South American Business Forum

This post was written by Luis Felipe Bismarchi. He’s a SABF Delegate at Universidade São Paulo in Brazil

This is the main topic of 2008 SABF and I find it very interesting because I believe it will tease us to find answers for this question: “What can I do to make things different?”

Well, I have some ideas I’d like to share with you and then discuss – something I love doing.

At first I believe there are 2 ways to change things, one through the legitimate ways – such as the governments, the unions and all kinds of legal associations – and another is to fight against the actual structure and then build a different one.

I don’t believe you have to choose just one, I personally have ideas that sometimes are revolutionary sometimes reformist, what I find very important though is to do something when something is bothering you.

As I’m writing my personal point of view I’ll use myself as an example: I’m trying to find ways to change the world, I know it sounds crazy but which young person doesn’t really try to change the world and during all this time I faced some questions (and their actual answers) I’d like to share: What kind of change? Where to start? How to do it? And Am I coherent?

At first, I want to improve my “close world” (my house, my school, my job, my neighborhood) after that I can think about changing my whole city, state, country, planet. So, I will start with small places and close people, like friends, teacher, work colleagues, fresh students, the politician I elected… . To help my plans I made a little schedule:

- Till I graduate (this year): I’m participating in events and sharing my point of view and my ideas with the largest amount of people I meet and I also absorb their ideas

- During graduation (master…): I’ll work on making my ideas happen, developing projects, participating more actively in my neighborhood association, along with the city hall…

- When I finally become a teacher (yes, I do want to be a teacher, although here in Brazil they don’t get enough to eat!) I will spread all my experience in a bigger range and, of course, continue what I have started before.

I may sound crazy, but I don´t expect things to happen this way, this is my plan, plans change and that´s why life is so interesting, right?

And what I care the most: am I coherent? In order to be so, I try to express my ideas and positions towards something to everyone that acts in a different way than mine in order to show them I have a point of view and I’m willing to discuss it if it’s not coherent with my actions. I know I’m young, that’s why I try to learn everything I can so I can have my own position on everything.

You may be thinking, why is he writing about his life’s plan here? Well, because I believe we can’t really define how is a changing agent unless we feel able to be it!

I feel capable of changing things, that may explain why I’m so annoying in asking about environmental and social issues. I think these two issues are the most urgent changes we may implement in the world, and this changes must be global otherwise they won’t work.

Here in Brazil for years we’ve been manipulated to believe we didn’t have power to make the difference, to change politics, economy, to fight hunger and misery. That was our noble politicians attitude towards us: we were known just during the election period. I remember the Argentineans going out the streets to demand a better life, employments and all stuff elected governments should provide us, and I find It just fantastic (my dear hermanos argentinos, you should be happy for a Brazilian accomplishing an Argentinean act! jejeje lol), it showed them the power of the people, and it also shows us how powerful we become when we gather our forces, the changes have to do in the world must be done with the whole world’s participation, for instance, if we want to end up with labor exploration we cannot do it just in Latin America, because globalization brought us integration that brought us the possibility to change a whole factory from a country to another just according to it’s labor cost.

We are a chain, what we do affects all the others, our silence can be the destruction of a forest, the death of innocents. We are more powerful than we think, we just have to unite our forces to make the world better, and SABF network and knowledge is a great way to start this YOUTH GLOBAL PACT ON WORLD´S DEVELOPMENT, why can’t we do it, why can’t we question the legitimacy of a system and a process that is bringing us more and more social disparity and natural destruction? Is money so important that we silent ourselves when we know something is harming our biosphere?

I think it is a good teaser for a discussion, I don´t really like to just write things with no answer, so I will wait for your comments to continue a discussion, ok?

Beijos/Abraços/Saudações/Besos/Abrazos/Saludos