In today’s globalized and primarily urban world, the dream of universal stability and prosperity has, unfortunately, not come true. Children on one side of the world have the most innovative sources of knowledge and technology at their fingertips, while children on the other side of the world die from a lack of nutrition and even the most basic of health services.
The Glocal Forum believes in the urgent need to recognize the interests and cultural identities of those who were left out of global economic expansion and has therefore developed a new strategy for international relations called “Glocalization.” Click here to read more about Glocal Forum's work or continue reading to learn more about Glocalization.
Glocalization is a new paradigm for international relations and an innovative practice of development cooperation. The Glocalization strategy empowers local communities, linking them to global resources and knowledge while facilitating initiatives for peace and development. It provides opportunities for the local communities to direct positive social change in the areas that most directly affect them, and to shape an innovative and more equitable international system.
In particular, Glocalization attributes a special role to cities as international actors, and to city-to-city cooperation as a tool to counter global challenges and promote economic development and peacebuilding activities. Through enhanced connectivity, city-to-city networks can have access to the resources of the private and public sector and utilize these resources to address local needs, thus increasing the impact and cost-effectiveness of development projects for sustainable peace. Cities and local authorities represent the focal point of Glocalization. However, Glocalization is carried out by a number of key players - from the public sector, to international institutions and private sector companies - small and large, local and global.
Glocalization entails a shift in the international system, from a framework based on a balance of power between nation states, to a balance of cultural interests and local needs with global opportunities, always taking into account the importance of local actors as agents of change. By creating a new socio-economic balance, Glocalization has far-reaching benefits for both developed and developing countries, emphasizing social equity as a basis for international stability and ensuring a more secure and stable global environment to bring about development and peace. Glocalization brings together civil societies, local administrations and the private sector, on the one hand, and international organizations and national governments on the other, while fostering dialogue between parties through city-to-city partnerships, youth empowerment and information and communications technology.
For more insight on Glocalization strategy, please see the Glocalization Manifesto published by theGlocal Forum in December 2004.
