think globally but act locally essay

“Think Globally, Act Locally”: A Critical Analysis

This is possible because today “no country or group can shut itself off from others” (Beck, 2000, p.10) in terms of their economic activities in general, and export to the country in particular. However, implementing the same approach in various markets in terms of pricing, marketing, packaging and other aspects of the product may not work well due to cultural and other differences associated with each particular market.

This article is a critical analysis of the approach of “Think Globally, Act Locally” and analyses the need for multinational companies to adapt to the characteristics of each individual market they are operating in. The paper starts with the discussion regarding the importance of the approach “Think Globally, Act Locally” followed by the analyses  of application of this concept by some of the famous multinational companies. Then, difficulties associated with the need for multinational businesses to adapt to local markets are explained in great detail referring to the works of international businesses researchers and practitioners.

Lastly, recommendations are also provided within the paper regarding how multinational companies already operating in multiple markets, as well as companies trading locally, but with the expansions plans on a global level can achieve successful operations across borders and continents through to their local markets, thus effectively attracting local customers.

The Importance of “Think Globally, Act Locally” Approach

The primary reasons of globalisation have to be reminded briefly in order to explore the topic of the paper in a more efficient way. It has to be noted that the forces of globalisation have been evolving over a long period of time, but they have dramatically intensified only during the past several decades and the reasons of globalisation to be mentioned below relate to that latter period only.

Borghoff (2005) identifies harmonisation of prices and interest rates among different countries to play an important role on the development of international trade, which in its turn is considered to be one of the biggest drivers of globalisation. Other reasons include rapid technological advancement in general and information technology, and more recently internet in particular that decreased the meaning of borders between different countries promoting economic and other cooperation.

Today, “’Globalisation’ stands out for a public, spread across the world, as one of the defining terms of contemporary society” (Scholte, 2000, p.1) and businesses in general, and major multinational corporations in particular are getting advantages by exporting their products and services all around the world.

Moreover, due to the fact that nowadays “national economies, with some exceptions, are presently much more deeply enmeshed in global systems of production and exchange than in previous historical eras, while few states, following the collapse of state socialism, remain excluded from global financial and economic markets” (Held and McGrew, 2003, p.24) the level of global competition has intensified among major multinational players that strive to enter new, previously unexplored markets with the vigour and determination that resembles a ‘gold rush’.

However, competing in the global marketplace is different from the competition within the borders of a single market in a number of ways. These differences in the competition are primarily caused by local differences that are associated with each individual market that may create both advantages, as well as disadvantages for businesses entering a new market.

Advantages within the new markets include low prices of local resources, effective geographical location and others. Moreover, “Companies that previously had to produce tens or hundreds of thousands of standardised products in a single plant to achieve minimum efficient scale now find they can distribute manufacturing among smaller national plants with little cost penalty. In this way they can respond to localised consumer preferences and national political constraints without compromising their economic efficiency” (Bartlett and Ghoshal, 2002, p.11). The disadvantages, on the other hand, include differences in local culture that form potential consumer’s preferences, behaviour, product or service value perception and a range of other important issues.

These differences in foreign markets have to be addressed in an appropriate manner if the business aims to succeed in that market.

“Think Globally, Act Locally” approach as the name implies refers to the strategy implemented by some multinational companies according to which global viewpoint is adopted in terms of formulating company vision, long-term aims and objectives and devising effective strategy in order to achieve these aims and objectives, however, adaptations are made in each market according to the culture and specifications of any specific market.

Setting global vision for a company is important due to the fact that it helps to achieve the primary objective of the businesses, which is profit maximisation, in the most effective way through intensive market expansions across countries and continents. However, the strategy any multinational company adopts in order to achieve its global vision does not have to be rigid, because different markets differ from each other on the grounds of political system, religion of people, culture, standard of life etc. and these differences find their reflection on consumer behaviour, customer expectation and other related matters.

If any multinational company tries to adopt the same strategy to all markets, even if that specific strategy was the source of competitive advantage in some markets no provision would be made for local differences of above specified nature, and this can lead to customer misunderstandings, even contradictions or anger in some extreme cases, and ultimately to failure of the company in that specific market.

Therefore, “Think Globally, Act Locally” approach is being implemented by increasing number of multinational companies, as well as medium sized companies planning for foreign market expansion that allows companies to plan for intensive foreign market entry strategy, and at the same time be able to satisfy local customers in each market they operate by devising and implementing according strategies.

Real –Life Examples of “Think Globally, Act Locally” Concept Implementation

The benefits of the “Think Globally, Act Locally” approach have been realised and the approach itself has been implemented by many international businesses around the globe to a varying degree of success. Some companies like Aldi came to appreciate the benefits of the approach through trial and error, while others were more proactive, rather than reactive in terms of implementing the approach of “Think Globally, Act Locally”.

A German-based multinational heavy discount retailer – Aldi derived its competitive advantage through offering limited range of cheap-priced products achieved through minimal marketing expenses and low-quality design and furnish of shops. However, this strategy needed to be modified in UK and Switzerland after initial period of reduced amount of sales, due to the fact that customers perceived quality, design of the shop and marketing initiatives more valuable in UK and Switzerland than the cheap prices of the products (Griffin and Pustay, 2005).

Another successful implementation of “Think Globally, Act Locally” approach relates to the case of Tesco, a UK multinational retailer. Thomson and Martin (2005) inform that while ‘Every Little Helps’ has been a global philosophy adopted by Tesco the company focuses on characteristics and specifications of local area surrounding the shop, for instance offering the range of ‘halal meat’ in areas populated by mainly Muslim people, and also increasing the range of ethnic food section in areas dominated by relevant people.

The approach of “Think Globally, Act Locally” relates not only to multinational retailers and manufacturers, some of the global service companies have also adopted the approach and thus have achieved global success. McDonald’s is a classical example for this case, and has taken the approach of “Think Globally, Act Locally” to the level of perfection. McDonald’s offers the value of cheap-priced, fast served tasty food that can be conveniently consumed globally, however, local differences in each county are reflected on the menu of restaurants serving there. Adam’s (2007) mentions Maharaja Mac in India, McDonald’s beer in Germany, McLobster in Canada, shrimp burgers in Japan, McLaks (fish) in Japan, avocado burger in Chile, and many other variations of burgers and other meals in different parts of the world.

A globally popular coffee chain Starbucks has adopted a rather different strategy of adapting to local differences. Specifically, instead of changing its menu the coffee chain has opted to design its coffee shops according to key elements of the local culture. As a result, Starbucks coffee shops in two different countries may be totally different in terms of design, but the coffee would taste the same, which is the global promise of the chain.

Although technology industry may seem distant from such issues, nevertheless some global manufacturers take into account local differences and respond accordingly. For instance, Nokia, a mobile telecommunications technology manufacturer had offered a range of mobile phones with dust-resistant keypad for a range of Arab countries where excessive amount of dust due to ecological reasons have presented problems before. Moreover, there are anti-slip grip phones available for customers in cold in rainy areas, as well as mobile phones with inbuilt flash specifically designed for truck drivers in rural India.

The above mentioned examples are mainly the cases of considerable commitments made by companies in order to adapt to local differences. However, there are many other cases where changes are undertaken only in terms of marketing communications in order to adapt to local differences. For instance, displaying human flesh and various parts of body referring to sex appeal is considered to be one of the most efficient advertising tools in Western countries. However, in some of the Eastern countries such an advertisement might be classified as offensive due to cultural differences, and therefore might result in negative creation of associations wit the product or service being advertised.

Difficulties Associated with the Adaptation to Local Needs

“Think Globally, Act Locally” is an effective approach in terms of ensuring the long-term growth of a company in the global arena. However, its practical application is associated with a range of challenges that need to be addressed affectively and efficiently. Generally, the difficulties associated with the need for companies to adapt to local differences can be categorised into three groups: cultural misunderstanding, incompetent management, and changing needs.

Cultural misunderstanding is one of the obvious reasons why some companies fail to succeed in foreign markets and “costly mistakes occur when managers miscommunicate, make mistakes in doing business due to cultural misunderstandings” (Grosse, 2000, p.325). The management may comprehend the need to adapt to local differences in order to succeed. However, unless the culture of a foreign market is learned and understood thoroughly any adaptation attempts may prove to be counter-productive, especially when a culture between home country of the company and the culture of the host country are different on the fundamental level.

Incompetent management is considered to be another issue that can have negative effect on company performance on various levels, including in its attempts of international expansion. Specifically, the company management may have an effective strategy of entering a foreign market that takes into account cultural differences and other characteristics of a new market. Still, the international expansion plan might be doomed to failure if not managed by people with necessary skills, knowledge and experience.

Sometimes managers are efficient in their duties in their home countries, which is usually the home country of the company as well. They may get promoted for this reason and appointed to manage some aspects foreign operations of the company. Apart from the difficulties associated with the cultural aspects of the issue that have been discussed above, there are also other factors that may negatively affect the performance of the manager in another country like adjustment difficulties, family issues, health issues because of weather etc. All of these are likely to result in incompetent management that is going to compromise the efficiency of adaptation to local differences, and consequently, the success of the company in the new market.

Changing needs of consumers is a challenging issue to be addressed that proves to be even more challenging in the context of global operations (Homann et al, 2007). Changing needs of customers are often associated with raising customer expectations that is caused by increasing rate of competition in many industries. Changing needs of customers may relate to the actual needs, as well as perceived needs of customers. Nevertheless, it is easier for international businesses to forecast and address the changing needs of customers in their home countries than the changing needs of customers in foreign markets. In other words, a multinational company may adopt and effectively implement “Think Globally, Act Locally” approach in relation to each foreign market the company operates in, but still the changing needs of customers in foreign markets may go unnoticed by company management due to reduced level of familiarity with local culture and this fact may undermine the whole adaptation initiatives undertaken by the company.

Recommendations Regarding the Successful Implementation of “Think Globally, Act Locally” Concept

Specific recommendations can be made to company management of any size regarding how to eliminate or at least minimise the above specified challenges to the successful implementation of “Think Globally, Act Locally” concept. The measures to be implemented for this purpose include increasing the level of cross-cultural awareness of the workforce, giving preferences to local workforce in terms of making appointments in management positions, and adopting a pro-active approach in terms of forming customer needs and preferences.

The biggest challenge to the successful implementation of the concept “Think Globally, Act Locally” can be eliminated through organising training and development programs aimed at increasing the level of cross-cultural awareness of the workforce. It is important for these programs to have a systematic character, and also each member of the workforce directly or indirectly involved in foreign operations should compulsorily participate in these programs.

The implementation of concept “Think Globally, Act Locally” will be positively aided if the management of the company gives preference to local people in foreign markets in terms of making appointments in management positions. Along with a range of other benefits such a strategy will provide detailed knowledge about the characteristics and differences of the local market that will assist in adaptation initiatives.

However, companies should avoid going to extreme in implementation of this specific recommendation by employing the local workforce in such a large quantity that it would compromise the core competencies of the business, as well as the value offered to customers due to lack of knowledge and experience in the local workforce associated with the company.

The challenge of changing needs of consumers can be effectively addressed by implementing a proactive, rather than reactive approach in terms of forming actual and perceived customer needs and preferences. This is a challenging task to complete, but if effectively conducted can assist in achieving market leadership for the company in a global market arena. Currently, the majority of businesses operate in a way that they try to identify customer needs and produce products and services in order to satisfy those needs. However, there are some companies, trend-setters that mould need in potential customers for products and services they are offering.

For instance, before the introduction of Iphone by Apple Inc, a US-based global technology manufacturer the usage of smart-phones was mainly limited to busy professionals, businessmen and technology geeks. However, Iphone created a “need” to millions of people to be able to browse internet and preferably to have a range of advanced applications in their mobile phones. This specific “need” created by Iphone was attempted to be satisfied by other companies like Samsung with the products like Samsung Galaxy, however, the important point in present context is the fact that Apple was able to create a “need” in its potential and existing customers globally, and therefore does not have to worry with changing needs of customers in each individual market the company operates in.

The benefits of globalisation are being utilised currently by many multinational and medium-sized companies around the globe. However, the degree of efficiency with which those benefits are being utilised are different between companies according to various factors including extend at which companies are able to adapt to local differences.

“Think Globally, Act Locally” is an approach implemented by some of the most successful companies in various industries according to which having global viewpoint and plans, but at the same time responding to and adapting to local differences is a best strategy a company can adopt in terms of international expansion. The efficient implementation of this strategy has brought has brought global success and market leadership for such companies as Aldi, Tesco, McDonalds, Nokia and many others.

Companies face challenges in their attempt to implement the approach of “Think Globally, Act Locally”. Main challenges are misunderstanding on cultural grounds, insufficient level of competency in management involved in foreign operations of the company, and the changing needs of customers in foreign markets.

The recommendations suggested to eliminate these challenges include organising training and development programs that focus on increasing the level of cross-cultural awareness in the workforce engaged in foreign operations, employing greater number of the workforce, including in management positions in order to get a detailed knowledge about the characteristics of the local marketplace, and adopting a proactive approach in terms of dealing with changing customer needs.

This paper is only an introductory analysis on the issue and lacks depth of research caused by the need to adhere to the specific word limit imposed for the whole work. Therefore, the implementation of “Think Globally, Act Locally” approach is analysed not taking into account additional factors that might apply in some cases. Therefore, each individual company should conduct a range of additional analyses like internal and external factors affecting the company, its financial situation, and its core competencies etc. before applying the recommendations made in this paper in practice.

• Adams. B, 2007, McDonald’s Strange Menu Around the World, Available at: http://trifter.com/practical-travel/budget-travel/mcdonald%E2%80%99s-strange-menu-around-the-world/  Accessed march 15, 2011
• Bartlett, CA & Ghoshal, 2002, Managing Across Borders: The Transnational Solution, 2 nd edition, Harvard Business Press
• Beck, U, 2000, What is Globalisation? Cambridge: Politry Press
• Borghoff, T, 2005, Evolutionary Theory of the Globalisation of Firms, Gabler Verlag
• Castells, M, 2010, The Rise of the Network Society, Wiley-Blackwell
• Grosse, RE, 2000, Thunderbird on Global Business Strategy, Wiley Publications
• Griffin, W & Pustay, MW, 2005, International Business: A Managerial Perspective, Blackwell Publishing
• Held, D & McGrew, AG, 2003, The Global Transformations Reader, John Wiley & Sons
• Homann, K, Koslowski, P & Luetge, C, 2007, Globalisation and Business Ethics, Ashgate Publishing
• Lessam, R & Schiefer, A, 2009, Transformation Management: Towards the Integral Enterprise, Gower Publishing
• Scholte, JA, 2000, Globalisation: A Critical Introduction, Palgrave Macmillan
• Thomson, JL & Martin, F, 2005, Strategic Management: Awareness and Change, Cengage Learning

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Think Globally, Act Locally… Think Globally Again

by Anna Mikulska

The “think globally, act locally” slogan has been an integral part of  climate action. It embodies the idea that instead of waiting for grand breakthroughs to “fix the world,” we should implement environmentally conscious solutions into everyday decisions and actions. Though on their own of negligible impact, in aggregate, these can have a globally transformative effect.

The idea is straightforward and seemingly easy to adopt. However, it also runs the risk of oversimplification if one assumes that the environmentally focused actions occur in a vacuum, i.e. when we don’t consider unintended consequences and trade-offs.

Take coal for example. Though its use in the developed world is on the decline, the level of demand for this fuel is expected to remain stable over the next two decades as the developing world picks up the slack (for a detailed discussion see here ).  In fact, by depressing prices, decreases in the demand for coal in the developed world could even give additional impetus for coal use elsewhere—making it more competitive against other, cleaner energy sources like natural gas or renewables.

Similarly, an increase in electric vehicle (EV) use could send the prices of crude down, fueling (so to speak) the appetite for oil either in other countries or outside of the transportation sector, i.e. in the petrochemical industry. And what if the electricity that powers the EVs is generated on the basis of fossil fuels, especially coal? For example, China is an undisputed, global leader when it comes to available EV stock : 1,227,770 EVs compared to 762,060 in the U.S. and 205,350 in Japan. But the country also leads in terms of operating and planned coal capacity : 972,514 MW operating capacity compared to 261,037 in the U.S. and 198,600 MW planned capacity compared to India’s 93,958 MW. A new study by Buchal et al . gives us some insight here. The authors find that under current German electricity mix, when production and recycling of the batteries are taken into account, the electric Tesla Model 3 is responsible for ¼ to almost ½ more CO2 emissions than the diesel engine of Mercedes C220

Lastly, let’s take a look at the issue of reducing or even eliminating the use of plastics (especially single-use). The move could potentially serve many environmental goals that include, most prominently, the reduction of marine litter. Elimination of plastics could also seem consistent with climate action since plastic production requires fossil fuels as a feedstock. However, as pointed out in this piece by Rachel Meidl , plastics alternatives such as cotton, paper, cork, or wood are actually more energy intensive, which—similar to the EV example above—may become an issue when electricity generation is based on fossil fuels. These products also release methane and carbon during decomposition, which contrasts with plastics that actually sequester carbon and decompose very slowly.

The above examples point to several issues:

First, there is a prominent rift between the developed and developing world in terms of their environmental goals and preferences . The wealthy, developed countries are not experiencing serious growth in their energy demand given their slower economic and population growth. They can also afford to pay more for cleaner energy options. In contrast, high levels of economic development and population growth in regions such as China, India, or the remaining countries of South-East Asia imply a dramatic increase in the need for affordable energy sources that could lift millions from poverty.

Second, climate action does not take place in a vacuum. In an environment where not all participants put CO 2 emissions and eliminating fossil fuels as their first objective, cuts in demand by some can boost the demand elsewhere. Thus, local action geared toward reducing CO 2 emissions may bring negligible cumulative effects. In addition, citizens in developed countries who are willing to pay more for clean energy may paradoxically be subsidizing fossil fuel use in other countries if lower global demand for those fuels depresses prices.

Third, not all environmentally focused initiatives are compatible with climate action goals . Some environmental actions, for example, reducing use of single-use plastics by banning plastic straws and/or plastic bags and replacing them with alternatives may be highly effective in helping marine environment but could actually increase the level of CO 2 emissions.

In this context, the simple idea of local action supporting global goals becomes much more nuanced and requires striking a difficult balance. This is especially important in a globalized economy where commodities such as oil, natural gas, and coal can move relatively easily to center(s) of demand and nullify effects of individual, local, or even country-level climate initiatives.

As such, these initiatives—if not evaluated in the light of their influence on the behavior of others (persons, countries, regions)—become just symbolic. Or, worse, they could have negative effects and obstruct the formulation of well-rounded policy solutions. To be sure, more holistic solutions are much more difficult and much slower to implement. They also do not bring the instant gratification of closing another coal-fired power plant, or buying an EV, or using a paper straw in a drink.  Instead, we may have to move slower as we look into ways in which to make clean energy a truly global goal, i.e. worthwhile to both the developed and developing world.

Hence, policy on the matter needs to consider a range of global implications and engage not only environmental science or technology but also other disciplines, including global, macro- and microeconomics, sociology, and political science. Solutions such as EVs or plastic alternatives need to be evaluated not only from the perspective of their immediate use but also from the life cycle perspective. This includes assessment of the environmental footprint of their production and disposal. Going further, evaluation of such policies should not only consider whether or not they have achieved their goals but what trade-offs did or would they require in the process. We need to think globally and—yes, act locally—but make sure that global implications of our actions are considered. Thus, one cannot overstate the role of well-designed and holistic policy solutions that can serve as organizing principles to concerted local and individual actions.

Anna Mikulska is a Senior fellow with the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania and a Nonresident fellow with the Center for Energy Studies at Rice University’s Baker Institute.

'Think globally, act locally.' Do you believe this is the right approach to solving the world‘s environmental problems?

Model Essay

You are advised to write between 350 and 500 words on the following topic :

‘Think globally, act locally.’ Do you believe this is the right approach to solving the world‘s environmental problems?

The phrase “Think globally, act locally” embodies an approach to solving the world’s environmental problems that emphasizes the interconnectedness of global ecosystems and the importance of local actions in achieving broader environmental goals. This concept suggests that while understanding environmental issues on a global scale is crucial, real change begins with local actions and individual responsibility. I believe this approach is not only effective but essential for addressing the complex and multifaceted challenges we face today.

Firstly, environmental problems such as climate change, deforestation, and pollution are inherently global issues. They do not recognize political boundaries and affect ecosystems and communities worldwide. Understanding the global context of these problems is crucial because it allows us to see the bigger picture, recognize patterns, and understand the cumulative impact of local actions. For instance, carbon emissions from any single country contribute to global warming, which in turn affects weather patterns, sea levels, and biodiversity globally. By thinking globally, we acknowledge the shared responsibility of all nations and individuals in mitigating these effects.

However, while global awareness is essential, it is at the local level that tangible actions can be most effectively implemented. Local communities are best positioned to understand their specific environmental challenges and can tailor solutions that are culturally and geographically appropriate. For example, a community facing water scarcity might implement rainwater harvesting systems or promote water conservation practices, while a coastal town might focus on protecting and restoring mangrove forests to combat rising sea levels. These localized efforts contribute to global sustainability goals by addressing immediate, on-the-ground issues.

Moreover, acting locally empowers individuals and communities. It fosters a sense of ownership and accountability, which is crucial for sustaining long-term environmental initiatives. When people see the direct impact of their actions, they are more likely to remain committed and motivated. Community-driven projects, such as urban gardening, recycling programs, and renewable energy initiatives, not only improve local environments but also inspire broader societal change. They serve as models that can be replicated in other communities, creating a ripple effect that amplifies their positive impact.

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The “Think globally, act locally” approach also aligns well with the principles of sustainable development. It encourages the use of local resources, supports local economies, and respects local cultures and knowledge systems. By integrating global environmental goals with local development needs, we can achieve a more equitable and sustainable future. For instance, promoting sustainable agriculture practices not only helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions but also ensures food security and improves the livelihoods of local farmers.

However, it is important to recognize that local actions alone cannot solve all environmental problems. There must be a coordinated effort at all levels, including international cooperation, national policies, and regional initiatives. Global frameworks such as the Paris Agreement on climate change are essential for setting targets and facilitating cooperation among countries. These frameworks provide the necessary support and resources for local actions, creating an enabling environment for them to thrive.

In conclusion, “Think globally, act locally” is indeed the right approach to solving the world’s environmental problems. It bridges the gap between global awareness and local action, empowering communities to take responsibility for their environments while contributing to global sustainability goals. By fostering a sense of ownership and accountability, this approach ensures that environmental initiatives are culturally appropriate, sustainable, and impactful. Ultimately, the synergy between global thinking and local action is essential for creating a healthier and more sustainable planet for future generations.

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Anthony Wanis-St. John earned his Ph\ D from The Fletcher School, Tufts University and was a doctoral research fellow at the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School. He can be reached at [email protected]

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The Promise and Pitfalls of Localism

Today we are seeing an inspiring resurgence of progressive action at the local level, even as reactionary nationalist movements in Europe and beyond seek to position themselves as the true voices of a renewed localism. What are the prospects for such locally centered political engagement in a time of rising political polarization and conflict? How can local action help advance personal liberation and social justice? More broadly, how can it further our goals for global transformation?

The current upsurge of local action by both progressives and radical municipalists is fueled by several complementary impulses. First, the limitations of national politics and contemporary international institutions have caused growing frustration. The stranglehold of corporate influences—from fossil fuel interests to the financial sector—over national and transnational institutions often overwhelms resistance, whether the focus is on the US government, the European Union, or comparable structures around the world. For people seeking meaningful action on the global climate crisis, rising economic inequality, or various immediate threats to people’s health and well-being, local measures often allow the most attainable initial steps toward the broader transformations we seek. Frustration with the limitations of national or transnational politics can thus be channeled toward a pragmatic pursuit of attainable steps toward justice and community renewal.

Other motivating factors are more aspirational in nature. The aim to bring important decisions closer to home reflects a desire for engagement over anonymity, right relationship over polarizing conflict, and hope for a meaningful role in decisions that affect our lives. The appeal of “democracy begins at home” has deep historic roots, including the participatory Town Meeting structures that shaped the colonial uprising against British rule in late eighteenth-century North America. While important choices about social, environmental, and technological policies appear inherently global in character, the principle of subsidiarity—enshrined in EU legal codes among others—speaks to the widespread desire for decision-making as close to the local level as possible.

At their best, local solutions to social and environmental problems may be more amenable to an open and accessible democratic process, and their implementation can remain more accountable to those most affected by the outcomes. Local measures can help build closer relationships among neighbors and strengthen the capacity for self-reliance in a time of increasingly extreme climate-related disruptions. Local actions enable us to see that the ruling institutions that often dominate our lives may be far less essential than people tend to believe, and that we can effectively challenge regressive policies at the national and supranational levels that favor powerful outside interests. At the same time, local initiatives often raise the question of how to spark a broader social transformation that can offer a systemic change greater than the sum of its dispersed local expressions.

Indeed, the rise of regressive, nostalgic, and profoundly reactionary forms of populism around the world has served to illuminate the limitations of a politics of localism for its own sake. Some years prior to initiating the national campaign for “Brexit,” the reactionary UK Independence Party proclaimed that “real decision-making should be given to local communities”—only thinly veiling an agenda to marginalize immigrants and oppose renewable energy, and even ban discussions of climate change in local schools. Racist organizations in the US South have long hidden behind localist rhetoric, as do the militia movement and other far right neo-populist formations. Suburbanites in Detroit, as well as in Southern US cities, have established new local jurisdictions to exclude people of color from decision-making and create newly segregated school districts. Wealthy homeowners in major California cities have bankrolled efforts to halt an increase in the housing supply through a statewide easing of zoning rules. In the lead-up to the recent European Parliament elections, right-populist formations came together in a new political grouping that called itself “Freedom and Direct Democracy,” directly co-opting some of the most advanced language of the emerging new radical municipalism.

How then can we steer clear of such cooptation—and best reap the benefits of the liberatory potential of local action?

Theories of Transformation

From Kurdish militants in Syria and Turkey to dynamic young organizers in North America, many current activists cite social ecology as a central underlying inspiration for their political outlook. Social ecology offers a unique synthesis of utopian social criticism, historical and anthropological investigation, dialectical philosophy, and political strategy.

The foundational texts of social ecology were written by the Vermont-based social theorist Murray Bookchin between the 1970s and 1990s. Among the first thinkers in the West to identify the growth imperative of capitalism as a fundamental threat to the integrity of living ecosystems, Bookchin consistently argued that social and ecological concerns are fundamentally inseparable. He described his distinct approach to political strategy as libertarian (or confederal) municipalism, and sometimes as communalism, highlighting the roots of key ideas in the legacy of the Paris Commune of 1871. Bookchin argued for liberated cities, towns, and neighborhoods, governed by open popular assemblies, which actively confederate in order to challenge parochialism, encourage interdependence, and build a genuine counterpower to dominant institutions. 1 Social ecologists also believe that the limits of local action and the problems of parochialism and reactionary nationalism can be overcome through confederations of cities, towns, and neighborhoods that join to advance a broad liberatory agenda.

While institutions of capitalism and the nation-state often tend to heighten social stratification and exploit divisions among people, social ecologists insist that the lived experience of direct democracy can foster expression of a general social interest that strengthens human solidarity and advances a transformative social and ecological agenda. “[I]t is from the municipality,” Bookchin wrote, “that people can reconstitute themselves from isolated monads into a creative body politic and create an existentially vital…civic life that has institutional form as well as civic content: the block committees, assemblies, neighborhood organizations, cooperatives, citizens’ action groups, and public arenas for discourse that go beyond such episodic acts as demonstrations and retain a lived as well as organized community.” 2 The act of civic engagement through face-to-face deliberative structures can help transcend divisions and build solidarity. Still, physical decentralization per se cannot guarantee progressive social transformation in the absence of an inclusive civic ethics, participatory self-governance, and a holistic ecological outlook.

For social ecologists, confederation and internal education through praxis offer essential counterpoints to localist tendencies toward provincialism and isolation. Organizers in urban neighborhoods can aim to rewrite city charters and restructure municipal governance as a confederation of directly democratic neighborhood assemblies. Then, like-minded neighborhoods, cities, and regions can continue to confederate at wider geographic levels to realize common projects, better satisfy essential needs, and ultimately create a viable counterpower to today’s ruling institutions.

Another core principle of today’s municipal movements is horizontalism, a political practice that aims to equalize decision-making across various sectors of society. The term ( horizontalidad in Spanish) was first articulated during the Argentine uprising in response to the economic collapse of 2001, but has numerous historical antecedents. Prefigurative practices aimed toward dissolving social hierarchies and elevating popular voices have emerged in recent decades during periods of heightened social contestation on nearly every continent.

Further clues to an expansive conceptual framework for “glocalism” may be found in the legacy of bioregionalism. Peaking in popularity during the 1980s and early 1990s, this movement helped ecologically minded activists imagine how to transform governance so as to transcend the limits of state and national boundaries and move toward a more Earth-centered vision. Bioregionalism’s ideas of governance based on watersheds rather than political boundaries have significantly shaped contemporary practice in such domains as regional planning and water resource management. Bioregionalists have also embraced a movement-of-movements approach, where advocates for various spheres of social and ecological praxis formed committees to draft proposals at biennial continental congresses, which then came before the committee of the whole for final amendment and adoption.

Finally, in an era of increasing nationalism, it is essential to heed the warnings of prominent anthropologist Arturo Escobar. At the apex of the worldwide global justice/alter-globalization movements in the early 2000s, Escobar embraced the “defense of constructions of place” by social movements that seek to advance ecological democracy, while firmly rejecting the attitudes of essentialism, nostalgia and exclusion that can tend to link “boundary making around places…to reactionary politics." 3

Scaling Sideways and Up

Dynamic, people-powered progressive grassroots movements are on the rise in many parts of the world. Some confront corporate-driven threats to people’s health and livelihoods, such as the expanding pace of fossil fuel production due to fracking and other new technologies. Indigenous and other land-based communities in the Global South actively resist the extraction of timber and mineral resources, as well as misguided climate mitigation measures, such as carbon sequestration schemes that substitute distant bureaucratic management of forests for traditional commons regimes. In France, rural workers have been in open revolt against tax policies that favor the rich, filling the streets to denounce the extreme isolation of national elites. An Irish citizens’ assembly, with delegates chosen at random, launched the national referendum that ultimately voted down a long-standing constitutional ban on abortions. Here in the US, towns in some of the most conservative pockets of Pennsylvania and other states have organized to assert community rights over corporate rights, and successfully fought off expansion plans by polluting industries.

We see increasingly bold public expressions of human compassion, through the creation of sanctuaries and “cities of refuge” to protect threatened immigrants, offer direct aid, and sometimes grant local citizenship rights in defiance of exclusionary national policies. Food and farm activists are reinvigorating urban farming and regional food systems around the world, demanding food sovereignty, and advancing local alternatives that save energy and water, improve public health, empower marginalized communities, and challenge the hegemony of global agribusiness. Visionary planners, designers, and on-the-ground activists are working to reshape their cities to reduce commuting and minimize energy use. An international alliance of trade union representatives has launched a worldwide campaign to democratize energy systems under increasing public ownership, and a youth-initiated rebellion against rising transit fares in Sweden and other Scandinavian countries helped spark a global network advocating free public transportation, among countless other recent examples. 4

More than 2,500 cities from Oslo to Sydney have submitted plans to the United Nations to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, frequently in defiance of their national governments’ far more cautious proposals; well over 9,000 municipalities have joined a Global Covenant of Mayors to reinforce their commitments to climate action. Some of these plans are rather modest, drawing upon cities’ existing jurisdiction over matters such as zoning, building codes, and local infrastructure, but some cities are also moving to limit automobile use, expand public transportation, and accelerate the transition to renewable energy.

Furthermore, we are seeing the emergence of a grassroots “municipalist” movement that directly challenges national centers of power and raises the potential for a more thoroughly transformed political order. In cities as different as Barcelona in Spain, and Jackson in Mississippi, municipal movements rooted in well-organized neighborhoods have elected radical mayors and city councilors with a mandate to defend the rights of tenants, strengthen the public sector of the economy, and implement transformative approaches to community development.

In Jackson, an organization known as Cooperation Jackson established neighborhood assemblies and successfully ran candidates for office on a program emphasizing human rights, local democracy, and neighborhood-based economic and ecological renewal. The project is rooted in the historic legacy of Black Liberation struggles and celebrates their inspiration by movements throughout the Global South. In the heart of the war-torn Middle East, Kurdish activists along the border between Syria and Turkey have adopted a unique model of municipal governance, with a focus on equity for women and new models of ecological reconstruction. 5

A youthful network known as Symbiosis now involves hundreds of individuals and dozens of affiliated local groups. The network’s founders have facilitated several major North American gatherings on municipal politics over the past two years, and the group is now planning a congress of directly democratic municipal movements. As Symbiosis’s founders explain, “[W]e can’t actually make the necessarily large-scale changes without taking control over the places where we live and creating the alternatives necessary for a new system.” 6

Progressive, locally rooted movements have long proven their ability to influence wider social and political trends, whether by force of example, concerted political pressure, or active resistance to centralized power. The passage of landmark national environmental legislation in the US in the early 1970s during the Republican administration of Richard Nixon was in part a response to the proliferation of grassroots mobilizations leading to local anti-pollution measures and lawsuits during the 1960s, with corporate interests ultimately choosing uniform national regulations over a patchwork of increasingly restrictive local measures. 7 Local measures to address inequality, such as campaigns to raise the hourly minimum wage to $15, have spread across the US, as have countless other innovative policies whose feasibility has first been demonstrated at the local level. In other cases, a heightened conflict between local values and centralized power structures brings the potential for lasting change. The idea of confederated democratic municipalities actively rebelling against centralized authorities to create revolutionary institutions of dual power is central to social ecology’s communalist political strategy and to the political outlooks of several contemporary municipalist movements.

It seems clear that local action is often the best remedy for the failings and excesses of the present system, and a proven approach to catalyzing wider changes. But what about problems that are inherently global in nature? How can locally based movements provide the underpinning for the broader global transformations we seek? Can we envision networks of locally rooted continental and perhaps global structures that reflect a comprehensive vision of interdependent communities and simultaneously embody a holistic, cosmopolitan outlook and a truly humanistic general interest? How can confederations of municipally based movements begin to address the needs to redistribute wealth, transform economic systems, or manage the increasingly climate-driven crisis of migration around the world? Can they, as Bookchin insisted, tackle the fundamental question of where and with whom political power resides?

We need to strengthen forms of coordination that emerge from the municipal context to support a growing network for change in synchrony with a global resurgence of solidarity, democracy, and justice. The recent upsurge of Green politics across Europe offers one source of hope, but many long-time Green activists are aware of how an earlier generation of Green Party functionaries in many countries succumbed to narrow electoral ambitions at the expense of the organic links to communities and social movements pointing to a more systemic alternative. 8 Confederations of democratic communities and regions need to develop new continental and global institutions that are no longer plagued by the global power politics of the UN, the narrow commercial imperatives of the WTO, nor the technocratic managerialism of the EU. Through creative experimentation, visionary forms of action, and life-affirming political struggle, we can discover ways to resist the tides of reaction and climate-driven collapse, and point the way toward a different world.

Today’s increasingly severe climate disruptions are beginning to universalize the sense of precariousness long experienced by the earth’s most vulnerable peoples. If current trends continue, we face a grim future of ever-diminishing returns and a capitalist race to the bottom, with increasingly extreme deprivation on a global scale. But there is a better path. The odds may be diminishing with each passing year of climate inaction, but it is more necessary than ever to sustain a hope that humanity can unite to reject authoritarian false solutions to the climate crisis and social inequities, embrace the potential for an enhanced quality of life beyond fossil-fueled capitalism, and begin to realize the dream of a liberated and truly interdependent global community of communities.

1. These ideas are explored in detail in Murray Bookchin, The Next Revolution: Popular Assemblies and the Promise of Direct Democracy (London: Verso, 2015). 2. Bookchin, Urbanization Without Cities (Montreal: Black Rose Books, 1992), 283. 3. Arturo Escobar, “Culture Sits in Places: Reflections on Globalism and Subaltern Strategies of Localization,” Political Geography 20 (2001): 139, 149–150. 4. See http://unionsforenergydemocracy.org and https://freepublictransport.info/ . 5. See, inter alia, Internationalist Commune of Rojava, Make Rojava Green Again (London: Dog Section Press, 2018), and Meredith Tax, “The Revolution in Rojava,” Dissent , April 22, 2015, https://www.dissentmagazine.org/online_articles/the-revolution-in-rojava . 6. Symbiosis Research Collective, “How Radical Municipalism Can Go Beyond the Local,” The Ecologist , June 8, 2018, https://theecologist.org/2018/jun/08/how-radical-municipalism-can-go-beyond-local . See also https://www.symbiosis-revolution.org . 7. This history is explained in Chapter 3 of my book Earth for Sale: Reclaiming Ecology in the Age of Corporate Greenwash (Boston: South End Press, 1997). 8. See my "The Greens as a Social Movement: Values and Conflicts,” in Green Parties: Reflections on the First Three Decades , edited by Frank Zelko and Carolin Brinkmann, (Washington, DC: Heinrich Böll Foundation of North America, 2006).

Brian Tokar is a lecturer at the University of Vermont, author of Earth for Sale and Toward Climate Justice: Perspectives on the Climate Crisis and Social Change , and co-editor (with Tamra Gilbertson) of Climate Justice and Community Renewal: Resistance and Grassroots Solutions .

Think Globally, Act Locally?

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Think Globally, Act Locally - World Problems and Solutions

Think Globally, Act Locally  -  World Problems and Solutions

  Introduction

            I remember seeing the bumper sticker "Think Globally, Act Locally" and being annoyed.  I thought, "how can one solve a global problem by just doing something in the neighborhood?"  Dilemmas of epic proportion face our fragile planet, and the changes required to deal with them will have to be massive.  However, with an idealistic faith in "the butterfly effect" and the practical realization that you have to start somewhere, I have decided that acting locally is both necessary and noble.  Thus, I am introducing this concept "Think Globally, Act Locally," as the theme of a term project in ninth grade World Literature and Composition.  The project will have two distinct phases.  (See if you can guess what they are?)

Phase 1:  Thinking Globally

            In this first phase students will research a world problem.  Choosing from a list of several general problems (ie. hunger, disease, pollution, poverty, etc.) students will focus on a specific instance of the problem in some part of the world.  They will write a standard research paper employing a minimum of five bibliographic sources.  These research papers will be collected in a compendium on global problems.

Phase 2:  Acting Locally

            In this second phase students will create a local solution.  Using local resources, students will create a small-scale solution, however experimental or symbolic, for the global problem they have researched.  They will document the process of their project and include this documentation in a compendium on local solutions.

Considerations

            First, the problem you are studying should be considered an effect, and in analyzing the effect you will consider the causes.  It may be that these causes are not thought to be problems themselves, but they help result in the effect, the problem.  It is more than likely that all of these problems will have some foundation in human behavior.  Thus, it is necessary that you consider all the social sciences, as well as the natural sciences, in considering the causes of your problematic effect.  Second, these problems are grave and their implications overwhelming, and your local solution may seem pathetically ineffectual.  Do not get bummed out!  Despair is a logical consequence of such investigations, but you should take heart in simply gaining an awareness of the problem.  The solutions will be the life's work of many of your generation.  Have faith in the possibility that the cause of the problem will be the cause of the solution:  humanity.

World Problems/Possible Solutions

1.         World Problem:   Hunger and Starvation.  Students will study eating habits, food sources, and agriculture cross-culturally, as well as examining specific instances of starvation and malnutrition historically and geographically.  Possible Local Solutions:   Grow Food!  Nutrient rich, efficient, fast-growing food plants will be cultivated and the implications for large scale farming will be considered.  The products of this effort will then be given away to the needy of your area.

  2.         World Problem:   Sickness and Disease.  Students will study various health problems & epidemics in various societies/countries presently, in the past, and/or in the anticipated future.  While the focus of this area of study is on sickness, indigenous cures will also be examined.  Possible Local Solutions:   Grow medicinal herbs and study curative measures.  Students will cultivate healing plants in the context of homeopathic principles and local remedies.  Again the products of this effort can be given away to the needy, as well as other research institutes.

  3.         World Problem:   Air Pollution.  Students will study urban and rural examples of pollution, from methane to monoxides.  The causes as well as the effects of atmospheric pollution should be examined and consideration given to the greenhouse effect, acid rain, the ozone hole, and respiratory diseases.  Possible Local Solutions:   Again, grow plants, in this case plants which absorb airborn toxins as well as carbon dioxide and/or give off quantities of oxygen.  Solutions to desertification and reforestation should be considered, as well as interior environments and the influence of houseplants.

4.         World Problem:   Ground Pollution.  From NH & LA to Mexico City & New Dehli, trash abounds.  Garbage in its many manifestations will be analyzed.  Students should consider the modern ethic of disposibility as well as biodegradability of waste.  Possible Local Solutions:   Start a campus-wide recycling program to begin to solve the problem here - at least.  This effort should commence with an environmental impact study of your school and involve corporate sponsorship in the recycling effort.  Further, it should be a money maker!

5.         World Problem:   Water Pollution.  While this problem is very much related to ground pollution particularly in Los Angeles stormdrains, it also involves the ecology of watersheds.  Students should consider rivers and lakes, aquifers and oceans, as well as community water supplies.  Possible Local Solutions:   Grow aquatic plants/breed plankton, and work on the local causes of water pollution, including providing alternatives to pesticides and petrochemical fertilizers in agriculture.

6.         World Problem:   Energy.  Students will examine various problematic sources of energy including coal, oil, and nuclear power.  How and why these energy sources are used should be considered.  Possible Local Solutions:   Students can develop alternative, non-problematic sources of energy, including solar, wind, hydrogen, and grain based fuels.

7.         World Problem:   Poverty.  Certainly there are myriad economic problems in societies, but the existence of an ever-growing population of poor will result in an exacerbation of other global problems as well as problems of crime and entitlements.  Culturally speaking, this is one of the most complex issues.  Possible Local Solution:   Students should work to develop means by which individuals can become independent from larger economic systems.  How can a redistribution of wealth occur without a revolt of the rich?  Again, growing food can be possible solution.

8.         World Problem:   Use of non-renewable resources.  In addition to oil and coal many other minerals, as well as old growth forests and rainforests are being dangerously depleted.  Possible Local Solutions:   Use of renewable resources - how can we make the switch?  Almost all botanicals are renewable!

9.         World Problem:   Over-Population.  Many claim that this problem, discussed by Malthus and others, is the cause of all the aforementioned problems.  Why?  How?  Possible Local Solutions:   What is required to achieve a zero or negative population growth?  A study of the ecology of reproduction and the economics of life can be done.  However, this problems does not lend itself to tangible local solutions.

Thinking Globally

Phase 1:  Instructions

            Students will write a standard research paper of five to ten pages using a minimum of five sources:  books, periodicals, reference materials, and other informational sources.  The purpose of the paper is for students to formally present an analysis of a world problem.  This problem should constitute a serious threat to the environment, humanity, or some aspect of life on earth.  Developing a compelling  topic of inquiry is critical to creating a meaningful, useful and important paper.  It is necessary to explain what is already known about your topic of inquiry and the motivation behind your study at the beginning.  Then, you should go about making a case for your thesis using your researched information.  The use of primary sources is powerful in this regard.  Students must turn in a thesis statement, introductory paragraph, outline, and bibliography on ______________.  You should demonstrate your knowledge of basic research methods and basic paper/report writing skills.  You should also show that you have critical and analytical, cognitive skills by showing how different facts and ideas relate/correlate.  Remember:  The purpose of research is to create new knowledge by combining various pieces of information, new and old, however divergent, and running them through the sieve of your intellect.  Begin by developing a research problem and creating an hypothesis.  Generate associative notions.  Consider the terms: relate, juxtapose, influence, attribute, correlate, equate, parallel, sequence, link, cause, effect.  Then start investigating sources of information: books, periodicals, reference materials, on-line services, etc.  Create a bibliography/reference list and be sure to include:  Author's Name, Title of Article and/or Publication, Publisher, Place of Publication, Date, Page(s).  Whether or not you use index cards, you should be able to present your research notes.  Write your paper and conclude by reporting the results of your investigation, proving or disproving your hypothesis, and discussing the implications of your findings.

Suggested Format:

            Introduction:  In this first section you should answer the following questions:  What are you investigating?  This is your thesis, research question or hypothesis.  Why you are investigating it?  This is your rationale or problem statement and may follow from other research or investigations.  How are you going to proceed with the study?  This refers to the method you intend to use and how you will analyze the results.

            Literature Review:  Here, you should discuss information from other studies, articles, or books dealing with your topic of inquiry.  You should explain the results and implications of these references and describe how they relate to your research. 

            Discussion:  Having presented the evidence and various factual points in the Literature Review, you should now relate, correlate, and associate your information in a discussion demonstrating your thoughts, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation of the problem.  This section constitutes a conclusion, so it is necessary to summarize your work and explain its usefulness.  Again, as you are doing bibliographic research you should discuss your findings as you present them.  The sequence and juxtaposition of bibliographic information is essential to the logic of the conclusions you draw from your research.

            References :  Of course, all the sources of information used in your study should be referenced in a bibliography.  You should also include the names of any people who contributed to your study.  You may use a number of formal formats for presenting your references, including MLA, APA, etc.  Most of these formats require that you use footnotes, and you are encouraged to do so, but for the sake of ease you may list these at the end of your paper.  Note that footnotes and a bibliography are not the same thing.  Also, you are encouraged to include appendices of graphs, graphics, and supplemental information.

            Evaluation:  You will be graded on your topic/outline and the paper itself while considering your participation and cooperation, research & reference skills, writing skills, expression of ideas, synthesis of information, formating, and presentation.

Acting Locally

Phase 2:  Instructions

            Having begun a formal research paper on an aspect of a world problem, students will create and execute a project which represents a local solution to that problem.  While this local solution will likely be symbolic with regard to the global nature of the problem, it nevertheless will be a real-world, hands-on, result-oriented, environmental project.  These projects should utilize the facilities of North Hollywood High School, in particular the Agriculture Area.  Given this opportunity and the nature of many world problems, a large percentage of these projects will involve plants.

            The chronology of the project development revolves around the spring growing season.  Students will be asked to develop their project during the last weeks of the fall semester, and initiate it during the opening weeks of the spring semester.  Thus, a general preliminary proposal will be due on the first day of the second semester, and then a specific project plan will be due on Valentine's Day (February 14th), many of the plantings having already begun.  Students will keep a journal on the progress of their project, until ______________ when a summary report will be due. The students will also be required to submit a flyer and/or graphic representation as well as a descriptive blurb featuring their project which will be due on ______________.   [Phase 1 - the Research Paper will be due on ______________.] 

            Students are encouraged to work in pairs and to keep their project simple.  They should use the suggestions on the on the World Problems and Solutions page.  It is imperative that intelligent planning take place immediately.  If plantings are not begun early in the spring, harvests may not be possible until after school lets out for summer, and that would be too late.  Students should make every effort to anticipate problems and expect the unexpected.  Planting projects are not always successful, but documenting one's failure and the consequent lessons will justify the endeavor.

Requirements:   (Students, you will be graded on the following components of your project.)

1.         Preliminary Proposal: State the purpose of your project (Acting Locally) and how it relates, however symbolically, to the research paper done for the Phase1 (Thinking Globally).  Include a chronology of the process necessary to execute your project expeditiously.  Describe who is participating in the project and the different resources you intend to use.  This part should be no more than a page.

2.         Project Plan:  Here you should elaborate on your preliminary proposal.  Be more detailed and give specific explanations how and why you are doing what you are doing.  Improve on your chronology and provide at least three bibliographic references.  Describe the materials, tools, equipment needed, as well as the space required and a prospective budget.  Use no more than three pages.  Finally, you should include a copy of a letter requesting information, expertise, or materials which you will send to at least one outside source.  Further, you should keep a weekly journal on the progress of your project.

3.         For our website, visitors, and prospective sponsors you must provide a comprehensively descriptive blurb of your project and create a flyer and/or graphic representation.  The blurb should fit on a 3x5 inch index card and the flyer and/or graphic representation should dominate only one 8.5x11 inch piece of paper.

4.         Summary Report:  This segment should be a two to three page synopsis of the processes and results of your project.  Indicate and explain the philosophical and tangible projects of your work.  How did you succeed, or not?  Include a paragraph of recommendations for future projects of this kind.

5.         Participation:  The largest number of points will be awarded for class participation.  When we have project days you should use your time wisely and demonstrate on-task behavior while class is in session.  You should show the teacher the proof of your efforts frequently to show your ability to work well without constant supervision.  Mature cooperation is not only graded, but required.  Students caught wasting time and/or fooling around will be reprimanded.  Time management and obvious results are imperative. 

Think Globally, Act Locally

World problems, a paper, local solutions: a project.

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Place-Based Education: Think Globally, Teach Locally

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Editor’s Note: Sarah Anderson is Fieldwork and Place-Based Education Coordinator at the Cottonwood School of Civics and Science in Portland, Oregon, and author of Bringing School to Life: Place-Based Education Across the Curriculum . The school incorporates a local approach while also linking students to global issues.

Globalization and technology have changed the world of education. Teachers must prepare their students for “global citizenship” by exposing them to current events and issues taking place around the world. At the same time, place-based education (PBE) is on the rise. Students learn content and skills through local issues relating to environment, history, culture, and current events. PBE is a way to infuse school with civic engagement and student-driven inquiry while also connecting young people to the place where they live. This process intends to create strong advocates, both now and in the future, for the sustainable health of local communities.

But is the mission of PBE at odds with the effort to raise global citizens? If students are only learning about their local area, won’t they grow up ignorant about the world at large and how they connect to it? Will we encourage children to care only about their own experience with little concern about people and places in other states, countries, and continents? Is PBE a form of isolationism?

There is no reason to fear. The aim of PBE is not to insulate children from global topics, but instead to contextualize larger themes. PBE projects give students hands-on experience with investigation and problem solving, honing skills such as interviewing, surveying, map-making, and public speaking. In the process, they clearly see how curricular topics relate to their lives. Part of that process is considering how the local relates to the global. PBE is an answer to the charge: “Think globally, teach locally.”

What Does Local-Global Education Look Like?

The Cottonwood School of Civics and Science in Portland, Oregon, is a public, tuition-free charter school with a place-based mission. We have created a curriculum map that honors our local ecology, history, and culture. We incorporate the place-based approach outlined by PBE scholar David Sobel to make sure our scope is in-line with students’ developmental stages. For example, in primary grades, students focus on the hyperlocal, such as home, family, school, and neighborhood. Once they are in upper-elementary grades, the scope extends to state and region, while also reaching back further in time. Once our students have more developmental capability for abstract thought in middle school, the curricular scope really widens to encompass a worldwide view. This is also when students have more opportunities for service and change-making.

Below are a few examples of class projects at our school that tap students into both the local and the global contexts, primarily from the middle school level.

Globalization and Trade

Our seventh and eighth graders explore the concept of globalization by learning about the history of worldwide trade (Silk Road, slave trade, etc.) and the impacts of colonization that set the stage for present-day world economies. They study the difference between free trade and fair trade and make maps that show the origin of everyday items from their homes. The classes make several field trips: to a local chocolate factory, a grocery store, and Nike headquarters, where they interview a trade lawyer.

As a culminating project, students work in pairs to identify local businesses or products that have global reach. They conduct interviews with business owners and work with a trade journalist to write articles and create podcasts. Examples include a local record store owner who has curated a collection of international music, an author whose books are being translated into different languages and sold worldwide, and a company that is creating sustainable lab-made “diamonds” as an alternative to “blood diamonds” mined in some African countries.

Immigration

Seventh and eighth grade students tackle the topic of immigration by learning more about the history of the Latino community in Portland. This involves not only visits to local history museums, but also guest speakers on current events, such as an immigration lawyer. Students all read the non-fiction novel Enrique’s Journey to learn more about the national and continental issue of migration from Latin America to the United States and make maps of Central America.

Locally, the classes partner with an organization whose mission it is to foster Latino-owned small business, called the Portland Mercado . As part of the Mercado’s three-year anniversary celebration this year, the managers asked if we could create an exhibit that clearly explains current government policies around immigration. Students worked in small groups to create text-based displays, maps, guidebooks, and art, inspiring them to learn in order to teach to an authentic audience.

As part of a science-based unit, middle school students investigate the questions: “Where does our drinking water come from? Where does it go?” In addition to learning about earth systems and the water cycle, students tour the reservoir that serves as the source of water for our city, visit the Water Bureau to see how they test and prepare water for consumption, and a waste water treatment plant. Congruently, students ask questions about water around the world: “Why don’t some people have access to clean drinking water?” “How does the protest at Standing Rock connect to water?” “What are water rights? And does everyone have them?” This leads students to conduct mini-research and action projects based on self-selected topics. Many of the topics have to do with a national or global issue, but the understanding is grounded in local experience and study.

In fourth and fifth grade, students learn about climate and biomes. Before they split off to investigate different biomes around the world in small groups, the entire class spends a good deal of time learning about our local biome. Through observation, prior knowledge, and some research, students piece together how climate forms our local environment and how our environments create habitats for plants and animals. Using this as a platform to create meaning, students then go on to investigate how different climates form diverse environments and habitats. Throughout the study, teachers refer back to the local study to help students draw parallels and develop a deeper understanding of biomes in general.

Tips for how to make the global local, and the local global

Think about how a global issue is playing out in your town, city, or state. Like the globalization and immigration units outlined above, this is where students see how the smaller, local story is connected to a larger narrative. How can your students learn more by visiting relevant locations or inviting experts into the classroom? During the study, make a point of constantly zooming in and out to make the local-national-global connections explicit. Once students see that an issue in their area fits into a larger pattern, they may have more appreciation for its significance.

Ask yourself how a local study can act as a launching pad for establishing a deeper understanding of a global issue. In this approach, similar to the water and biomes units mentioned above, students use the local study as scaffolding for concepts that may be more abstract. Through hands-on experience, students gain both vocabulary and comprehension that can then be applied to other, perhaps more complex, content. For example, students gained a rich vocabulary on the topic of water and water quality by studying Portland’s water system; they then applied that knowledge to more complicated stories around water rights and access taking place in other parts of the world. What can your students learn about locally that will help them to better understand a global problem or issue?

• Look for parallels and commonalities between local and global topics. Amy Demarest, author of Place-based Curriculum Design: Exceeding Standards through Local Investigations , writes that, “subject-based local studies can build global understanding when students learn about local parts to a global whole.” She advises: “A basic curricular construct for a local study is ‘my place, your place, all places.’ In order to better understand a concept or an idea, a student can begin locally with ‘my place.’ Then the investigation of a place far away&mdash’your place'—is better understood, and the student can come to understand how things work in ‘all places’ with new eyes.” For example, students learning about forests can compare a local forest with the rain forests of South America. What commonalities are there? What conclusions might we draw about the similarities of all forests? Do they all need the same things to thrive? Do all forests also face the same threats? How can we extend this model to social studies, as well, by looking at topics such as government, religion, or culture?

It’s true, we are raising kids who need to know how they fit into a super-connected, global society. But our young people also need to learn how their decisions and actions impact the areas where they live. By becoming inquisitive, informed members of their own communities, students develop deeper connections with their place on earth, something they can then extend to other places. Educating for a better, more sustainable future needs to start at home.

Connect with Heather and the Center for Global Education on Twitter.

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The opinions expressed in Global Learning are strictly those of the author(s) and do not reflect the opinions or endorsement of Editorial Projects in Education, or any of its publications.

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Introduction: Think Globally, Act Locally

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• Erik Camayd-Freixas  

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T here are times when an event becomes a crossroad of history, a collision site of conflicting cultural and political currents, issuing from the historical past and extending into the foreseeable future. The place, however small, becomes the snapshot of a generation, perhaps even a microcosm of civilization. It is all a matter of reading the signs and connecting the dots.

All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent. —Thomas Jefferson

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See New York Times , “The Shame of Postville, Iowa,” July 13, 2008, online, for a link to the original essay. The first printed edition appeared in Latino Studies 7:1 Spring (2009): 123–139; and was anthologized in Suzanne Oboler, ed., Behind Bars: Latino/as and Prison in the United States (New York: Palgrave, 2009), 159–174.

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A summary of legal issues appeared in Erik Camayd-Freixas, “A Matter of Interpretation,” The Progressive 72:11 (2008): 18–23. The Spanish translation appeared as Postville: La criminalizacion de los migrantes (Guatemala: F&G Editores, 2009).

Jürgen Habermas, The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere (Cambridge: Polity, 1987); and The Theory of Communicative Action (Cambridge: Polity, 1987).

Grant Schulte, “Feds Say Raid Is Nation’s Largest,” Des Moines Register , May 13, 2008.

Amnesty International, Migration-Related Detention: A Global Concern , December 2008, p. 3.

Kathleen R. Arnold, American Immigration after 1996 (University Park, PA: Penn State Press, 2011).

Saskia Sassen, “Beyond Sovereignty: Immigration Policy Making Today,” in Susanne Jonas and Suzie Thomas, eds., Immigration: A Civil Rights Issue for the Americas (Wilmington, Delaware: SR Books, 1999), 15–26.

Tony Leys, “Jail Time after Raid a Surprise,” Des Moines Register , July 5, 2008.

US House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary, Immigration Subcommittee, Hearing on: “Immigration Raids: Postville and Beyond,” July 24, 2008 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2009), Series 110–198.

Erik Camayd-Freixas, “Statement to the Profession,” Proteus , Fall (2008): 5–8.

Bernie Bierman, “The American Translator&Interpreter or The Few Living and the Many Undead,” Gotham Translator , July/August (2008): 4–15.

Erik Camayd-Freixas, “Court Interpreter Ethics and the Role of Professional Organizations,” in Interpreting in a Changing Landscape: 6th International Critical Link Conference (Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 2012).

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Camayd-Freixas, E. (2013). Introduction: Think Globally, Act Locally. In: US Immigration Reform and Its Global Impact. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137106780_1

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Think Globally, Act Locally

Reflecting on my spring 2022 berkeley global access program adventures.

Think globally, act locally.

I bet you have heard this sentence before; if not, I advise you to take a moment to reflect on this catchphrase. I heard it for the first time in a business setting at INSEAD ’s entrepreneurship program when I was 16. Thinking that it sounded pretty clever and amazed by the fact that it rhymed, the sentence has stuck with me ever since.

However, I don’t believe I truly have felt these four words on a personal level before joining the Berkeley Global Access (BGA) Program . My interpretation is that by applying one’s engagement, interest and knowledge where they are, they can create a great amount of growth by thinking outside of the box, exploring new areas and meeting people with new backgrounds and insights. Without making this sound like a commercial essay, this is, in my humble opinion, what you can expect from Berkeley as a BGA student.

Being a visiting student at Berkeley allows you to make the best out of your program and explore your interests in the very best kind of way with truly amazing people.

During your first week at UC Berkeley, you can expect to be immersed in a completely new environment , a new system and with people from all over the world. Like most of my cohort, I had never been—not to mention moved—this far away from home on my own. You’ll quickly learn that Europe is “turned off” from 3 pm as everyone is sound asleep with the time difference being nine hours.

The previous semester, I had been on an exchange in Italy; however, this experience couldn’t have been more different. Being a visiting student at Berkeley allows you to make the best out of your program and explore your interests in the very best kind of way with truly amazing people. Again, I try to not make this sound like a commercial and it’s truly one’s own responsibility to create one’s very best unique experience. But isn’t that the beauty of it? The program’s advisers will always help you along the way. My approach was that “it’s better to call the BGA adviser one time too many than one time too few,” as I learned that there is  no “one time too many.”

Acting Locally

Berkeley has all sorts of clubs where you can “Act Locally.” There are many additional possibilities of being a part of the global environment, but also being active as any other Berkeley student. And if clubs aren’t your thing, you're “acting” more than  “locally” enough by only being drawn into the classes and the communities, or even by absorbing the many aspects that San Francisco and California offer.

By the fact that you’re international at Berkeley and get easily in touch with Americans, you’ll also witness a local culture exchange and leave your local footprint.

Even though one truly feels lost in the beginning of the semester and campus itself can be a small town, you’ll easily become immersed in the Berkeley student routines and traditions, as well as having your international community at your back. You’ll quickly understand that on Tuesdays there is Taco Tuesday at Raleigh's , Wednesdays are for grinding the undone schoolwork at Main Stacks and Fridays are always closer than you think as time flies.

Bigger events such as Game Day in the fall or Cal Day in spring , as well as naked-run in main stacks before finals (you’ll see, you’ll see), gives the university its own flavor. There are many traditions at Berkeley, empowering every student with a strong sense of local pride in the university. If it is wearing the Berkeley sweater around campus, dropping a little “Go bears!” in random settings, or even tanning with good friends on the Memorial Glade in-between classes and arguing over who’s going to go down to the café and pick up coffee this time.

However, it is easier than one thinks to connect with fellow students—being international or not—as a BGA student has (pretty much) every benefit as any Berkeley student and is always received with a big smile. By the fact that you’re international at Berkeley and get easily in touch with Americans, you’ll also witness a local culture exchange and leave your local footprint. One episode I’ll never forget was that my American housemates, as sweet as they were, asked me if I was okay as the temperature had passed 20 degrees celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit). They believed Norwegians would melt with a lack of snow, as this must be “extremely hot for you.”

We do have warm summers in Norway, as well!

Inspired by Professors

The professors are also your very best advisers in the process. One of my favorite parts of the school week was going to office hours offered by one of my professors at Berkeley Haas, Cristina Banks , discussing how human resource management is very different in the U.S. than in Norway. This semester, I was so fortunate as to be boosted by the most infectious passion for the fields I am studying by my professors. After two years of online classes, one’s academic spark can easily fade away in the comfort of one’s couch and an inner voice repeating “just get the schoolwork over with and move on.”

Even though one can play buzzword bingo with the names of their professors—as they are often globally renowned—I was as impressed with the curriculum and the professors’ engagement.

However, with passionate professors who are always available for discussing the topics outside of class and with well-structured content, I was fortunate that the classes I took gave me a new academic spark. After all, as the motto of Berkeley states, Fiat Lux!—Let there be light. I will never forget Ms. Bank’s first lecture, online, saying, "I live to teach, I want to make a change through my teaching, giving talent a chance to change the world. I am way past my pension age, but hope to teach five more years. Trying not to die during this class—kidding!"

Don’t get me wrong, the classes may be as much of a character development as academic development. Pushing one out of the academic comfort zone was not unusual; however, you feel that the tasks are truly relevant and build useful skills. Even though one can play buzzword bingo with the names of their professors—as they are often globally renowned—I was as impressed with the curriculum and the professors’ engagement. Taking Social Psychology and Information Technology was a unique class at Berkeley, giving a new dimension to my computer science major—and the professor almost dancing with his arms in order to express his wise words! Sometimes it felt like watching a TED Talk.

Taking AI with Stuart Russel —the man with the name written on the bottom-right of all the books of my computer science classes back in Norway—was amazing on a whole other level than simply academica. It’s said that performance comes with motivation and ability, and, again, without making this sound like a commercial, I was fortunate that my professors gave me motivation and a structured toolbox, allowing me to perform academically and giving me a foundation to use professionally in the future.

Making New Friends, Lifelong Memories

An important aspect to remember is that the students around you are most likely in the same situation. The amount of new and inspiring people you meet is remarkable, and I have truly met some of the most amazing people, whom I hope to have lifelong bonds with. I remember wondering why people often go on dates and do something scary such as ride a rollercoaster or watch a scary movie. Why not just chill? The answer is that it builds a much stronger bond. For me, Berkeley was scary and new on many fronts, but there was something about witnessing and going through the process with new friends that created a bond that was like nothing else. I came all alone and am leaving with so many strong friendships.

Many visiting students come and go. You won’t get the same depth with everyone as you’ll meet many different people, with the bare minimum of putting yourself out there a bit. Who knows? Maybe you’ll go on trips with them, as well? Maybe this is your way of thinking Globally (hint hint)?

Berkeley was scary and new on many fronts, but there was something about witnessing and going through the process with new friends that created a bond that was like nothing else. I came all alone and am leaving with so many strong friendships.

This semester. I was fortunate to travel to Lake Tahoe, the borders of Nevada/California, Los Angeles, Cancún, Tulum, Hawaii and Yosemite and took the train down the coast to Santa Barbara and San Diego. Be aware, this is perhaps way too much to fit into one semester, as it wasn’t unusual for me to do finance homework on a hostel floor in L.A., pretty stressed the week before four unprepared midterms or doing the CS188 coding projects on the plane as if I were a secret agent in Mission Impossible .

Another great memory was running up the stairs at Haas into one of my 8 am pop quizzes with sand still stuck on my calves and an ocean breeze from Hawaii in my ears—I took the red-eye flight to make it all. Again, I do not necessarily recommend this, and it may be wise to save the travels for spring break and other vacations. However, the memories made from exploring these traveling possibilities when living in California, with the other international students, are memories I’ll treasure forever.

Explore, Explore, Explore

The world is yours, and with the lack of a pandemic and a hint of an adventurous mind, there is so much to explore. San Francisco is also only 40 minutes away by bus, and in addition to offering interesting job opportunities for the future, the city is filled with adventures. With an abundance of different cultures and sights, no weekend in San Francisco is boring. Personally, I highly enjoyed Chinatown and the view from Mission Dolores Park is like nothing I had ever seen before.

To wrap it all up, studying at Berkeley gives a global taste on a whole other level with the students. San Francisco is right around the corner and there are many traveling opportunities. You’ll slowly see that the way you think, throughout the semester, changes; there are more and more opportunities to grasp and new global insights to inspire you.

Being inspired by all these new inputs around you, there are many ways you can apply your curiosity and aspirations at Berkeley.—whether it’s by going to motivating office hours on campus or taking a day trip to Alcatraz in San Francisco.

Being a global student at Berkeley allows you to think globally, act locally.

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Thinking Locally, Acting Globally?

The motto “Think Global, Act Local” seems to have originated with Patrick Geedes, a Scottish urban planner of the early 20th century, the term “global” invoking environmental inclusiveness rather than the worldwide perspective we understand it to mean today. In the 1970s to 1990s, the rising media and public interest in the human, social and ecological environment gave the term “global” its modern geopolitical dimension: that of the planet earth and the 4 billion people who lived on it. In health, thinking globally encourages a worldwide vision of what is done, not done, and should be done to alleviate equitably the burden of disease and causes of ill health. Acting locally is a call on people to become the active participants, no longer the passive subjects, of what is being done for and by them.

The primary health care (PHC) movement borne out of the Alma-Ata declaration of 1978 (World Health Organization. Declaration of Alma-Ata. Available at: http://www.who.int/publications/almaata_declaration_en.pdf . Accessed August 29, 2013) set the foundation for a global framework that would create a space for local communities to determine their health priorities. Thinking globally in this case implied listening to community aspirations, documenting their needs, promoting community participation, and supporting them in devising appropriate local solutions. As local developmental priorities were most commonly guided by health care providers, to no surprise, the priority agenda formulated by communities fitted most usually within the predetermined eight components of PHC: The “what” had been delineated globally whereas the “how” relied heavily on local needs and capacity. The PHC movement, however, has had mixed success. The attempt to bridge a global goal with local initiatives was constrained by the lukewarm commitment of a number of states, the divergent strategies of leading governmental and intergovernmental health and development agencies, insufficient funding, and the limited role actually played by civil society organizations. Any achievements of the global PHC agenda relied heavily on the financial and human resources of local communities who received little external support.

Meanwhile, in the 1990s, health gains achieved in low and lower-middle income countries were stalling if not receding and new threats to health and development were emerging: a new model of global health was called for. The turn of the 21st century witnessed great trepidation among international health governing bodies, official development assistance agencies and State leadership, about the benefits that narrowly targeted disease-control programs could yield to the world health. The global thinking was that, where the technology existed, massive responses should be brought against threats to impoverished communities and to global health as a whole—the term “global health,” inspired by the ongoing economic globalization, received much traction very rapidly. Global health initiatives mushroomed and, as Kayvan Bozorgmehr points out, so did discrepancies between rhetoric and reality:

In “global health” practice [these discrepancies] include, for example, the massive rise of global public-private partnerships accompanied by lacking accountability; the unequal representation of voices from low- and middle-income countries in decision-making fora; the both democratically and socially unlegitimated dominance of only several players in priority setting; or the discrepancy between moral/ethical discourse and real practice in foreign-policy (Rethinking the “global” in global health: a dialectic approach. Global Health. 2010;6:19).

Thinking globally invites local communities to act locally, but priorities remain too often set elsewhere with little allowance for deviations from set agendas. But, luckily, global thinking no longer remains unchallenged: civil society today plays a much more active role in negotiating global health (and development) priorities, and is becoming an unavoidable interlocutor in the determination of priorities and valuable witness of the use—and misuse—of resources. Local thinking can and should inspire global policy through advocacy, social pressure and democratic processes. Global action should be guided by local demands and build on local capabilities. “Think Locally, Act Globally” may well be the motto of future public health.