In the aforementioned ways , all of the partners contributed to the European exchange in the discussion of eco-social aspects in the living environment and citizen-orientated community practices from various perspectives in
volving university researchers , city partners and citizens during 1 998-2000 . In each city, local interlinks were also established - to Agenda 2 1 and city politics in jyvaskyla , URBAN 2 1 and "Soziale Stadt" (a Social City) in Magde
burg, and the Health Action Zone (HAZ) , the Educational Action Zone (EAZ) and the Single Regeneration Budget (SRB) in Leicester - addressing the same types of aims as those in eco-social sustainability and social inclusion, both of which were outlined here .
Based on the aforementioned action research proj ects , the relationship between social exclusion and social inclusion described above can be sum
marised in the following figure :
Figure 2. The relationship between social exclusion and social inclusion
The late modern
"glocal"
capitalism
Segregation Eroding
Marginalisation ----'7 eco-social � Social exclusion Polarisation sustainability
Stigmatisation
Multi-Empowering and dimensional influencing Social Inclusion � mobilisation, � citizen
(re)integration and orientated
Combating
� social exclusion de-stigmatisation action
for eco-social research models sustainability and practices from
eco-social perspectives
When referring to the word "glocal" capitalism we mean transcending proc
esses for profit making between global and local interactions on various markets and in everyday life. The eroding eco-social sustainability in the figure 2 encompasses the segregation, marginalisation and polarisation of living environments and clusters of populations. It also refers to the eroding ecological processes of nature . The downward development of a living envi
ronment is strengthened through stigmatisation that is mediated by outsid
ers , particularly by the media . In our case , combating social exclusion from eco-social perspectives has included the creation of a holistic type of knowl
edge and skills by means of action-research in a process-orientated and re
ciprocal community partnership between university researchers , city part
ners and citizens. The concrete eco-social practices in each city included community and social planning, community-based social work and com
munity work, which were influenced by British Social Action, Finnish social impact assessment and German eco-social thought and experiments. Action research that is done from eco-social perspectives within social work aims to study social exclusion from a holistic perspective on the living environment on the one hand and increase quality of life by mobilising both material and personal resources for social (re)integration on the other. However, it is im
possible to provide any kind of "grand model" , because in each local context there are specific national and local circumstances that must be taken into account in renewing social work. Each local society or group must therefore create its own models.
There is no doubt that the combating of social exclusion refers to political aims . Nevertheless , we do not want to create any new utopian beliefs that social workers and community workers have the potential to solve the "glocal"
causes of social exclusion by themselves . By acknowledging this , our experi
ence tells us that social and community workers can indeed contribute to the initiation of the reversal of the negative spiral of social exclusion in a learn
ing and reciprocal community partnership in local contexts. We can also conclude that the Euro-local exchange of knowledge and experiences in the form of comparative action research is a recommendable way of renewing social work in order to create more empowering, influential and eco-socially orientated practices for combating social exclusion, in which citizen partici
pation and influence are focused on as tools for development and change.
Notes
1 See the previous readings of the entire proj ects: Matthies et al. (2000); Matthies, jarvela & Ward (2000) and Turunen ( 1 999).
2 For more detailed information see the reports by Albers (2000) , Albers & Zieg
ler (2000) ; Boeck (2000) ; Boeck & Ward (2000) ; Boeck & McCullough (2000) ; Boeck, McCullough & Ward (200 1 ) ; Matthies et al. (2000) ; Narhi & Hiekka (2000) ; Narhi ( 1 998, 2000a, b and c) ; Turunen (2000a, b and c) .
3 Pupuhuhta is a suburb within Huhtasuo , but it is considered to be its own territory.
4 See also Albers ( 1 999), Boeck and Ward ( 1 999) and Narhi ( 1 999).
5 The world "glocal" is used here in the meaning of transcending processes between globalism and localism.
6 The same kind of hermeneutic process concerning social development and social work has been described by Harald Swedner ( 1 983) .
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