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Writer's pictureJean-Francois Berleur

Together - the importance of community action

Today



Today, our society is experiencing widespread environmental & social disruption. Natural reserves are depleting, our ecosystem is collapsing, billions of people are born into conditions that'll never give them a chance to participate in our global socio-economic system, and in the "rich countries", people understand little by little that wealth does not bring happiness. Abundant facts speak for themselves.


Despite the emergency, traditional institutions & business - too conservative, too focused on short-term, too dysfunctional - are failing and/ore are too slow to address today's systemic challenges. Moreover, it is becoming increasingly clear to all that the predominant trends that have shaped global industrial development are not the ones that can get us out of this mess. Our habitual ways of thinking and acting, ingrained over time in our social structures, are profoundly ineffective in solving today's global problems. As Einstein said: “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” Making the changes we need means nothing less than “reshaping the world,” based on a radically different vision. This involves evolving towards a new paradigm. Many people feel it, say it. Worse, many have said this for decades. We slowly start to acknowledge.


Millions of people around the world not only yearn for a renewed order, but are beginning to think differently, to behave differently. It is as if something deteriorates and decomposes, while something else, still indistinct, is being born. But surely, a transition is underway. 


Now is the time to not only become aware of what is happening, but also to contribute to it. The energies are there. A growing number of people want to work on a model of society with an economy serving the common good, respecting nature, caring for people in need and contributing to giving more meaning to those around us. As more and more people take the plunge, many positive impact initiatives are springing up everywhere. Every day, local entrepreneurs launch new initiatives that aim at societal impact. And this is indeed the way to pursue a transition. Local initiative.


As the task is immense and time is limited, it is necessary to accelerate the emerging movement. Over the past few months, I have focused my energy on finding how I can help create, develop and sustain successful “impact projects”.


I, like many others, have the desire to become actor in the world of “impact” and to promptly contribute to the common good. Everyone should contribute according to their vocation and skills. I therefore sought to understand where I could be most useful. And this is by catalysing and bringing up to scale effective societal projects.


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