Our Values

Gaining awareness is the most fundamental step to bringing about a radical change in our system. Emphasis must be put on
promoting education, public awareness and training – especially in high-consuming countries, humans are often living in hectic
conditions with fast rhythms. Driven by a high sense of duty and an urge to find a place within the system, we often remain
unchallenged in questioning our behaviors and the impact of our daily actions. Despite a global consensus urgently asking for
a reorientation of certain individuals’ behaviors, little information seems to be given to us. As a consequence, the less
awareness we have about a subject, the more distant it might seem to us.

Education and Evolution are closely interlinked – the former is the key tool to promote a greater understanding of the issues at
stake and bind participants much more strongly to planetary commitments. Starting from today’s educational system, we are
not encouraged to critically thinking and question. From our earliest age, we are asked to comply with tasks and memorize –
giving little space for deeper involvement and understanding behind each learning. The current events show that there has
never been a more crucial time for critical reasoning. Each step toward a true planetary advancement is the result of a rise of
awareness, driven by the core realization that behind each crisis lies a greater opportunity.

To envisage a world with universal respect and human dignity, individuals should be guided by a sense of unity and togetherness. It is time to realize that separation and discrimination can no anymore coexist with our current global targets and goals. As the ecosystem of nature, built on interacting organisms within their physical environment, our society is similarly designed with strong human, social, environmental and economic links. Globalization has shaped a society with a growing interdependence of the world’s economies, culture, cross-border trade of goods, services, information, and people. Hence, each intertwined element cannot be tackled alone – rather holistically considering the myriad of cross-cutting components.

Despite the current scheme, the word governance still remains predominantly driven by a separationist administration. Individuals, national, continent, and economic union interests are still upfront in the agenda – often not recognizing the interconnection of issues beyond our individual frontiers.

Resource mismanagement, inequalities, and deprivation of human rights within each nation result in cross-border issues such as global health threats, natural disasters, pollution, spiraling conflicts, humanitarian crisis, etc. Collective mobilization is, therefore, fundamental – not as an abstract utopian concept, rather as the guiding underlined principles of universal decision-making and individual behaviors. As stated by Howard Zinn “we don’t have to engage in grand, heroic actions to participate in change. Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world”.

Union is radically correlated with Inclusivity – one may not exist without the other. A just governance starts from the consideration and integration of each category of the population. Some vulnerable groups have often been excluded via the enforcement of social, legal and economic barriers. Such marginalization is the main hindrance to a fair and efficient system as lack of inclusions has resulted in paramount issues jeopardizing universal peace.

A conscious integrative governance should be implemented whereby each group is provided full and effective participation at all levels of decision-making. For instance, Indigenous communities have proven to have a vital role in environmental management because of their ancient knowledge and practices. Yet, Aboriginal groups are still hugely marginalized in today’s society after long histories of colonization and discrimination. States should fully advocate the integration of Indigenous, supporting their culture and enabling their active participation in the achievement of sustainable development.

The value of Justice stands for rightness based on fairness, empathy and impartiality. Justice includes a wide spectrum of values that cannot coexist with mere self-interest and greediness.

While such a principle is fundamental for a harmonious existence, the misuse of justice still appears in widespread wrongful actions toward individuals and the planet. In the last decade, light started to be shed on global topics such as social, economic and environmental injustice – asking to address the unfair distribution of benefits and burdens. Individuals and communities have denounced the deeply unjust global institutional order which still tends to privilege elites in both rich and poor territories, perpetuating oppression and impoverishment for the most vulnerable. Similarly, hazardous exploitation of our resources has led to environmental abuses – particularly in third world countries – whereby pollution, resource extraction, and climate change deprived poor and marginalized communities of their right to most basic needs such as water, food and clean air.

It is commonly accepted that the principle of justice lies in the traditions of law and governance. Yet, there were times when
practices such as slavery were legal despite their inhuman features. Therefore, as our issues are changing, the concept of justice must also align with the former. It is not a static concept as it requires an evolution of our governance to different circumstances – starting from a deep questioning of our dogmas and hard-wired beliefs.

Our current challenges are voicing the need for more just interventions that cannot be sustainable and effective if not enforced by an impartial system. Decisions should be based on objective criteria rather than on biases and privileges. Nethervelss, the concept of justice may appear subjective – what one individual perceives as wrongful, another perceives it as rightful, and vice-versa. This is why the principle of justice can only reasonably exist from a global and centralized point of view – beyond our egoic perceptions.

The principle of equality remains at the core of International Human Right Treaties. As a right, stated and claimed, equality should not be an empty aspiration but as an effective and concrete instrument to meet worldwide needs and restore social order.

For centuries, our history has been drawn on the duality between the prosperity of certain nations and the unfair exploitation of others. Ethnic, gender, sexual, social and religious discrimination have led to hostile acts as a result of our cognitive biases and status-based hierarchies. Therefore, as we embark on this collective journey toward a sustainable and resilient evolution, we must realize that all perceived differences, whatever their kinds may be, are all destined to be overcome sooner or later. It is only by recognizing our similarities and especially our equal right to have access to equal opportunities that we can build a world free of all forms of violence and injustices.

The belief in equality should not be a political orientation but must become a universal and unbreakable value aimed to build
a peaceful and just society. Such principles reaffirm that disparities in access to fundamental human rights should no longer exist. Equality is a key means to permit the full realization of universal potential and collective prosperity. This ambitious goal cannot be envisioned if individuals are still deprived of basic standards of human dignity. Right to safe water, education, shelter, basic health, education and a clean, sustainable environment should be part of a coordinated commitment to building a strong foundation for all countries.

The harmonization of global living standards goes hand in hand with the principle of equity which recognizes the national and
individual disparities in the status quo. To foster equal opportunities, we must look at the advanced conditions and circumstances hindering nations to achieve the same goals. For centuries, the strongest nations have perceived the most disadvantaged countries as a threat to their own power. The most privileged have made from the misfortune of the most disadvantaged into their own fortune – giving rise to atrocities and the most extreme form of exploitation. Such a dynamic is now reflected in our greatest challenges which will magnify if nations continue to merely pursue their self-interest. Therefore, Equity calls for global responsibility and a shared commitment to further sustain and provide predictable means for the one in need.

The principle of sustainability has been first defined by the World Commission on Environmental and Development (WCED) in its Publication Our Common Future as “the development that meets the needs of the present generations without compromising the ability of the future generation to meet their own needs”.

Today, a so-called “green capitalism” trend has been arising whereby corporations have been using the principle of sustainability as a marketing tool for mere monetary profit. Firms label themselves as eco-friendly, manifesting some sort of awareness regarding global challenges rather than enforcing true tangible solutions. Assuming that capital accumulation is the current goal of a capitalist system and that modern methods of mass production/expansion are deleterious for global resources, green capitalism is surely now a paradox.
Despite some well-intentioned initiatives, both goals cannot coexist as the current management of our capitalist society is
the greatest contributor to ecological damage. Hence, as stated by the activist Greta Thunberg, “if solutions within the systems
are so impossible to find, then, maybe, we should change the system itself”.

The WCED definition of sustainability has largely been interpreted with the idea that human concerns come first – often limited to the idea of “human consumption”. In light of the current challenges, the reading of the term sustainability should focus on life’s continuity on the planet, not only limited human-centric economic interest. Therefore, a redefinition of our core needs should be made within a global, long-term scenario. To foster longevity, planetary consciousness should arise, recognizing the intrinsic relation between each sphere of our system and life. It is paramount to give sustainability a holistic context where the central concern is making life and not human alone, sustainable. For example, if the planet was not habitable for plants, providing us oxygen that allows us to breathe, we simply would not be here. Indeed, a shift must occur from the idea of using the planet in the interest of power to the fulfillment of our genuine needs in a long-term coexistence.

Innovation represents true wealth for our planet and has become a key element to fight critical planetary risks. As an important tool for the advancement of society, innovation such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be used to meet foremost needs and simultaneously raise standards of living. In the last decades, ongoing debates have surfaced concerning the pros and cons of AI – highlighting potential threats to our fundamental rights, security, environment, human interaction, etc. This assumption is not entirely right. The main concern to our existence depends on the misuse and abuse of technology whenever the negative
effects override the positives.

This dynamic can be illustrated via the evolutions of the agri-food sector. The Industrial Revolution brought substantial changes in the economic and social sphere – including a wider and more secure distribution of wealth. In the context of agriculture, a rise in productivity occurred, enhanced by new means of cross-border trade and factory systems – making production faster and cheaper. Technological progress which was aimed to promote widespread and systematic food security is now one of the greatest contributors to environmental and social issues. Many would say that agriculture plays a key role in global development – unfortunately, this statement is only true when looking exclusively at one side of the globe. Particularly in third-world countries, the technological abuse of firms driven by the thirst for power led to dramatic biodiversity loss, resource scarcity, modern slavery, economic degradation, etc.

A harmonized system based on a wiser and programmed use of innovation will therefore be pivotal to uniformly sustain word-wide needs. Technology should no longer be perceived as a threat when used coordinately and strategically based on universal environmental and human concerns.
It is important to stress that such goals may not be achieved if not for open and innovative minds – able to transcend old practices and customs which are not in alignment with our primary needs. Innovation starts as a state of being – the one that believes in the potential of a resilient and unified planet.