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“What would happen if we built economics on ethics? Other models of employment, other modes of production… We are very used to doing things very alone, with distrust of politicians and economic actors. But alone, none of the sectors will be able to build the alternatives that society needs.” With these words, Claudio Madaune reflected this Thursday in one of the twelve talks of the Actuar por lo vivo festival, which runs from April 26th to May 6th took place at the Museum of Modern Art in Medellín. The Chilean permaculture expert and project coordinator at the Norwegian NGO Change the World questioned whether progress means growth at any cost, the individual role of each citizen and renewal.
The regenerative economy was one of the key concepts of this lecture. This relatively recent term, based on the principles of restoration, is based on restoring a system or product to its original or even improved condition. In the words of María Alejandra González, Professor of Management and Social Responsibility at Eafit University: “These are processes that require healing. With this word we already recognize the wound we are inflicting on ecosystems; something is damaged and we need to heal it”. Arturo Escobar, one of the country’s great anthropologists and thinkers, during his presentation this Friday, added a reflection from a Bolivian thinker who said: “We must think about modernity without ceasing to be Indian.”
For the people of Cali, the pursuit of economic growth is what has created inequality and environmental degradation. “In post-development, or the good life, everything alive and all these beliefs of the indigenous communities becomes a big protagonist.” And he added: “Humanity has thought about colonization, modernity, US imperialism and identity. The question now is about practice. What do we do as intellectuals?
The meeting, sponsored by an alliance between Comfama, the publishing house Actes Sud and Comuna: faire cause commune, has more than 40 national and international guests: scientists, activists, companies concerned about their impact and entrepreneurs who want a did “big business”. in small. Revolution”. This is how Isabel Codavid, chief ecologist at Agromandala, defined a circular farm in Fredonia, Antioquia that grows, harvests and sells fresh food without pesticides for 80 families. “Businesses are based on the choices we make as consumers. We can not all farmers, but we all eat,” he explained to an audience of 50.
A moment of conversation “From Extractive to Regenerative Economics for an Era of New Abundance”.Santiago Mesa
For David Escobar Arango, director of Comfama, it is very important that these types of events take place outside the offices of great leaders. “We propose an integrative view between different professions and disciplines. We want to liven up a conversation, stimulate reflection and get people to ask questions. This is a platform for civil society to also organize and implement projects.” Another important point is to talk about regeneration. “For a long time after sustainability there was talk of preserving what was not yet damaged. But for me it’s like going to tie a tie. Regeneration leads to victory”.
For her part, María Adelaida Correa, Director of Sustainability at ISA, added: “Our goal is to leave a legacy that creates awareness, inspires, transforms and transcends generations. We are convinced that the best footprint is the protection of biodiversity and climate protection. Today we are called as companies and as people to engage in regenerative development, to mobilize our management towards a use of resources that guarantees the well-being of communities and builds environmental resilience, while providing support for the needs of future growth to generate. “.
New democracies, economies for regeneration and systemic and planetary health are the three pillars on which a festival of French origin is based, taking place for the second time in Latin America. Isabelle Delannoy, specialist in sustainable development; Hugo Jamioy, poet of the indigenous people of the Kamsá; Martín von Hildebrand, anthropologist and founder of the Gaia Amazonas Foundation; Juliette Rousseau, editor of Le Commun (French publisher of women’s poetry)… are some of the experts who think aloud in a didactic and participatory way, looking for ways to inhabit the planet in a coherent way.
think about solutions
Today few dare to deny climate change and its effects. Sea level rise, deforestation, biodiversity loss, drought and disasters… But this festival is about a different question: what can we do? The focus of the talks is purposeful and hopeful. David Escobar prefers the term ‘possibilism’: ‘We don’t want to fall into irrational optimism or pessimism. There are some challenges, we put them on the table and face them. If we do everything we can at the right time, maybe we will build a better world.”
The festival, according to the director, strives to weave collaborative networks between regional, national and international audiences to generate specific transformational actions around cross-cutting issues. As Delannoy reflected in the discussion From Extractive to Regenerative Economics for an Era of New Abundance, “We have to find a way to look each other in the eye and understand each other.”