This book explores a compelling range of community-based activities from different cultures and nations which help nurture intercultural understanding and practices of sustainable development. The specially commissioned chapters from practitioners and academics offer a set of interconnected case studies, personal stories, philosophical discussions and critical reflections on direct experiences focussing on co-operative action, creative media innovation and community empowerment connecting individuals, groups, organisations from across our converging world. At the bookís core is a central belief that ecological sustainability can only be attained through social learning, community empowerment, participation and a commitment to global justice. It is the first in a series of books addressing issues emerging from the Schumacher Instituteís Converging World Initiative.

This edited volume presents the conference papers from the 1st International Conference on Business, Economics, Management, and Sustainability (BEMAS), organized by the Centre for International Trade and Business in Asia (CITBA) at James Cook University. This book argues that the orthodox methods of external risks, climate change adaptation plans, and sustainable economic growth in cities are no longer adequate. These methods, so far, have not only ignored the ongoing structural changes associated with economic development but also failed to account for evolving industries’ composition and the emergence of new comparative advantages and skills. Specifically, this book looks at the vulnerable communities and exposed areas, particularly in urban areas, that tend to experience higher susceptibility to external risks (such as climate change, natural disasters, and public health emergencies) have been largely ignored in incremental adaptation plans. Vulnerable communities and areas not only require different adaptive responses to climate risk but also possess unlocked adaptive capacity that can motivate different patterns of sustainable development to achieve the goals of the 2030 Agenda. It is essential, therefore, to view transformative growth and fundamental reorientation of economic resources as integral parts of the solution. Social disorganisation and vulnerability are other undesired outcomes of the unpredictable and widespread external economic shocks. This is due to a sudden and tough competition between members of society to acquire precious resources, most of which may be depleted during unprecedented events such as natural disasters or pandemics resulting in an even more chaotic and disorganised conditions.

Aiming to explore theoretical advances in tourism studies, this book explores the relationship between tourism, sustainable development and empowerment. The theoretical framework is explored across three levels through five case studies drawn from the South Pacific.

While fashionable rhetoric threatens to overwhelm clear thinking sustainable development, the authors of this study believe that serious and difficult questions need to be asked if we are to move to a concept and practice of development which really integrates the needs of people, the economy, the environment and the practical world of decision-making. In particular, it is too easy to assume a positive relation between poverty reduction and an improved environment. Instead they argue that the alleviation of poverty and sustainable development are only likely if the idea of empowerment and its practical institutionalization in the law, the educational process and the machinery of government becomes a reality. This innovative book explores some of the multiple ways in which this approach could become a reality, as well as the difficulties that stand in the way.

Based on a ten year investigation of cohousing, a popular new typeo f housing project that directly addresses both environmental degradation and social disintegration. The book argues that social and environmental sustainability are inexorably linked. [Publisher web site].

This guidebook is a collection of stories of African development projects that have transformed the lives of individuals and communities through collaborative partnerships. Through the study of these successful collaborations, readers will learn to: - Engage in capacity-building for collective problem-solving at the community level. - Work collaboratively for women's empowerment. - Mobilize culturally diverse communities to plan, implement, and evaluate sustainable community development. - Build meaningful collaborations among university and grassroots partners. - Maximize volunteer skills and match them to community needs. The Women's Global Connection (WGC; www.womensglobalconnection.org) embarked on this journey of cross-cultural engagement and capacity-building with one intention, grounded on three pillars: - Local ownership demanded individual and community involvement and buy-in. - Social empowerment required that each of our endeavors resulted in the local community's capacity to share the knowledge and replicate the training that was offered. - The promise of sustainability curbed our efforts to engage only in projects that held the hope of long-term sustainability by the community itself. Years of collaboration among the women's cooperatives, WGC, a private Catholic university, and countless volunteers has demonstrated the unbounded potential of reaching across boundaries and barriers to build a more responsible sense of global citizenship in today's inequitable world society.

This publication offers a framework for the empowerment of people living in poverty throughout the world that concentrates on increasing people's freedom of choice and action to shape their own lives. Based on analysis of practical experiences, the book identifies four key elements to support empowerment: information, inclusion and participation, improved accountability and local organisational capacity. This framework is then applied to five areas of action to improve development effectiveness: provision of basic services, improved local governance, improved national governance, pro-poor market development, and access to justice and legal aid. It also offers twenty 'tools and practices' which concentrate on a wide-range of topics to support the empowerment of the poor.