BACK2VALUES
Start date: Jun 30, 2014,
End date: Sep 30, 2014
PROJECT
FINISHED
The financial crisis has been one of the biggest concerns for European society from 2008. However, there is another profound crisis of human values and principles which often passes unnoticed.
But the willingness and interest to change this situation is increasingly latent in today's society. Therefore we took advantage of this circumstances in order to create a critical spirit in the participants about the lack of human values and to analyse possible solutions.
This study visit took place in Piles, Valencia (Spain), with 30 youngsters and youth workers from some of the countries with higher levels of unemployment and recession in Europe as Spain, Italy, Macedonia, Portugal or Romania.
Our aim was to analyse and discuss the current situation from the invited countries related to the principles on which the Economy for the Common Good (an alternative system not focused on capital but people) are based, these are: human dignity, social justice, sustainable development, solidarity and cooperation, and participatory democracy.
Each participant from each country was responsible of one of this principles, like this each country had one participant representing each topic. Therefore, they made a previous research about how each topic is currently working in each of their countries.
Later on, they created and participated in different types of activities such as analysis and critical thinking, participatory discussions, field visits, role-plays, real case studies, and social statistics in order to find alternatives and solutions that can improve the social, political and economic realities of their countries.
There were interesting discussions together with the major of Muro de Alcoy, where participants could get first-hand information on how to do a different type of politics, fairer with society and more respectful with the environment. Also having meetings and talks with active groups of social change in Spain as the platform against evictions (PAH) or the social movement 15M. In addition, several groups were created in order to start new projects for the future.