World Localization Day to be launched by an array of global thinkers and leaders

COVID seems to have turned public opinion firmly against going back to “business as usual”. So where do we go instead? World Localization Day to be launched on 21st June will argue that a new socio-economic paradigm is required.

COVID-19 has caused a fundamental rethink of the global economy. Failing supply lines have called into question the wisdom of depending, even for our most basic needs, on production the other side of the world — a dependence that undermines local communities everywhere and places intolerable stress on the environment.

At the same time, many people have come to appreciate the value of a slower-paced, less stressful life: one that offers more time for friends and family, for baking, for growing a garden.

And, of course, we are more aware than ever before of the importance of our physical health. From sad experience, we now understand that wellbeing is the ultimate priority.

Public opinion seems to have turned firmly against going back to “business as usual”.

So where do we go instead?

A World Localization Day is being launched on June 21st via an online event. The event is being organized by Local Futures, which as been raising awareness for four decades about the need to shift direction – away from dependence on global monopolies, and towards decentralized, regional economies. This event will argue that a new economic paradigm is required. It’s called localization.

A rolling online programme of talks, interviews, music, short films and humour are planned with participation from global icons and leaders like HH The Dalai Lama, Noam Chomsky, Annie Lennox, Brian Eno, Iain McGilchrist, Helena Norberg-Hodge, Charles Eisenstein, Vandana Shiva, Johann Hari, Manish Jain, Gail Bradbrook, and many others.

What is Localization?

Localization is about supporting local shops, local farms and farmers’ markets, local businesses. It’s about keeping money within the community. It’s about investing in the place where you live – financially, emotionally, practically. It’s about building on the resources of the area, both human and natural, and living within ecological limits.

Localization is not about eliminating international trade, but about reducing the power of unaccountable corporations.And it’s about pressing for policy change: to shift taxes, subsidies and regulations that currently favour a small number of global giants to support instead a multitude of businesses and industries.

As most people recognise, humanity is facing a monumentally important fork in the road, and time is of the essence. We can either choose to continue moving down a speedy, competitive and insecure path, through ever-greater dependence on the global market, or support a turn towards community, towards the earth, our home and only economy. 

Our goal is to try to put localization on the map. When viewed collectively, countless inspiring projects around the world actually constitute a worldwide movement. It’s a truly hopeful message for the majority of people who believe that overpopulation and human greed are the drivers of our multiple crises. The truth is that our economic system is responsible for massively and systematically increasing greed, insecure livelihoods and identities. And there is another way forward. Localization is a strategy for change that goes beyond all the old divides of left/right etc, and appeals to a wide cross-section of people.