Nothing is lost as long as there is something to find
Pierre Dac
There are many things to justify the disaffection we feel for the European project. Everywhere, social and economic inequalities grow. The environmental crisis persists and worsens. A growing feeling of injustice, fear and anger weakens our democracies.
Lobbies’ narrow interests still prevail. Short terms solutions stop us from dreaming of a common project and the thought of the future makes us more harm than good. The old continent seems like it doesn’t have much more to give to the world and even worse, it looks like it is condemned to do everything in its power to close up.
Nevertheless, despite all those reasons to lose hope, a number of voices is calling to say that Europe, our Europe, has everything to succeed. Indeed, when we look more closely at it, we have a unique continental governance that could make us become the world’s most advanced model of cooperation between peoples.
On paper, our institutions are there to protect us, to guarantee our fundamental rights and improve our lifestyles. On the ground, our civil societies constitute a fertile breeding that could enable the emergence of new solutions to address existing global challenges.
And if, without knowing it, we were already the laboratory of a true ecological, fair and solidary world democracy?
To reinvent our ways of thinking and doing
The transitional time we are living in is historical! The world of tomorrow will be completly different – it cannot be otherwise: it will be more collaborative, sustainable and united.
It is high time to imagine a new story in which we transform our fears into courage. It is high time to give the keys to those who want to act and create. Finally and above all, it is high time to trust young people who still think they have no say concerning that matter. Each and every one of us can be part of the change.
For instance, Euforia, a social enterprise based in Switzerland, takes up the challenge that by 2030, young generations’ favorite lifestyle will be “changemaking”. With its moving into action methodologies, the network wants to inspire 10 million young people by 2020.
Enhance Europe as the continent of social innovation
Social innovation can be defined as “a new answer to new social and environmental needs (or badly satisfied)”. It constitutes a new way to try and answer to big challenges of our time.
Future is something that has to be overcome. We do not endure future, we create it.
Georges Bernanos
Together with Boris Marcel and Malo Richard, we decided to take this maxim seriously and embody the change we wanted to see happen. In this way, in order to meet the people who create the Europe of tomorrow, we built the Europe Tomorrow program.
For a year, in some twenty countries, we are going to seek and analyze the best initiatives in order to facilitate their duplication. Together, with companies, public institutions and citizens, we will co-create concrete solutions to answer the challenges of our time. Post-carbon towns in England, circular economy concepts in Denmark, social and participative housing in Germany, responsible consumption movements in Italy, we are going to explore territories in order to find/unearth the best practices in social and environmental matters.
Change doesn’t happen when one is on his own!
The three degrees of social and environmental innovations in our programme:
- Innovations brought about by civil society which are generally easier to duplicate than the others and do not necessarily require the creation of an economic model. They operate most of the time in the field of social and solidarity economy.
- Innovations brought about by companies and the business community. These innovations can occur in different currents such as social entrepreneurship, social business, the RSE area, collaborative or circular economy. They generally require the development of complete economic models and are more difficult to duplicate.
- Innovations brought about by the public sector. They can be the initiative of towns, collectivities, States, they require the involvement of the citizens and the support of political leaders.
In order to become one of the innovations brought about by the programme or to let us know about an innovation that inspires you: www.europetomorrow.org or hello@europetomorrow.org.
Thanks to Jennifer Valat for the translation :)
Guest Post written by Florian Guillaume
Founder of Carrotmob in France and positive activist. Convinced that the transition will not happen by itslef, I cofounded Europe Tomorrow. Featured image : Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1526/1530–1569) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
