We recognize that transitions to sustainability often require new ways of viewing and engaging the world. Each individual and household as well as communities, organizations and nations must forge their own integrative understanding and approach in defining and meeting their needs and priorities without undermining the needs of neighbors and future generations. One essential need in today's complex, globalizing world is learning to work together toward our common future.
ISF works with different organizations, networks, campaigns and communities in North America and around the world to help where we can in shaping processes, policies, practices and structures that bridge gaps, identify common aims and advocate for solutions to the "wicked problems" facing us in this new millennium. With vision and commitment we can create fair and sustainable economies, communities, lifestyles and livelihoods that enhance well-being -- not at the expense of others but in cooperation with them.
Because the future is difficult to predict, the possibilities are often thought of more as science fiction. Yet the basic reality is change. We can be sure that the future will be very different from the world we know today; and because the choices we make today have consequences in shaping that future, we all have a responsibility to seriously think about what kind of future we want and need. Part of ISF's work is identifying and encouraging those efforts to imagine a sustainable world and future -- and what we need to do to get there.