Episode 1: Mirian Vilela, PhD
EP. 01
What if growth isn't the goal? In this inaugural episode of threshold | between, we sit down with Mirian Vilela, Executive Director of Earth Charter International, whose career has run alongside some of the most transformative moments in the modern environmental movement. Before becoming a global voice for sustainability ethics, Mirian spent two years helping prepare for the first UN Earth Summit in 1992, a gathering of 172 governments, 108 heads of state, and thousands of NGOs in Rio de Janeiro, the largest environmental summit the world has ever seen. It was there that sustainability first moved out of philosophy and into treaty language and policy nations could actually implement. But Rio left something unfinished: governments had hoped to adopt an Earth Charter alongside those treaties, and when consensus fell short, civil society picked up the call. After years of global consultation, the Earth Charter was launched in 2000, shaped by contributing voices including Wangari Maathai, Mikhail Gorbachev, and HRH Princess Basma Bint Talal. Mirian joins us to reflect on where that vision stands today, and to introduce the Earth Charter's emerging Contributions to Planetary Well-Being Index, a proposal to measure progress by something other than GDP and growth. It's a conversation about ethical leadership, the wisdom that shapes frameworks like this one, and why redefining what we mean by "progress" may be one of the most urgent tasks of our time.
Coming soon…