Christian Felber posing in front of the municipality sign, in May, 2013.
10th anniversary of the proclamation of Miranda de Azán as the first Municipality of the Common Good
In 2010, Christian Felber published his book “The Economy of the Common Good” in which he presented an alternative and holistic model to the current financial capitalist system. In this book he identifies competitiveness and capitalist extraction as one of the main current problems, turning the accumulation of money into an end, instead of considering it only a means to a greater end: happiness and the common good, placing human beings and their well-being at the centre of all measures. Felber proposed a series of tools for companies to evaluate their activity in relation to their stakeholders by analysing five values: Human Dignity, Solidarity, Social Justice, Environmental Sustainability and Democratic Participation and Transparency. The book gave rise to an international movement that now extends across five continents and brings together numerous companies that redefine their activity based on a non-financial balance sheet that measures their impact in relation to these values.
In May 2013, Miranda de Azán, a small municipality in Salamanca, approved in a municipal plenary session to join this movement and to produce a non-financial balance sheet that measures its municipal activity according to these same values, becoming the first municipality to declare itself a Municipality for the Common Good.
To commemorate the 10th anniversary of this proclamation, the Town Hall of Miranda de Azán, together with the Spanish Federation for the Common Good, are organising a series of activities from September 22 through the 24th, 2023, to analyse the current situation and possible responses to improve the resilience of our society from the perspective of culture, municipalism and the new economies. In addition, the annual Assembly of the Federation will also be taking place.
This event will be held over 3 days, from September 22nd through the 24th, 2023, and will count with the participation of ECG coordinators, volunteers, expert speakers from different fields and backgrounds, academics from local Universities and elected officials. Among the different activities prepared, there will be a shortfilm and documentary projection, colloquiums, round tables and workshops around a diverse range of topics pertaining the Municipality in specific and the Common Good in general.
You can find the complete itinerary for the 3 days here. More information and registration (in Spanish) here.
You can also catch up on the press release written about the successful event here.
Image credits: Malopez 21 – Trabajo propio, CC BY-SA 4.0
