Statement of Purpose The GEC project is a five-year, collaborative effort of more than fifty Jesuit social research and action centers worldwide.  Its purpose is to come to a better understanding of how the global economy operates in local cultures, especially among the poor, and to provide them with a learning tool that helps them respond to the harmful and beneficial dynamics of the global economy as they experience it locally.  This project responds to the need for dialogue among the local and global "actors" so that those involved in local economic and political processes can better address the rapid cultural changes occurring in their local situations. Participants employ the Jesuit method of decision-making, which begins with experience, continues with reflection, and ends with decision and action.  The participating centers begin by gathering local experiences in the form of narratives.  They deepen and develop this data through interpretative and consultative analysis.  Finally, the participants will arrive at a publishable consensus that explains what is happening in some illustrative instances, and offers options as to what can be done in view of basic human needs and values.  The outcome of the project will be an educational handbook that can be used in the design of materials that enhances grassroots educational programs.  The same handbook will be useful to decision makers, business people and others who shape or influence local, national and international economic policy.  The project is unique, in that it seeks to address questions related to globalization "from below" by building on the grassroots experience and scholarship of the participants who live and work closely with the poor throughout the world. GEC Home  |  Last Updated October 25, 2005