FESTINA LENTE: TRACKING THE SLOW MOVEMENT IN A GLOBALISED WORLD

Abstract:

In the era of “fast-everything”, more and more people are becoming attracted by the charm of the Slow movement, originating in Italy. In its famous book, ”In Praise of Slowness”, the Canadian journalist Carl Honoré offered the most sensitive description of what this phenomenon is all about: ”it is a cultural revolution against the notion that faster is always better. The Slow movement is about seeking to do everything at the right speed (what musicians call tempogiusto). It’s about quality over quantity in everything” 1 . An integral part of the phenomenon, the Slow Food Movement has become more and popular in Romania too, promoting tradition and local production, sustainability and responsibility. In this paper we will outline the various popular concepts of the Slow movement,constructing an image of how do they relate to our daily life. We will present a balanced debate on the topic, relying on both for and against arguments. The approach will focus on a historical, comparative and critical analysis.

Keywords:

slow movement, slow food, slow city, slow education, globalization