Leaders are emerging in localities the world over to face climate change impacts (e.g., sea level rise, desertification, etc.), cultural homogenization through globalization, and other locally-defined sustainability and social change challenges. There is much that these leaders, and the local efforts, communities and social movements from which they emerge, can learn from each other, whether they be in Africa, Latin America or here in Canada. In contrast to a stalled global effort to deal with these same challenges, a trans-local effort, linking localities as part of a broad, non-hierarchal movement, holds real promise in redefining how sustainability is understood in local ways, and contending with its challenges through knowledge exchange, and sustainability and social change learning leading to local action. Constituting spaces for this knowledge exchange and learning, and the actions it generates, as well as documenting its processes, is the ultimate focus of this Canada Research Chair in Sustainability and Social Change Leadership. With this goal in mind, there are three objectives to this research chair:
The Trans-Local Sustainability & Social Change Learning & Collaboration Network
As part of this Chair, a Trans-local Network infrastructure project connects these localities, providing a
platform for communities in Canada to learn about how communities in Ghana or Guatemala are contending with
culture or livelihood loss, or adapting to climate change. At the same time, Canadian communities can share
their struggles and learning facing similar issues. Thus, the learning and sharing that emerges from this
trans-local network will help enrich Canada's efforts at contributing to a more socially, economically and
environmentally sustainable world.