The Group of Foundations and Enterprises (GDFE) held its 24th Annual Conference, a space for dialogue and exchange among leaders from a range of fields. The goal was to reflect on the limits that shape how we understand and respond to today’s challenges. Under the theme “Redefining Limits,” the event brought together more than 450 leaders from business, civil society, government and academia at the Centro Cultural de la Ciencia in Buenos Aires.
Fundación Avina is a member of the GDFE Board of Directors and was represented at the conference by Carlos March (Futures Department), Victoria Marusevich (Argentina Strategy) and Giselle Baiguera (Inclusive Circular Economy Program).
The conference opened with a question: how far can we go when a shared purpose transcends established rules? The proposal was to revisit some certainties, broaden perspectives and explore new possibilities for addressing development challenges.
Collective Action Experiences
The event also recognized the Collective Action Experiences. In this first edition, 33 foundations and companies took part. Their initiatives bring together more than 1,700 stakeholders and directly reach more than 2,000 civil society organizations and 2 million people across all 24 Argentine provinces. These figures show the reach that coordinated work can achieve among organizations with diverse capacities, resources and knowledge.
One of the recognized initiatives was Inclusive Recycling. For years, Avina has supported this work through multisectoral partnerships that make visible and value the work of grassroots waste pickers.
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The Collective Action Experiences call set out to understand how collective action processes are unfolding in Argentina. It also aimed to document lessons learned and generate knowledge that strengthens social investment strategies and multi-stakeholder collaboration. The initiative is not an award or a competition between projects. Its purpose is to highlight partnerships, acknowledge lessons learned and share experiences that can guide new forms of collaboration. An evaluation committee of specialists from different fields reviewed the initiatives, and the results will be included in a publication that GDFE will release soon.
From the Individual to the Collective
Throughout the day, the discussion also focused on how to turn the individual capacities of foundations and companies into shared responses to social challenges. GDFE has more than 100 member organizations. Through them, it seeks to strengthen ties among its members, build common agendas and expand collaboration with other actors in the private social investment ecosystem in Argentina and the region.
The 24th Annual Conference closed with an invitation to bring these questions into organizations’ everyday work: rethinking how things are done, broadening conversations and building agreements to tackle shared challenges. Redefining limits also means recognizing that some problems call for new ways of relating, deciding and acting.
