Images of doom in the press, in our minds, on social media: species extinction, population displacement, revolutions, looming state failure... the list is endless. A list that provokes anxiety. An anxiety that paralyses. And leads to do nothing. How can we dramatically change behaviours at the global level, on a massive scale, now? This is the question we tried to answer during the three days of the General Assembly of Citizen Companies in Essaouira, June 2019.
EDITORIALS, INTERVIEWS & REPORTING, CONTENT & DATA SYNDICATION, DRAFTING OF COMMITMENTS
For the 2nd edition of the General Assembly of Corporate Citizens, 250 researchers, entrepreneurs, economists, CEOs and decision makers gathered around the notion of Prosperity. Through this overarching theme, participants have explored the tools available to link economic growth to well-being and performance to social justice.
Solutions exist. Measures could be taken fast. Therefore why, as Nathaniel Rich writes, we would « lose the Earth »? Why actions do not level up yet with the climate and social emergency? Why do we not succeed to adequately commit to dramatically changing the paradigms we live by?
In 2019, the 250 participants of the General Assembly of Corporate Citizens called for revolution. To change the rhythm of a capitalist model gone crazy, they called for companies to urgently build an economic model that preserves the environment and promotes social progress.
So we talked about actions. Massive actions. Radical statements. Of coalitions. Of tipping points. We talked about methods and ways for companies to deploy massive, rapid solutions that accelerate this transition.
The manifesto is a call to action. We endorsed 5 initiatives. Programmes to raise awareness about citizen companies’ role in addressing the stakes our societies face. Actions to locally speed up solutions developed by entrepreneurs. Citizen campaigns. Ambassador programmes enabling each participant to become even more active within their organisations and networks. And we called out those who wish to join us to commit to « economic peace ».
