The International Society For Ecology And Culture

ISEC'S MISSION IS THE PROTECT AND RENEW ECOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL WELL-BEING BY STRENGTHENING LOCAL ECONOMIES AND COMMUNITIES WORLDWIDE.

GLOBAL TO LOCAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS. THROUGH BOOKS, VIDEOS, LECTURES, ARTICLES, CONFERENCES, CLASSES, INTERVIEWS AND WEB-BASED MATERIALS, WE INFORM THE PUBLIC OF THE MANY COSTS OF GLOBALIZATION, AND THE SYSTEMIC BENEFITS OF LOCALIZATION. IN 2021 WE COMPLETED OUR LOCALIZATION ACTION GUIDE -- A FULL WEBSITE FEATURING 140 ACTIONS FOR LOCALIZATION, EACH WITH ITS OWN PAGE. LOCAL FUTURES DIRECTOR HELENA NORBERG-HODGE WAS A GUEST SPEAKER ON 16 PODCASTS AND PARTICIPATED IN 30 EVENTS IN MULTIPLE COUNTRIES, INCLUDING AUSTRALIA, GERMANY, UK, USA, SPAIN, SOUTH KOREA, BRAZIL, AND INDONESIA. AMONG THE EVENTS WERE A WEBINAR ON "POST-SEPARATION SICKNESS IN A POST-INDUSTRIAL WORLD"; A PRESENTATION FOR RENEWFEST ON "BEYOND POLARISATION AND DIVISIVENESS"; A PRESENTATION FOR THE ECOVERSITIES EVENT "REIMAGINING EDUCATION"; AND A TALK FOR SYSTEM CHANGE ALLIANCE'S "BEYOND THE GREAT RESET". SHE ALSO TAUGHT AN ONLINE COURSE WITH THE NGO SMALL GIANTS. OTHER LOCAL FUTURES STAFF DELIVERED 15 TALKS AND INTERVIEWS. THESE INCLUDED A KEYNOTE SPEECH BY ANJA LYNGBAEK AT THE PEOPLES' FOOD SUMMIT, AND A PRESENTATION BY ALEX JENSEN AT THE DEGROWTH CONFERENCE IN DELHI. AMONG OUR WRITING EFFORTS DURING THE YEAR WERE CHAPTERS IN TWO PUBLISHED BOOKS, THE COSMOLOCAL READER AND CLIMATE ADAPTATION. WE ALSO POSTED REGULARLY TO OUR BLOG AND TO PLANET LOCAL, OUR LIBRARY OF LOCALIZATION INITIATIVES WORLDWIDE.

COUNTERDEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS, INCLUDING LADAKH PROJECT. ALTHOUGH COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS PREVENTED TRAVEL TO LADAKH IN 2020, OUR LOCAL STAFF REMAINED ACTIVE. THEY PRODUCED A SHORT FILM ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF LOCAL FOOD IN LADAKH, AND ABOUT THE INCREASING NUMBERS OF YOUNG PEOPLE RECLAIMING THEIR AGRICULTURAL HERITAGE. THEIR ARTICLE ON YOUNG PEOPLE RETURNING TO LADAKH TO FARM, INITIALLY PUBLISHED IN THE LADAKHI NEWSPAPER STAWA, WAS REPOSTED ON THE LOCAL FUTURES BLOG. ANOTHER BLOGPOST, ON THE IMPACT OF THE PANDEMIC ON LADAKH, WAS ALSO POSTED ON OUR BLOG.

WORD LOCALIZATION DAY AND ECONOMICS OF HAPPINESS PROGRAMS. OUR ECONOMICS OF HAPPINESS CONFERENCE IN JEONJU, SOUTH KOREA, WAS FOR THE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW AN ONLINE EVENT, WITH INTERNATIONAL SPEAKERS JOINING BY SKYPE OR ZOOM. WORLD LOCALIZATION DAY 2021 FEATURED A WEEK-LONG SERIES OF 14 WEBINARS HOSTED BY LOCAL FUTURES, AND MORE THAN 80 VIRTUAL AND IN-PERSON EVENTS UNDER THE WORLD LOCALIZATION DAY BANNER ORGANIZED BY PARTNERS IN 30 COUNTRIES ON SIX CONTINENTS. IN ADDITION, WE ORGANIZED A LOCAL FOOD FEAST CAMPAIGN THAT ENCOURAGED THE GENERAL PUBLIC TO CELEBRATE LOCAL FOOD; MORE THAN 100 GROUPS AND INDIVIDUALS HOSTED FEASTS, FROM SMALL GATHERINGS TO LARGE DAY-LONG EVENTS. DURING THE WEEK OF WORLD LOCALIZATION DAY, WE ALSO PUBLISHED VIDEOS OF REFLECTIONS ON LOCALIZATION BY WELL-KNOWN THINKERS/ACTIVISTS LIKE NAOMI KLEIN AND RUSSELL BRAND. OUR PARTNERS ALSO ORGANIZED LOCAL EVENTS, INCLUDING FOUR-DAY ONLINE CELEBRATIONS IN JAPAN AND BRAZIL, AND CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE NATIONAL PEASANT FARMERS MOVEMENT IN THE PHILIPPINES, A PROGRESSIVE TELEVISION STATION IN CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA, AND A HOLISTIC CLINIC SERVING VICTIMS OF THE UNION CARBIDE DISASTER IN BHOPAL, INDIA. MORE THAN A DOZEN ORGANIZATIONS IN MEXICO, INCLUDING THE 35,000-MEMBER TOSEPAN COOPERATIVE, FORMED A MEXICO-WIDE LOCALIZATION COALITION IN RESPONSE TO WORLD LOCALIZATION DAY.