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The Slow movement is a cultural shift toward slowing down life's pace.

History

The Slow Movement first began when a protest against the opening of a McDonald's restaurant in Piazza di Spagna, Rome sparked the creation of the Slow Food organization, as well as developing into a subculture in various other areas, Slow Travel^[1], Slow Shopping, and Slow Design, just to name a few.

Geir Berthelsen and his creation of The World Institute of Slowness^[2] coined the term 'Slow Travel' in 1999 citing a vision for an entire 'Slow Planet' and a need to teach the world the way of Slow.

The Slow Movement is not organized and controlled by a singular organization. A principal characteristic of the Slow Movement is that it is propounded, and its momentum maintained, by individuals that constitute the expanding global community of Slow. Although it has existed in some form since the Industrial Revolution its popularity has grown considerably since the rise of Slow Food and Cittaslow in Europe, with Slow initiatives spreading as far as Australia and Japan.

Slow life

Not to be confused with the Slow Food Movement, the Slow Movement addresses time-poverty, task-greed, and incivility. To be slow is to appreciate community or solitude for its own sake. High value is placed on dignity, humor, and respect for others. The Slow Movement is not a political movement. While the reality of commerce dictates humans must exchange time for goods and services, the Slow Movement values a certain amount of unstructured time.

Philosopher Josef Pieper’s book, Leisure, the Basis of Culture written more than fifty years ago, shows how leisure is the foundation of culture. Leisure allows for time to contemplate, to create beyond what is necessary for mere survival. The Greeks valued leisure, as did medieval Europeans. Pieper warns against the “Total World of Work,” and if we continue to ignore the need for leisure we will destroy our culture and be less human.

Cittaslow

The goals of the Cittaslow movement is to resist the homogenization and globalization of towns and cities and seeks to improve the quality and enjoyment of living by encouraging happiness and self-determination.

References

External links

Slow Movement: Making a Connection - Slow Movement, Slow Cities, Slow Travel, Slow Food... Everything Slow
Cittaslow UK - How Slow is applied to towns in the United Kingdom
In Praise Of Slow - site of the book by Carl Honoré
Slow Home - official site of the Slow Home Movement
SlowDownNow.org - The almost-serious antidote to workaholism. Humorous Slow stories and a Slow Lifestyle Manifesto by Christopher Richards. Stories include How to Get Out of Bed - a philosophical approach and The Importance of the British Tea Break.
We Are What We Do - authors of Change The World For A Fiver
Slowness for Sustainability
Unconventional Ideas
Work Less Party of Canada
All Tomorrows Tea Parties - a slow-related project by students of Central Saint Martins in London. UK.

[1] Slow Travel

[2] The World Institute of Slowness

[1]

[2]

@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 === Slow life ===
-{{seesubarticle|Slow Food}}
+Not to be confused with the Slow Food Movement, the Slow Movement addresses time-poverty, task-greed, and incivility. To be slow is to appreciate community or solitude for its own sake. High value is placed on dignity, humor, and respect for others. The Slow Movement is not a political movement. While the reality of commerce dictates humans must exchange time for goods and services, the Slow Movement values a certain amount of unstructured time.
-Opposed to the culture of [[fast food]] the sub-movement known as [[Slow Food]] seeks to encourage the enjoyment of [[Local food|regional produce]], traditional foods, which are often grown [[Organic food|organically]] and to enjoy these foods in the company of others. It aims to defend food and agricultural biodiversity.
+Philosopher Josef Pieper’s book, ''Leisure, the Basis of Culture'' written more than fifty years ago, shows how leisure is the foundation of culture. Leisure allows for time to contemplate, to create beyond what is necessary for mere survival. The Greeks valued leisure, as did medieval Europeans. Pieper warns against the “Total World of Work,” and if we continue to ignore the need for leisure we will destroy our culture and be less human.
-The movement claims 83,000 members in 50 countries, which are organized into 800 ''Convivia'' or local chapters. Sometimes operating under a logo of a snail, the collective philosophy is to preserve and support traditional ways of life. Today, 42 states in the U.S. have their own ''convivium''.
-In 2004, representatives from food communities in more than 150 countries met in Turin under the umbrella of the [[Terra Madre]] (Mother Earth) network.
 === Cittaslow ===