Foundation
CIVILITAS is a civil association with no gains, founded in 1988, by a group of young professionals and university students from Córdoba, Argentina.

Mission
The mission: to form a new generation of young public leaders aiming at a project of common goods, in order to change Argentina’s future- beginning in Córdoba- and with projections in Latin America.

Values
The mission –although the institution is formed by laymen- has religious foundations as regards the moral obligation of doing something concrete for those suffering from injustice and the duty of these youngsters of doing something according to their granted talents.

History.
We have been working for more than 15 years on a periodic and disciplined basis. We have concentrated on the study, reflection, analysis and debate of the main tenets of this project, within the framework of a multidiscipline team, which allowed the exchange of legal,philisophical,economic, historical, architectural, journalistic, etc, viewpoints.

The institution grew together with its members, who had enriching experiences abroad when taking up postgraduate courses, cultural exchanges and study trips in Europe, USA and Latin America, as well as different academic, political and company experiences. They were also engaged in sensitive social activities in the name of religious and social groups, that reinforced the compromise with the poorest.


Challenge
Once all these enriching experiences have been overcame, Civilitas challenge is, however, to adhere to the original mission assumed in 1989: it is necessary to consolidate a new generation of leaders willing to compromise in a project of national and regional transformation.

It is time to assume this project in all its magnitude and to carry it on up to the latest consequences, in a methodic and planned way, reflecting on the short, mid and long term challenges we will have to face in order to meet our aim.

What happens in Latin America
and especially in Argentina?
Argentina suffers from structural problems, from serious fallacies in our institutions to the minor problems in our culture: any portion of reality to be analysed shows multiple aspects of significant seriuosness.

Inability to consolidate the political organization, and consequently, the instability of the economic system as well as the inequity of the social system.

The key question: Could Argentina- and in general Latin America- overcome their problems just relying on the future of their weak institutions?

An against the clock race: The historical times versus the dramatic reality of each time more Argentines who live in poverty, destitution and hopelessness.

This urgency distorts the perspective of leaders from different sectors. Several of them try to calm down social anxiety by showing ruptures of the Western system, in a search of a revolution that guaranties equality and welfare for all population. The dispair they show is cause of multiple demagogic or populist proposals.

A hint of hope
However, there is an important number of leaders aware of the difficult trip to take in order to reach a just devolepment, as well as the impossibility of originating outstanding models of society, creative in Latin America, if the basic requirements of a civilized society are not satisfied.

Without those requirements, people are condemned to live through – so to speak - all the evils of capitalism and none of its benefits, as well as all the evils of socialism and none of its guaranties.

The Pending Challenge
Nevertheless, we all feel that the work we are doing in Argentina will not be enough as to suddenly twist the fate of the country. And we fall into hopelessness.

We are the majority and we have more power than any company or pressure power. But nobody has summoned us. Nobody has invited us to interact. Nobody has motivated us to form an ambitious project and to accord the strategy to put it into practice in a democratic society, with the force of those who organize and gather efforts to think of a common plan.

A Problem from Scratch
These people and these institutions suffer from the same problems citizens from all the region have: we can outstand individually but it is difficult to work in groups. And our adherance to Messianic leaderships makes us wait for the person able to gather forces again, as was done by certain men before while the development of the country in history. But, will it occur again? Given the complexity and split of current societies it is worth doubting the appearance of such a figure.

Institutions are questioned and do not have the power to gather followers.

The proposal
Aware of this reality and of these urgencies, we want to create and put into practice a strategic plan of transformation in Argentina, -on trial- to be extended to the different countries in Latin America. The aim is to produce an extraordinary impact on the reality of our country, of such a magnitude that it can twist the disappointing future we will face if we do nothing.

The challenge is to invite leaders of all social sectors who share the diagnosis and principles that were stated here, those that are significant for a change from scratch. The task will be to create an adequate space and with enough resources for the formulation and execution of a short, mid and long term plan.

Central Tenets

• The reingeneering of institutions.
  To recover the confidence presupposes, then, to recover stability and respect for rules for living together.
  
  
• The welfare of every Argentine
  There will not be a project of a possible country if the
  majority of population is unaware that the issues as regards their subsistence and minimal conditions might not improve from the current situation.
  
  
• The inspiring vision.
  The need to elaborate a political project that will set the base so that people can find their place in society and in that way they may turn their personal search into a part of the social development.
  
  
• Creation of work and wealth.
  To generate the conditions so that the economic growth is sustainable and in turn includes all sectors. This will force us to imagine a true shock appropriate to present at the same time the problems showed in chart 1 in a relatively short period.

Córdoba as Trial
We have chosen the Province of Córdoba since it is like a hinge between the extraordinary development of the Capital City and the discrimination of the poorer provinces.

Córdoba, as the second province with importance in the country, represents an interesting platform to promote this project nationwide.

Besides, the university tradition in Córdoba, as well as the presence of students from all provinces- eventual professionals and leaders in their own regions- facilitate the “dominoes effect”.

Finally, Córdoba has enough developement of human and economic resources, but in turn it shares the same problems that the rest of the provinces have, what allows the creation of a model not theortical but totally backed up on the Argentine reality.

It is not a minor reason that the advocators of this project are from Córdoba and we are immerged in this reality and connected to its referents.