April 27 Economics of Happiness event

McKenzie Jones-Rounds grasswriter at gmail.com
Mon Apr 25 11:08:31 EDT 2011


Hi everybody. Please come see this film on Wednesday and stay for a
community dialogue about building a local, resilient, sustainable economy.
My friend Shira Golding and I will be two of the panelists!

Hope to see you there,
McKenzie





*Media Contacts: *
                        *For Immediate Release:
*Gay Nicholson
                April 19, 2011

607-216-1552

Gay at SustainableTompkins.org





*Creating an “Economics of Happiness” in Tompkins County*



Ithaca:  Sustainable Tompkins is hosting a community conversation about
local efforts to build a more resilient and fair economy on Wednesday, April
27, 7:00-9:30 pm at Cinemapolis. The evening will feature a panel discussion
and the Ithaca premiere of *The Economics of Happiness* – a film by Helena
Norberg-Hodge, Steven Gorelick and John Page, and a project of the
International Society for Ecology and Culture (ISEC).



Growing frustration with the failures and injustices of the global economic
system has led to popular revolts in many countries and heated debates in
the U.S.  As globalization has funneled immense wealth to transnational
corporations, while depleting resources and displacing people, a countering
force based on the principles of sustainability, social justice, and local
economies has emerged.



“Relocalization of our economy is essential if we are to buffer ourselves
from speculative bubbles and escalating food and energy prices,” notes Gay
Nicholson, President of Sustainable Tompkins. “We need to design a local
economy that works for everyone and takes advantage of the power of
entrepreneurship, sharing, local supply chains, self-provisioning, and local
investment.”



The documentary film takes a close look at eight “inconvenient truths” about
globalization and its disruptive impacts on billions of people, and
contrasts that with the shared well-being and resiliency arising from local
economies where people are more accountable to each other.  Kristen
Elizabeth Steele, former Ithacan and Lehman Alternative Community School
graduate, works for the ISEC in London and will introduce the film and share
results from the global conversation it is inspiring.  “The themes of the
film were introduced to me while I was growing up in Ithaca,” said Steele,
“and I’m looking forward to hearing about the progress my hometown is making
in building long-term resilience into its economy.”



After the first screening, a panel of local community leaders from
Sustainable Tompkins, Southside Community Center, Share Tompkins, Local
First Ithaca, Tompkins County Workers Center, Cooperative Extension of
Tompkins County, and Tompkins Workforce NY will outline our progress in
creating a more sustainable local economy and suggest opportunities to
pursue in the next few years.



“Ithacans have embraced the idea of sharing resources through our monthly
events,” explains panelist Shira Golding of Share Tompkins, “and we are
building an online infrastructure that empowers people to share and trade
services, products, and knowledge. The result is a higher quality of life
for all of us and a really strong sense of mutual-aid and community
self-sufficiency.”



Audience members are encouraged to join the discussion and bring their ideas
and news on other local economy initiatives.  Tickets for the first
screening at 7:00 are offered on a sliding scale of $5-$10 at the door, or
can be purchased in advance by contacting elizasalon at yahoo.com.  A second
screening at 9:30 pm will be offered through Cinemapolis at standard prices.



Sustainable Tompkins is a citizen-based organization whose mission is to
promote the long-term well-being of our communities and region by
integrating social equity, economic vitality, ecological stewardship, and
personal and civic responsibility.  Visit www.sustainabletompkins.org to
learn more.



Hosted by Sustainable Tompkins with cosponsors: Alternatives Federal Credit
Union, Green Resource Hub, Sustainable Enterprise & Entrepreneur Network,
Share Tompkins, Local First Ithaca, Tompkins County Workers Center, Social
Ventures, Southside Community Center, Tompkins Workforce NY, Tompkins County
Climate Protection Initiative, Interfaith Action for Healing Earth, and
Ithaca Hours.







-----------------------------

Side Box:



*The Economics of Happiness* describes a world moving simultaneously in two
opposing directions.  As governments and big business continue to push for
“growth” in the form of increased global trade, we’re seeing an increase in
climate chaos, senseless war, fundamentalism, financial volatility, income
inequality, and the consolidation of corporate power.  At the same time,
people around the world are resisting those policies, demanding a
re-regulation of both trade and finance.  And, far from the old institutions
of power, communities are coming together to re-build more human-scale,
ecological economies based on a new paradigm – an economics of localization.
*(International Society for Ecology and Culture)*
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