Informal Education for a Non-anthropocentric Relationship with Nature

CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS: Rights of Nature and Informal Education: How Can We Rethink Our Relationship to Nature Beyond Anthropocentrism?

In the face of today’s environmental crises, many countries and communities recognize that traditional nature conservation models, which focus on human needs, are no longer sufficient. The concept of Rights of Nature is emerging to provide a new approach, one where Nature is recognized as a legal subject in its own right, rather than merely an object to be exploited or protected solely for human interests.

The recognition of the Rights of Nature is expanding, yet its implementation remains a complex challenge.

Rights of Nature hold an essential legal dimension that could transform our legal framework. Several jurisdictions around the world (Ecuador, Brazil, New Zealand, etc.) have already taken this step, recognizing nature as a full legal subject, capable of defending itself in court.

However, Rights of Nature are not merely philosophical or ethical issues. Moving beyond anthropocentrism, it is time to explore informal educational models and practices that place nature at the center of our focus.

This paradigm shift requires each of us to reconsider our education and practices, especially through informal education initiatives that promote a non-anthropocentric relationship with nature. These initiatives, often led by collectives, NGOs, educators, or cultural institutions, help disseminate a new environmental ethic, where nature is perceived as a partner, not merely a resource.

Informal education (in other words, learning in spontaneous or unstructured settings) offers a major advantage in supporting the evolution of perceptions and awareness, due to its experiential and practice-based approach.

This call for contributions seeks to explore how modes of informal education (education outside institutional frameworks, non-formal learning) can foster a profound transformation in our attitudes toward nature. This includes co-developing projects and learning formats, as well as presenting successful case studies in informal education that promote a non-anthropocentric relationship with nature, or experiences that reconnect individuals with the living world and integrate nature as a full legal subject, recognizing humanity as an integral part of it.

This call for contributions also aims to explore concrete and multidimensional proposals (legal, educational, societal) that allow us to rethink our relationship with nature in general and to promote a non-anthropocentric vision in both formal and informal education systems.