The sixth part, "Local Commitment", analyses spheres of activity on the local level. It focuses on citizens’ opportunities to design their own environment; aware of the epochal challenges, but with a transformed appreciation for the quality of life. Civil society must show a strong commitment or the turnaround to sustainability cannot take place.
Apart from political work in a stricter sense, this entails promoting and intensifying the discourse on the issues of energy, transport and nature conservation with the goal of reducing the community’s ecological footprint. In addition, communal development work and fair trade must be deployed to open local doors to global networks. On the level of personal lifestyle, strategic purchasing decisions have proved their power to change the market. True to the motto of "Well being instead of well having", many citizens are experimenting with new standards of living, seeking a balance between material and immaterial wealth.
The Chapters:
- Advocacy: Citizen-designed Communities
- Awareness: The Private is Political
