The Charter of Principles of the Terra Agora Foundation sets out the principles that constitute the guidelines for the proper management of the Foundation. It enables every person, member of the governing bodies, guardians, patrons to exercise their mandate or role in accordance with the Foundation’s purpose, values and principles. It is created from the Foundation’s statutes.
The Charter encourages all those who interact with the Foundation to go beyond mere legal compliance, adopting recognised norms and practices aligned with ethical, social, environmental and quality management standards, in any context in which the Fundação operates.
In particular, Members of the Foundation’s Governing Bodies:
- recognise the importance of sharing information about the Foundation’s governance and management, answering and clarifying questions and concerns, thus helping to raise awareness on the importance and relevance of applying ethical practices;
- consider the Charter to be an initiative applicable to all governing bodies and have made efforts to encourage members of other bodies to follow the Charter.
This Charter was approved at a Meeting of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees in April 2024 and has been in force since that date. It will be reviewed every 5 years, at most — the next review shall be done by 2028. All proposals for changes should be sent to the Board of Administration of the Foundation as and when they arise.
The procedure to amend the Charter is:
- The Board of Administration consults all the parties, listens to all the Chairpersons of the Governing Bodies, as well as the Patrons and Guardians, and collates the proposed changes;
- It drafts a new version and approves it at a Board meeting, submitting the approved version to the Board of Trustees;
- The Board of Trustees gives its approval after negotiating with the Board of Administration, with the process being mediated by the respective chairpersons;
- The approved version of the Charter is sent by the Board of Administration to all interested parties and published on the Foundation’s website.
- The Charter of Principles, the Code of Ethics, the Charter of Principles for Patrons and the Charter of Principles for Guardians are four documents which constitute a set and should be reviewed as such.
About the Foundation
Common good
The Foundation takes care of the ‘land’ as a common good, i.e. the terrestrial part (in addition to the oceanic part) of Planet Earth, including rivers and lakes.
Purpose
We dedicate our work to future generations of all species. The greatest legacy we can leave them is a well looked after Earth, so that they too can benefit from its immense beauty, diversity and generosity. So that they may last and flourish. So that they may be happy and live in peace.
Vision
We envision a future in which all beings can coexist on an Earth that belongs only to itself.
Our vision is of an Earth with constitutional dignity, which is neither capable of being purchased nor sold but cared for, in an emerging paradigm where we, as human beings, are conscious participating guardians of Life on Earth, transforming how we benefit from and enjoy its beauty through sustainable and socially responsible management.
Mission
We combine the conservation, regeneration and management of natural landscapes, as well as real estate, with innovative entrepreneurial projects and local communities acting as guardians with the aim of protecting, conserving and regenerating natural and human ecosystems.
Values
- Gaia
- Integrity
- Unity
Principles
To care for the:
- Dignity of the Earth
- Dignity of Life (on Earth)
- Human Dignity (individual)
- Social Dignity (collective)
Cultivating:
- Integral Perspective
- Evolutionary Perspective
- Governance Perspective
- Ethical Perspective
Fundamental concepts
- Strategic assets: These are buildings (urban, rural or mixed) of which the Foundation owns the land and, in the case of buildings in horizontal ownership, in which the Foundation owns all the autonomous fractions. The Foundation is a ‘custodian of strategic assets’.
- Non-strategic assets are the Foundation’s other real estate assets.
- Guardian Entities: These are collective legal entities with whom the Foundation signs contracts to carry out projects for the conservation and regeneration of strategic assets. The Foundation is a network of regenerative local communities that are guardians of Life on Earth.
Dignity of the Earth
To act in the knowledge that the Earth belongs to no one.
Planet Earth exists on its own, with its own dynamics in the context of the Universe. It will continue to exist regardless of whether there is Life on the planet, and in particular regardless of Human Beings.
We believe that the Earth is free and belongs only to itself. That no Human Being can be the owner (public, private or community owner) of the Earth. There was a time when a human being could own another (slavery). Human consciousness has evolved in such a way that this is no longer possible or tolerable today. We believe that human consciousness will continue to evolve and that in the near future it will not be possible and acceptable for a Human Being to own the Earth (property).
This principle invites us to act in the knowledge that Planet Earth does not need human beings to exist. Human beings need Planet Earth to exist. Human beings are guardians who take care of the Earth and ensure that natural systems are enjoyed in accordance with the Earth’s capacity for regeneration.
Dignity of Life
To act in the knowledge that Nature is Life.
We are part of the community of Life on Earth (Gaia).
Like all other forms of life, human beings are participants in life on Earth. If we occupy and want to make use of the Earth, it is our duty to do so in a way that is socially and ecologically just and balanced.
This principle invites us to act in the knowledge that we are part of Life on Earth, that we are conscious participants of Life on Earth and that we have to protect Life and its diversity (biodiversity).
Human Dignity
To act in the knowledge that every human has a Being and a Purpose in Life (Work).
We are part of the community of Human Beings on Earth (Humanity).
Regardless of where we are born, where we live, our religion, gender, skin colour, sexual preference or any other ‘attribute’, we are all Human Beings with the same rights. We have a set of universal needs. We are diverse in our personalities, intelligence, ways of learning, communicating and feeling. We live by a system of values and we manifest our Being and our Work, thereby putting ourselves at the service of Life.
This principle invites us to act in the knowledge that we are part of the human community and that all human beings have the same universal rights and needs — human rights of the United Nations.
We recognise that every Human Being has five bodies – a physical body, an emotional body, an intellectual body, an energetic body and an archetypal body (purpose and values). Caring for or looking after one or more of these bodies is caring for and looking after Human Dignity.
Social Dignity
To act in the knowledge that there is a Place (or Site) for our social ‘body’.
We are part of the Local community, where we live every moment, our neighborhood, city, country, continent, our culture, including our religion and ethnicity.
At every moment our feet are in a Place and regardless of whether we were born there or not, it is our responsibility to take care of the Place and the human communities that inhabit it. Our social body is made up of our families, friends, neighbors, our ancestors, the history of each Place and the natural and cultural history of every Place.
Every human community consists of a mosaic of peoples, traditions, beliefs and institutions uniquely shaped by the long-term pressures of geography, human history, culture, the Local environment and changing human needs. Honoring this, a Regenerative Economy nurtures healthy and resilient communities and regions, each one uniquely informed by the essence of its individual history and Place.
Integral Perspective
To act in the knowledge that reality is multidimensional.
An Integral perspective recognises reality as multidimensional where every theme is interconnected and related to the whole. It recognises that each perspective has a truth, even if we do not know what that truth is. Our food – made of nutrients, proteins – also has inner causes such as human or animal non-violence. It is cultural, adjusted to each Place, and considers many systems, from production, distribution, regeneration and so on. Each person has different needs at different times of their life, it is gender-dependent, and it is appreciated according to each person’s level and state of consciousness. And so it is for every theme.
Evolutionary Perspective
To act in the knowledge that everything evolves.
The Universe is continually evolving. It has an evolutionary impulse. Evolution manifests itself through continuous experimentation in an experiential, neutral reality (neither positive nor negative, neither good nor bad).
Governance Perspective
Act in the knowledge that responsibility is individual and action is collective.
We promote a non-hierarchical, circular, peer-to-peer, dialogical, relational, participatory and collaborative governance, where each person has a voice and the right and obligation to use it and be heard. We understand that there is an intelligence that manifests itself in collectives when social fields support it, as is the case with social technologies for dialogic, relational, democratic, collaborative and participatory governance (e.g. Theory U, Torus Technology, Sociocracy 3.0).
Ethical Perspective
To act in the knowledge that every action has an impact.
Action encompasses moving, thinking, feeling, intending and giving meaning. Every action has an impact. We cultivate the ethical perspective that to act is to leave things better than they were — in a manner consistent with Gaia — because of my actions; it is to care for:
- Local Communities
- Planet Earth (Gaia)
- Life on Earth
- Humanity