoF portals.
But before we do that, let's have a brief survey of the Earth Charter.
Earth Charter's Main Principles
The Earth Charter consists of three parts:
1. Preamble
2. Principles
3. The Way Forward
In this excercise we will only use the second part on principles, which consists of four principles stating the goals humanity should achieve and twelve principles stating the principles we must follow to achieve those goals. Each principle has sub-principles, but first, we will only list the main principles.
I. RESPECT AND CARE FOR THE COMMUNITY OF LIFE
1. Respect Earth and life in all its diversity.
2. Care for the community of life with understanding, compassion, and love.
3. Build democratic societies that are just, participatory, sustainable, and peaceful.
4. Secure Earth's bounty and beauty for present and future generations.
In order to fulfill these four broad commitments, it is necessary to:
II. ECOLOGICAL INTEGRITY
5. Protect and restore the integrity of Earth's ecological systems, with special concern for biological diversity and the natural processes that sustain life.
6. Prevent harm as the best method of environmental protection and, when knowledge is limited, apply a precautionary approach.
7. Adopt patterns of production, consumption, and reproduction that safeguard Earth's regenerative capacities, human rights, and community well-being.
8. Advance the study of ecological sustainability and promote the open exchange and wide application of the knowledge acquired.
III. SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC JUSTICE
9. Eradicate poverty as an ethical, social, and environmental imperative.
10. Ensure that economic activities and institutions at all levels promote human development in an equitable and sustainable manner.
11. Affirm gender equality and equity as prerequisites to sustainable development and ensure universal access to education, health care, and economic opportunity.
12. Uphold the right of all, without discrimination, to a natural and social environment supportive of human dignity, bodily health, and spiritual well-being, with special attention to the rights of indigenous peoples and minorities.
IV. DEMOCRACY, NONVIOLENCE, AND PEACE
13. Strengthen democratic institutions at all levels, and provide transparency and accountability in governance, inclusive participation in decision making, and access to justice.
14. Integrate into formal education and life-long learning the knowledge, values, and skills needed for a sustainable way of life.
15. Treat all living beings with respect and consideration.
16. Promote a culture of tolerance, nonviolence, and peace.
Under principles 5 ~16 are 53 sub-principles which details what are the leverage points under each principle which should be put to action in moving toward a just, peaceful and sustainable world. We will look at these sub-principles later on in our exercise.
Now, if we assume that the above classification is comprehensive, we should be able to fit WiserEarth's 379 sub-AoF (and 46 main-AoF) under those principles and sub-principles and have a clearer and more navigable taxonomy. Let's see how this turns out to be.
Reclassifying WiserEarth's 46 Main-AoF Under Earth Charter's 12 Main Principles
Here's what happen if we do so:(Click on the thumbnail below to download the image. It's a 345 kB, 920x4264 pixels image. Scroll further below to read explanation on how to read the chart)
Reclassifying WiserEarth's 379 Sub AoF Under Earth Charter's 53 Sub-principles
As a result of this, we will have a four-tiered taxonomy with the topmost being Earth Charter's "Ecological Integrity", "Social and Economic Justice" and "Democracy, Nonviolence, and Peace", and the lowest being WiserEarth's 379 Sub AoF. The second level of the taxonomy will follow Earth Charter's 12 main principles and the third level of the taxonomy will follow Earth Charter's 53 sub-principles.
So, here we go:
(Click on the thumbnail below download the image. It's a 926 kB, 1573x9300 pixels image. Scroll further below to read explanation on how to read the chart)
Here's some explanation for the charts above (click on the image to enlarge):
Lessons Learned from Using the Earth Charter as a Guidance for WiserEarth AoF Taxonomy
1. If we look only at the 46 main-AoF and classify them under Earth Charter's 12 principles, we'll discover that 13 of 46 fits under "I.1. Nature Conservation and Restoration", while 0 of 46 (none) fit under "III.3. Reverence for Life".2. About half of the 379 sub-AoF can be classified under "I. Ecological Integrity", while the other half is split in two under "II. Social and Economic Justice" and "III. Democracy, Nonviolence, and Peace".
3. Some sub-AoF can be associated with Earth Charter's main principle. For example, "(Gender) Gender Equality" with "II.3. Gender Equality and Equity". Some others can be associated with Earth Charter's sub-principles. For example, "(Women) Women's Rights" with "II.3.a. Women's Rights". While some others, as shown below in point 4, can not even be categorized directly under any 53 sub-principles of Earth Charter.
4. Some sub-AoF seems too specific to be put directly under Earth Charter's sub-principle. For example, "(Men) Male Circumcision", which seemingly can only be classified under "(Health) Public Health", under "1.3.f. Sustainable Lifestyle and Well-Being". Even this, seems trivial.
5. Sub-AoF from several Main AoF can be categorized under a single Earth Charter sub-principle. This is well reflected in complex issues such as "I.1.b. Natural Reserve and Biodiversity" and "II.1.a. Resource Sharing to Meet Basic Needs".
6. Some Earth Charter sub-principles does not have any sub-AoF classifiable under them (though some are associated with sub-AoFs):
- "I.2.a. Prevention of Environmental Harm" (associated with "(Law, Policy and Property Rights) Precautionary Principle" sub-AoF),
- "I.2.b. Polluter-Proofs-and-Pays Principle",
- "1.2.c. Decision-Making with Sustainability Vision",
- "1.2.e. Military and the Environment",
- "1.4.b. Traditional and Spiritual Wisdom for Sustainability and Well-Being",
- "1.4.d. Cultural and Spiritual Heritage" (associated with "(Cultural Heritage) Cultural Heritage Conservation" sub-AoF),
- "III.1.c. Human Rights and Civil Liberties" (associated with "(Human Rights and Social Justice) Human Rights and Civil Liberties" sub-AoF),
- "III.2.d. Spirituality and Sustainability", (associated with "(Religion, Ecology and Sustainability) Environmental Ethics, Religion and Sustainability, Sustainability, Religious and Spiritual Issues" sub-AoFs)
- "III.3.a. Animal Welfare and Rights" (associated with "(Animalia) Animal Welfare and Rights" sub-AoF)
- "III.3.b. Wild Animals Protection",
- "III.4.e. Outer Space for Environmental Protection and Peace",
- "III.4.f. Peace Philosophy and Practice".
7. Following on No.6, we can add topics not yet listed in the current sub-AoF, such as "The Natural Step Framework" (green-colored) under "I.2.c. Decision-Making with Sustainability Vision" and "Interfaith Dialogue" (also green-colored) under "III.4.a. Mutual Understanding, Solidarity and Cooperation".
8. Some sub-AoF, like those under the main-AoF Animalia, seems too academic and not enough action-oriented. In other words, more "about" than "toward".
All in all, the initial premise of "if we assume that Earth Charter' s classification is comprehensive, we should be able to fit WiserEarth's 379 sub-AoF (and 46 main-AoF) under those principles and sub-principles" seems to have been proved by this exercise. We can also improve the current taxonomy as a result of our exercise (for example, see point No.7 above).
So, What's Next?
Now that we've finished our simple excercise and done some simple analysis on the possibility of using Earth Charter as a guidance for WiserEarth's AoF taxonomy:
- What are your thoughts on this possibility? Is this four-tiered taxonomy usable and implementable?
- What other analysis can you derive from our exercise?
- Should we add more topic on the third level (of the current 53 sub-principles)? or maybe on the second level (of the current 12 principle)? What topics? Or, should we replace some topics? Which ones? With what?
- Did you find any sub-AoF classified under unsuitable sub-principle?
- Since we assumed that anything is possible, which main-AoF and sub-AoF would you merge or delete to increase clarity?
- How's your take on the labeling of Earth Charter 12 principles and 53 sub-principles (the yellow-colored labels). Are they good enough, how would you improve each?
- If, imagining, our simple exercise will be implemented in WiserEarth's AoF taxonomy, on the technical side, how would this change be implemented? What problems must we tackle and how?
- At what level of the taxonomy should we assign a portal page?
- How would you change the AoF portal template currently under development (by adam) and will be implemented in the future?
- If this four-tiered taxonomy is not usable/implementable, is there anything we can take from this exercise for the future development of the current taxonomy?
Conclusions
Concluding, integrating the Earth Charter into WiserEarth's AoF taxonomy and AoF portals, could I think add more weight to each part of WiserEarth's slogan: "Toward", "a Just and Sustainable World" and "Created by Community". It can also add a stronger sense of focus on purpose and of direction and movement to the resources and activities in the upcoming newly designed AoF portals.
(Short comments are welcomed in the comment section below, but please share your further thoughts in the "Should We Use the Earth Charter for WiserEarth's AoF Taxonomy?" discussion. Million thanks!)
Comments (1 - 11 of 11)
Login to Post a Comment.
|
|
I'm loving this idea that has been expertly, as in thesis, presented.
|
|
Faviki is just one platform that is starting to make use of DBpedia - it doesn't yet have a business model behind it. However, it is likely to grow in popularity as more sites start to be based on DBpedia It is just a good example of how DBpedia is being used on the web at the moment - we may want to add a Faviki link to our site when we base our structured information on DBpedia (as we have for del.icio.us and digg), however, there may not be any other use of the site at present.
|
|
Faviki works quite well to suggest DBpedia compliant tags. I think this might be part of the solution and make our content more accessible to others.
|
|
|
We could convert existing AOF portals into wikipages which are editable only by editors - or leave them open to the community. Its a choice. Or we could selectively open portals that don't have a sponsor.
|
|
Yes, converting current AoF to keywords will be necesary. And when current AoF portals (e.g. on Permaculture) will no longer be "locked" portals, users without editor privileges can help edit them right away.
A more robust tagging system would be necessary either way. Bernard (bvatant)showed me Faviki the other day, which was tied to DBpedia.
"Faviki is a tool that brings together social bookmarking and Wikipedia. It lets you bookmark web pages using Wikipedia's terms. In Faviki, everybody uses the same names for tags from the world's largest collection of knowledge!"
It is multilingual and has tag suggestion mechanism. Don't know yet how we can integrate such tool in WE.
"Faviki uses semantic tags - references to unique concepts that have their own URLs. This solves the problem of having different tags for the same concept (cocacola, coca-cola, coca_cola, CocaCola). Thanks to Zemanta suggestions, you can add semantic tags with one click!"
"Semantic tagging is not limited to English language. Faviki lets you tag in 14 different languages by suggesting tags from DBpedia. All popular world languages are supported: Chinese, Japanese, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Russian..."
Note to readers of this page/discussion: What is suggested and discussed here is related to another suggestion to simplyfy WiserEarth's Areas of Focus taxonomy. |
|
|
I think we need to make the tagging system (i.e. keywords) outside of AOFs much more robust. If I'm in the permaculture community for example and I'm going to lose Permaculture as an AOF I would be upset unless there is an alternative option. This may be solved by using wikipedia approved semantic web tags - or at least providing a tag cloud for new AOFs that effectively give greater granularity.
|
|
|
One thought: If we converted over to new AOFs, any existing AOF tag for a current record can be converted into a keyword on the record so we don't lose the granularity of the tagging that people have done to date. That way you could search via keyword more specifically.
|
|
|
Glad to see that we are resurfacing this idea.
@Camilla: The "fitting" of WE's 379 AoF under Earth Charter's principles has been done in the article above, though they definitely need reviewing. Some of the things we need to do to advance this idea further:
Just some early thoughts on actual implementaion steps. Will need to be developed further. |
|
Fully agree with you
|
|
|
Let's resurface this suggestion (sept 08) as it is becoming more critical to have Areas of Focus that are easier to use (379 are too many) and have the benefit of being easily integrated into an existing taxonomy created by the global community. The only amendment to this suggestion would be to take all of the AoFs and fit them into those under the Earth Charter.
|
1 to 11 of 11 Comments
fantastic project!
I have gollowing idea to bench-mark AOF Taxonomy mapping in other fields.
if we can get number of NGOs to launch such an integral issue-map project on Palestine/Israel using collaborative resources it would make the lives of all of us easy, because there is thousands of discussions running about this topic.
We would need consultant from WE side to move forward once the idea got the required internal energy (tipping poing :) .
can I calculate with your support?