The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh will examine a wide range of worldwide issues when it hosts the ninth-annual Earth Charter Community Summit, Oct. 9-15.

Ranked among the largest Earth Charter events in the world, UW Oshkosh’s week of presentations and programs will focus on exploring sustainable ways of living and developing a global society with a shared ethical framework. Topics include world music, sustainability and other aspects of environmentalism, and social justice.

“The Earth Charter continues to be an educational resource and a forum for discussion on the entire range of principles,” said English professor Andrew Robson, who first brought the summit to UW Oshkosh in 2001. The charter encompasses the community of life, ecological integrity, universal human rights, democracy and a culture of peace.

The Earth Charter Community Summit is an ongoing example of the University’s commitment to sustainability. For more information about campus sustainability initiatives, visit www.uwosh.edu/sustainability.

“The week-long event provides not only a venue for awareness, but also the opportunity to exchange ideas about how to change our world for the better,” said Tashia Norton, a UW Oshkosh junior majoring in sociology and a member of the UWO branch of the Earth Charter Initiative.

All events are free and open to the public. Parking is available in lots 32 and 15 during events. Lot 34 will be open to guests on Monday, Oct. 12. The schedule follows:

Friday, Oct. 9

• 12:40 p.m. — Jonathan Overby, host of Wisconsin Public Radio’s “Higher Ground,” will present World Music in the Arts and Communication Center’s Music Hall, 926 Woodland Ave.

Monday, Oct. 12

• 5:30 p.m. — A social event featuring the Earth Charter Calendar launch will take place in Reeve Memorial Union Ballroom, 748 Algoma Blvd.

• 6 p.m. — Ticket are required for the Sustainability Food Banquet. Tickets are available at Titan Central in Reeve Union. There is no charge, though a $5 donation from students and $15 donation from non-students is appreciated.

• 7 p.m. — Immediately following the banquet, Will Allen, urban farmer and founder of Growing Power in Milwaukee, will speak. Allen received a MacArthur Genius Award in 2008 for providing high-quality food to inner-city areas. A $1.9 million grant from the Clinton Global Initiative will extend his work to South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Wednesday, Oct. 14

• 9 a.m.-2 p.m. — UW Oshkosh’s Sustainability Office will present a Transportation Fair in Reeve Concourse. The campus will get its first look at Zimride (www.zimride.com), an online resource for carpooling.

• 4:30 p.m. — Jim Evanoff, who oversees Yellowstone National Park’s sustainability initiatives and environmental programs, will discuss “Yellowstone’s Carbon Footprint” in Reeve Union Theater (Room 306), covering how the overall effects of climate change within the park’s ecosystem. The program will be followed by a reception at 5:30 p.m.

• 6 p.m. — Interim Director of Sustainability Michael Lizotte will give an update of UW Oshkosh’s Campus Sustainability Plan in Reeve Union Theater. At 6:30 p.m., Lizotte will join representatives of the Oshkosh Sustainability Advisory Board and the Oshkosh Area School District for the panel discussion “Community Sustainability in Practice: Challenges and Opportunities.”

Thursday, Oct. 15

• 9:40-11:10 a.m. — Members of the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters, the Wisconsin Green Building Alliance and USADA Wildlife Services will lead a Green Career Panel in Room 201 of Reeve Union.

• 6:30 p.m. — Following a reception, UW-Madison English professor Rob Nixon will present “Slow Violence, Gender and the Environmentalism of the Poor” at 7 p.m. in Reeve Union Theater.

For more information about the Earth Charter Community Summit, visit www.uwosh.edu/earthcharter.