Global Launch of 'Rooted in Place' Online Gathering

World Localization Day 2026: Stories of Localization from Around the World

Join the Global Launch of the Rooted in Place

Across the world, people are quietly rebuilding local food systems, revitalising communities, protecting ecosystems, reviving traditional knowledge, and creating more resilient local economies. Yet much of this work remains invisible — rarely reflected in mainstream narratives about progress or change. 

On World Localization Day, June 21, 2026, we invite you to join a special global gathering celebrating these inspiring efforts and the people behind them. 

Date and time
Sunday, June 21, 2026

Time: 3:00 PM UTC
Duration: 90 minutes

Local times:
San Francisco 8:00 AM | Mexico City 9:00 AM | Brasília 12:00 AM | London 4:00 PM | Berlin 5:00 PM | Nairobi 6:00 PM | New Delhi 8:30 PM | Kathmandu 8:45 PM | Hanoi 10:00 PM 
Find your local time: https://www.worldtimebuddy.com/

Together, we will launch Rooted in Place: Stories of Localization from Around the World — a unique multimedia magazine born from a collaborative mapping and storytelling journey spanning Ladakh (India), Nepal, Vietnam, Germany, Brazil, and California (USA). More importantly, you'll hear directly from the people who helped bring these stories to light and discover what localization looks like on the ground in diverse communities around the world.

More than a publication, Rooted in Place reveals a growing global movement of communities reconnecting with place, culture, land, and one another. Through stories of creativity, resilience, and regeneration, it offers a glimpse of the many ways people are building more caring, ecological, and localised futures

What to expect
This gathering will take you on a journey across six regions of the world through the voices of the people who helped create the magazine.

Through stories, images, conversation, music, and reflection, contributors will share:

• What emerged through the collaborative mapping and storytelling journey
• Inspiring local initiatives creating tangible change
• Lessons and insights from efforts to strengthen local economies, cultures, food systems, and relationships with the land
• Reflections on what they learned through this process and why these stories – and localization – matter now

You'll hear stories of communities reclaiming food sovereignty, supporting young farmers, strengthening local cultures, creating alternatives to extractive economic systems, and reimagining education, well-being, and development.

The gathering will also include opportunities for dialogue, audience questions, and ways to connect with and support localization efforts in your own region.

At a time when many people feel overwhelmed by global crises, this gathering offers something different: a chance to witness what is already growing and thriving, often beneath the radar, in communities around the world.

Meet the voices behind Rooted in Place
Thais Mantovani (Brazil) - Founder of EcoUniversidade
Huy Hoang (Vietnam) -  A member of the VCIL Community
Dave Shaw (USA) - Coordinator of the Right Livelihood Center
Kunzang Deachen (Ladakh) - Coordinator of Local Futures Ladakh
Stanzin Dothon (Ladakh) - Member of the Local Futures Ladakh team
Shail Shrestha (Nepal) - Program Director of Digo Bikas Institute (TBC)
Julio Greenway (Germany) - Active in NextGEN, the youth movement of the Global Ecovillage Network
Moderator Alex Jensen (USA) - Project Coordinator Local Futures

Who is it for
This free online event is open to everyone. Whether you are a farmer, educator, activist, researcher, policymaker, student, community organiser, or simply someone searching for hopeful and practical responses to today's ecological, economic, and social challenges, you are warmly welcome.

As we mark the 7th World Localization Day, we'll come together to recognize an important truth: Across the world, people are already creating more connected, democratic, resilient, and ecological ways of living.

This gathering is an opportunity to learn from one another, celebrate what is already emerging, and discover how local action can contribute to wider systemic change.

Warmly,

Local Futures team


Sign up for Local Futures newsletters
Insights, stories, and upcoming events — exploring localization as a pathway to ecological balance and community resilience. We send one to two emails each month and respect your privacy. Subscribe here.