Method The thinking behind the Global Economy and Cultures project is rooted in the insight that both local and global actors face ethical choices and have ethical responsibilities in the development process. In order to make sound ethical choices and carry out ethical responsibilities, "development actors" require a fuller understanding of the roles, interests and values of the other "actors" involved in the process of development. "Development actors" refer to those who contribute to full human and social development, who work or "act" in the private, public, and civil sectors of society in areas related to those illustrated in the original narrative cases. This insight is fundamental to the purpose of the GEC project, which seeks to empower local actors through a fuller understanding of the interplay between global economic processes and local cultures. This understanding includes an appreciation of the interests and values of the global and local actors involved in these instances. The research and data processing carried out by the participants in the Global Economy and Cultures project is rooted in the Ignatian method of prayerful discernment: "a constant interplay between experience, reflection, decision, and action, [which are] in line with the Jesuit ideal of being 'contemplative in action.'" (GC 32, D.4, n.73). The methodological framework of the Global Economy and Cultures project consists of drawing on the true experience the participants have with the poor, reflecting on this experience through focused questions and working consultations, making careful decisions from this research, and presenting the work and results of the project in an educational format, one that will enable others to put this research, reflection and work into action. GEC Home  |  Last Updated October 25, 2005