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The world we live in … and the one we’d like to live in

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DURACIÓN LECTURA: 5min.

“What world do we want to live in?” asked Anna Claire Pache during the opening panel of BeToCare, an event that brought together in Rome more than 150 individuals involved in 70 non-profit organizations from 30 countries. “And what life do we want to live in this world?,” the professor of Social Innovation at the ESSEC Business School (Paris) continued.

To reach the answer, these questions beg are experiences, projects, dreams, and a world view that can be summed up in three messages:

  • An inclusive world is one in which we are all protagonists
  • Social change starts with personal change
  • A new social sensitivity calls for a different kind of formation

An inclusive world

Being an inclusive workplace is part of the DNA of any organization that aspires to participate in the public arena. No one today doubts the value of inclusiveness and the mistakes of older generations that gave way to the mainstream discriminatory conducts of the past. To be inclusive, organizations adopt protocols and promote activities that help their employees gain a certain sensitivity that translates into openness to all.

One could say this is a first level of inclusion, manifested in external behaviors. The following step is deeper, based on convictions, and is more ambitious; it is manifested in valuing those sometimes unfairly referred to as “burdens”. In doing so, the recognition of the dignity and value of every person is reenforced and in their ability to overcome their own limitations. Openness, an attitude intrinsic to being inclusive, ultimately means being open to understanding what we might not get about those around us, and believing that they too have something to bring to the table.

Convinced that “everyone deserves a second chance”, the Argentine lawyer Eduardo Oderigo created the Espartanos Foundation in 2009, which is dedicated to teaching rugby in prisons as a way to help prevent prisoners from becoming repeat offenders upon release. The discipline of the sport, along with other activities incorporated into the program, demonstrated to be so effective that the percentage of repeat offenses in ex-convicts who went through the program is 5%, compared to 65% among those who did not have the opportunity to participate in it.

One of the pandemic´s chief lessons taught us we are all vulnerable; we all need each other

To be part of Espartanos, prisoners must sign a commitment letter in which they agree to respect a series of rules of conduct, as well as a positive attitude towards improving in the sport, their education and their spirituality. The foundation believes in them… and what´s more: they are convinced that these individuals have a great deal to offer others. The proof of their conviction is in the excellent hiring numbers of ex-convicts who went through the Spartans program to help reduce the levels of conflict that, due to the pandemic, increased in homeless shelters throughout Buenos Aires. Counting on people who had gone through a period of confinement themselves (in prison) who strove to learn to live together and transform themselves, had a decisive influence on those who were going through similar situations during COVID-19 in shelters.

From personal change to social change

Marta Pedrajas, a member of the Dicastery for the Service of Integral Human Development, considers a new social contract is in order. A contract requires that different parties come together in a shared commitment. To reach a culture of sustainable consumption, a commitment between producers and consumers is key, for example. Reaching that ideal world, where indeed agreements are forged between the largest power players, requires a prior commitment on a much smaller scale. Social change calls for personal change, an understanding of the world and one’s role in it. Among the lessons learned from the pandemic, there´s one lesson fueling this necessary planet-wide attitude: we are all vulnerable; we all need each other.

From here there has been a new, growing concept within the worlds of marketing and innovation: co-creation. “To get involved and care, you first have to be,” was the theme of the BeToCare´s conference. Paraphrasing, in order to co-create with others, you first have to be… Be what? Better.

Two attitudes can be highlighted that make people, and consequently organizations, better: listening and openness. To listen to the context around you to respond to the real needs around you, and to be open to working with others, that is, staying away from using yourself as your only reference and not counting on anyone else.

Incorporating professional criteria is still a pending task among many NGOs

Inspiring listening and openness among young people is decisive to understand what the world needs and what they have to offer, because they are the protagonists of social change. Organizations should rely on honest listening – listening to learn –  to inform their decisions about leadership styles related to newly emerging needs.

Doing things well

“We are dedicated to caring for the dignity of all people,” said the prelate of Opus Dei, Fernando Ocáriz, in the conference he gave within the framework of BeToCare, and he explained that therein lies the importance of a job well done.

Incorporating professional criteria is still a pending task among many NGOs. Among other things, it requires studying, researching, measuring the impact of any measures put in place, and lots of training. In-house training can be divided into two types: for those onboarding and for employees who already form a part of an organization. Potenciar Solidario, an Argentine foundation that works with more than 300 non-profit organizations in the country, is worth highlighting in this respect. They offer free programs to provide training, support and guidance related to management, communication, volunteering and fundraising.

Agustina Urdapilleta is the coordinator of the foundation’s Empower NGO department. During BeToCare she explained that in addition to offering training through an online portal, they accompany organizations in putting what they teach into practice. She noted that, in general, NGOs “work with great dedication in their specific sectors – education, malnutrition prevention, addictions–, but they usually lack a comprehensive view that would allow them to grow in a sustainable way and finally do good well, as we like to say at the foundation”.

In their promotion of social compassion, necessary for the change that the world needs, the courage to go from abstract reflection to personal experience, getting your hands dirty to learn to live alongside everyone, is decisive.

Alejandra Costas, who runs a home for the homeless in La Paz (Bolivia), assures: “Feeding the poor is not the same as eating with them. Christian commitment goes beyond an act of charity: it is being able to sit down with your brother or sister to share your life, to share your time.”

“What world do we want to live in? And what role do we want to play in it?” These were two of the questions posed to the audience by the renowned professor in social innovation. Yet two additional questions might serve as the starting point for personal commitment, today: What does today´s world look like? And how do I want to live in it?

 

Translated from Spanish by Lucia K. Maher

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