The recent financial crisis and its ruinous consequences on the economy, employment and welfare have revealed the limitations of contemporary global finance and of its underlying values. Hence the urgency to reconsider the relationship between society and economy and to launch a far-reaching discussion on new global standards, based on the principles of sustainable development and ethical finance; on humane models of production and consumption; on transparent and profit-sharing practices; on environmentally sound rules and on the respect for human and civil rights.

From the rural areas of the poorest nations to the metropolises of the richest ones, business leaders and administrators of the global village are becoming conscious that the risks inherent in speculation and easy profit outweigh the increasingly improbable returns; that investing in the labour force alleviates social pressures; that individual and collective interests are not mutually exclusive.

In sum, citizens appeal to a new relationship between public and private, between democracy and social justice, between the politics of development and tools of finance; claiming spaces for the participation of women and minorities; assuming new responsibilities and organizing civil associations in order to contribute personally to a more equitable society, and to ensure for it an inhabitable planet.

Reflection and dialogue involve the circulation and exchange of ideas, knowledge and data; that is to say, communication and information. Data, facts and opinions proliferate in the world of mass media and the internet, but they must be filtered, organized and articulated in a transparent and, as far as possible, objective manner, with reference to the social and economic issues pertinent to the global village. PlanetNext wants to provide a response to these and other needs and challenges of contemporary society, offering services in the following areas:

• editorial projects

• awareness campaigns and syndication initiatives

• training in journalism, communication and multimedia

• selection, editing, and distribution of news, abstracts and analyses of trends and problems in economics and finance

• audio, video and photographic services

• research and preparation of documents, databases and reference material

• organization of debates, conferences, and seminars

More specifically, the issues on which PlanetNext intends to focus include:

• democratization of the media

• social finance

• ethical finance

• micro-credit

• sustainable development

• cooperation

• alternative economic systems

• non-profit organizations

• fair trade

• the environment (eco-sustainability, waste management, eco-tourism)

PlanetNext is an association of independent journalists, researchers, technicians and experts in various fields. The website www.planetnext.net constitutes a window into the various activities of the group, but also provides the meeting point between the company and the public—it is the means through which visitors can access various sources of information, productivity tools and services, with the possibility of submitting their own contributions.