Summer Universities of tomorrow's economy: meeting the stakeholders who advocate and take action to create a positive impact on the world
On September 3rd and 4th, FAIRE attended the first edition of the 2019 UEED, the Summer Universities of the Economy of Tomorrow, organised by #NousSommesDemain, a collective initiated by the MOUVES, which brings together more than 80 organisations committed to a social and ecological transition.
Towards a new business model?
Pollution, rising water levels, accelerating climate change: the world is now at a crossroads and faces unprecedented challenges. If left unchanged, nearly 280 million climate refugees are at risk of being displaced, according to a recent IPCC-Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report.
Beyond the climate emergency, the world is also facing a social emergency, as social inequalities increase and create tension in both the global North and South.
Aware of the urgency to act, the collective #NousSommesDemain invites us to change the paradigm and develop a new business model. This was the goal of these Summer Universities, which saw a succession of inspiring speakers advocating for companies to add social and environmental impact to their bottom line.
Focus on the talk "Changing perception to transform the world"
A topic of the upmost importance for FAIRE, we eagerly awaited the "Changing perception to transform the World", plenary, which saw Najat Vallaud Belkacem, a former minister who is currently at IPSOS and involved with Tent Partnership for Refugees, intervene alongside Alice Barbe, co-founder of SINGA, one of FAIRE’s partner.
Their session was an opportunity to recall that the media often portrays migration in a negative light than can provoke anxiety. Thus, based on the results of an IPSOS survey, Najat Vallaud Belkacem described the prejudices surrounding migrants and refugees as well as the frequent distortion of their numbers as relating to immigration.
Far from remaining locked in pessimism, the two speakers reminded attendees that the term refugee refers simply to a temporary status. On the contrary, they invite us to go beyond that, to question ourselves, to step away from the stereotypes and to think of refugees as resilient individuals with strong skills and a future.
The most impactful statement of the talk was then launched: refugees are an opportunity for host societies! Each of these individuals has in fact a strong desire to work, to achieve their full potential, and companies have an important role to play in not only improving the perception of migrants and refugees but also in promoting their inclusion in society.
FAIRE, which places refugees at the heart of its action, fully shares this view and is committed to empowering them to become successful entrepreneurs in France.