ECI Secretariat
 
Earth Charter International Secretariat and
Earth Charter Center for Education for Sustainable Development at UPEACE 
P.O. Box 138-6100 - San José, Costa Rica
Tel. (506) 2205 9000
Fax: (506) 2249 1929
Email: info[@]earthcharter.org

The ECI Secretariat, which is based at the United Nations-mandated University for Peace in Costa Rica, endeavours to promote the mission, vision, strategies and policies adopted by the ECI Council. It supports the work of the Council, assists with strategic planning and coordinates many Earth Charter activities. The Secretariat guides and liaises with efforts to bring the Earth Charter to the fields of education, youth, business and religion, manages communications with the larger Earth Charter network, and promotes the use of the Earth Charter as an international soft law document.

Mirian Vilela
Mirian is the Executive Director of the Earth Charter International Secretariat and the Center for Education for Sustainable Development at UPEACE, Mirian has been working with the Earth Charter Initiative since early 1996. She is coordinating the newly established UNESCO Chair on Education for Sustainable Development with the Earth Charter. Over the years she has lead and facilitated numerous international workshops, courses and seminars on values and principles for sustainability. Prior to her work with the Earth Charter, Mirian worked for the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) for two years in preparation of the 1992 UN Earth Summit and a year at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). She actively participated in the 2002 World Summit of Sustainable Development, held in Johannesburg, and the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development/Rio+20. She is a member of the UNESCO Expert Reference Group for the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD). Mirian holds a B.Sc. in International Trade and a Master´s Degree in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, where she was an Edward Mason Fellow. She is originally from Brazil.

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Alicia Jimenez
Alicia has been working in conservation and sustainable development field since 1998, after she graduated as a biologist from the University of Costa Rica. She worked several years in IUCN Mesoamerica’s Regional Office and then started a professional services co-op called Coopesolidar, based in San Jose, Costa Rica. She also worked at the National University of Costa Rica. As part of these previous work experiences she did extensive field work in community-conservation projects, and environmental education processes, in Costa Rica and occasionally in other Central American countries. In 2006 she joined the ECI Secretariat, and is in charge of promoting as widely as possible the Earth Charter, especially in Africa, Middle East and Asia Pacific. In addition, she is involved with the Secretariat’s projects on education for sustainable development. Currently, she is IUCN CEC national activator for Costa Rica. Alicia has a MSc on Resource Development from Michigan State University. She is from Costa Rica.

Douglas F. Williamson
Douglas is a linguist, entertainer, filmmaker, and environmental sustainability professional, specializing in communications. He is now the Coordinator for Interactivity and Social Media for the Earth Charter International Secretariat. A native New Yorker, he holds Master degrees in International Affairs and in Natural Resources and Sustainable Development, the latter from UPEACE, has worked for several international environmental NGOs, the United Nations University, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Change Division. Douglas has also had a long history with the Earth Charter, being a member of the e-GLO program team. As a filmmaker, Douglas has produced several environmental films, several of which have won awards and selections to film festivals.

Nora Mahmoud 
Nora is a graduate of UPEACE's Master of Arts Peace Education program (2007). She was born and raised in New York City to a Tunisian father and American mother. She holds a B.A. in Sociology from Marymount Manhattan College. She has worked in various youth programs in New York City and has interned with UNICEF in New York, Guyana and Panama. She also teaches English as a second language, and has worked in the Department of Academic Administration within the Admissions and Recruitment Unit at the University for Peace. Currently, she is the International Youth Coordinator at the Earth Charter.