Grounding the future in the past and the present: community-based sustainability in an old Japanese mining town

Around the world there are attempts by communities to re-create themselves based on values and customs that are more in harmony with the past and the future, and more mindful of people and planet. A question is whether these communities can do so in a globalising world where it is impossible to escape, for instance, digitalization and climate change. How to balance this attempt to live lightly, meaningfully and locally, while not becoming isolated and impaired by only looking inward with likeminded people? UNESCO identified the town of Omori in Japan as a town that seems to be successful in reviving a town in decline. A mixed group of international experts, scholars, practitioners and policy-makers from all corners of the world gathered in Omori to see for themselves what sustainable living might look like. By talking to the community and getting a sense of place they jointly reflected on the implications for education in the context of sustainable development. This chapter describes the town of Omori and offers insights in the future of sustainability education that are driven by practice as opposed to by theory.