E A R T H C H A R T E R I N T E R N A T I O N A L e-GLO 2 Earth Charter Guiding Leaders Towards Sustainability Action Intercultural / Interpersonal Communicative Competence The interpersonal skills and communicative abilities of leaders are essential because a “unified focus results from the leader’s skill in communicating a unifying vision”

E A R T H C H A R T E R I N T E R N A T I O N A L Why do we need to talk about communicative competence Effectual leadership requires the ability to inspire shared visions and motivate people to work toward realizing them –allows leaders to gain support and to work competently toward achieving their goals Leaders need to be able to bring together many different individuals –proficiency at building and fostering the cooperation of likeminded people, along with collaborating with people who may hold different views, is extremely important

E A R T H C H A R T E R I N T E R N A T I O N A L International Institute for Sustainable Development, IISD’s study “Supporting the Next Generation of Sustainability Leadership” IISD’s 2008 survey of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) members’ training programs for ages 20-35

E A R T H C H A R T E R I N T E R N A T I O N A L The values, beliefs and aptitudes that were ranked most highly include a capacity for innovation and a global mindset –The personal commitment to a sustainable lifestyle, peer networking, experiential learning, project management skills and awareness of stakeholder roles Of the skills required, communications was at the top of the list –Understanding how to engage people was key - the ability to work across sectors, personality types and cultures for a better future –“the ability to inform, engage and influence others to change policies and practices for the better”

E A R T H C H A R T E R I N T E R N A T I O N A L The term ‘communication’ in sustainable development projects encompasses a number of overlapping but distinct activities: –it involves building a system for dialogue and consultation with and within the community –it entails communicating the actions and expectations of the organization itself to a larger community of stakeholders –bringing these two ideas together, it involves making the information about the community, as well as its relationship to the service organization, available to the broader society

E A R T H C H A R T E R I N T E R N A T I O N A L The three components are not alternatives; communication is not merely ‘dissemination’ or letting others know what we are doing, and even less so about telling them what they should do To be meaningful, investments in communication have to be rooted first in the listening component of communication and only then in the talking component participatory dialogues – input from the community about their needs ownership, sense of involvement, transparency

E A R T H C H A R T E R I N T E R N A T I O N A L In many projects, communication is not an activity for supporting action; it is itself the action It could be even said that ultimately sustainable development is all about communication Sustainable development is not about designing a process; it is about sustaining a dialogue Investments in communication is not ‘support’ activity but the core of the programs