The Faith for Earth Empathy Leadership (FEEL) Programme is designed to make environmental education an emotional and experiential affair. The goal is to create empathetic leaders who not only transform their individual lifestyles, but also create a ripple effect in society, empowering them to bring about positive change.
We prioritise transformation over information by inculcating a sense of accountability in children and the youth for the environmental issues our world faces today. The six interactive modules in the FEEL Programme explore a range of problems threatening the environment. Each module focuses on one such challenge – its causes, effects and plausible solutions in an age-appropriate and practical way.
The unique feature of FEEL lies in the usage of value education to deepen and make personal environmental education. It encourages young minds to develop a deeper way of thinking, feeling, and interacting with nature, presenting them a unique opportunity to become agents of change as ‘Empathy Leaders’.
The six modules of the Junior Level comprise four 45-minute sessions each. Seamlessly combining value education with environmental education, these sessions lay the foundation for an environmentally conscious future generation by cultivating the seeds of virtues in young minds.
The six modules of the Senior Level comprise two 90-minute sessions each. Demonstrating that value education goes hand-in-hand with environmental education, these sessions shape the youth towards becoming environmentally conscious by imparting essential personality-development skills.
The programme not only assists children and youth in developing their Emotional Quotient (EQ), but also instils age-appropriate skills in them. It certifies young minds as Empathy Leaders of the environment, by invoking in them the power of the four E’s.
The power to empathise with the environment and its problems, by identifying the human vices at the root of the problems.
The power to envision solutions to the problems, by exploring the changes that can be brought about within oneself, to protect the environment.
The power to execute solutions to the problems, by putting the learnt values to action, on a personal level.
The power to empower others to be changemakers, in order to multiply the effects of transformation by including others on the team.
Upon successful completion of the FEEL Programme, SRMD and Faith for Earth present teens with a unique opportunity of demonstrating a level of environmental empathy inculcated via learning theoretical knowledge and honing practical skills, over the course of the programme.
At a time when universities, institutions, and employers are looking forward to welcoming individuals who are emotionally as well as intellectually empowered, the FEEL Programme can facilitate unlocking quintessential values and fostering diverse skillsets.
The FEEL Programme is a collaborative effort of Shrimad Rajchandra Mission Dharampur and the Faith For Earth Initiative of the United Nations Environment Programme.
Shrimad Rajchandra Mission Dharampur is a spiritual movement for inner transformation through wisdom, meditation and selfless service. Founded by Pujya Gurudevshri Rakeshji, the organisation works through 108 centres in five continents.
Since its inception in 1972, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has been the global authority that sets the environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment. The Faith for Earth Initiative, a programme of UNEP, started in 2017 and aimed at mobilising and engaging faith leaders, faith-based organisations, and their communities to address the triple planetary crises under UNEP’s Medium Term Strategy (2022-2025).