FLORENCE (ITALPRESS) – “We young people are committed to supporting and developing businesses whose goal is not only profit but also to improve the social and environmental conditions of our territories. We pledge to buy consciously, informing ourselves about the place of origin of products and working conditions.” These are the cornerstones of the “Youth Manifesto for a New Social and Civil Economy,” drafted by the many students from all over Italy during the three-day National Civil Economy Festival that closed today in Florence.
The Festival, now in its 6th edition, chose the theme of participation. That of the girls and boys took shape in the Manifesto that was presented and delivered to the Festival’s promoting committee: to Federcasse -BCC President Augusto Dell’Erba, Confcooperative President Maurizio Gardini, and NeXt Economia Director General Luca Raffaele. Promoting a new paradigm, capable of going beyond homo oeconomicus; going beyond GDP and looking rather at individual and collective happiness, as in the references of the Research of Well-Being, making profit a tool and not an end: this is the recipe of the young authors of the Manifesto, fully aware that the quality of life does not depend only on money.
“Every year we add a brick to the Civil Economy bridge, trying to build the society we want,” said Luca Raffaele General Director of NeXt Economia. “In this sixth edition we have worked on cities and how their development can be inclusive and sustainable: the Civil Social Business City that we will experience here in Florence is a model based on participation, particularly of young people, which combines Yunus’ 3 zeros approach with La Pira’s system of action from below and for people.
The National Festival of the Civil Economy is committed to making young people more and more protagonists, both with educational paths (see the commitment to the realization of the Introduction to the Civil Economy and Integral Sustainability Lecture) and by leaving space for elaboration and proposal, as happened for the drafting of this Manifesto of Young People for the New Economy that must become in turn a point of reflection and action.
“An edition that gave so much space to young people. To their ideas and their concrete projects. It is the best, inclusive and generative Italy that was able to express itself during these four days in Florence,” said Federcasse – BCC President Augusto dell’Erba. “We also discussed new ways of paying attention to territories through the creation of community networks where, in the specifics of credit cooperation, a central role could be played by cooperative credit banks. Identify the best agents in the territory, sew relationships, focus on the common good. Participate. This is the commitment that FNEC’s sixth edition leaves us with.”
“The growth of GDP must be followed by the growth of BES,the fair and sustainable welfare. When the economy responds only to the remuneration of capital it accentuates inequality. There are 1.9 million households in absolute poverty; there were 800,000 in 2005. According to Censis, 12 percent of Italians have chosen not to seek care due to lack of economic availability despite needing it. In the 18-35 age group we have 2 million Neet. To these young people before a job we must give a hope, a horizon,” said Confcooperative President Maurizio Gardini.
– photo press office National Civil Economy Festival-
(ITALPRESS)
Youth Manifesto for a New Social and Civil Economy presented in Florence
