Now!

NOW! is the global movement pushing for humanity to work as One, to solve the biggest challenges of our time.

The idea is that some issues are bigger than countries or even continents, and as a result are not being solved. It is the case of climate change, nuclear proliferation or fiscal justice, but also of many more. Indeed, curbing the effects of climate change, striving to live in a nuclear-weapon-free world, or taxing appropriately multinational digital companies requires a higher level of cooperation between countries, regions, intergovernmental institutions, and even citizens, in every corner of the world.

This is exactly why we created NOW!: we believe that humans from all over the world have a huge power when they unite for a common cause. Thus, from calling for referendums, to lobbying elected officials, organizing protests, levying influencers’ voices, supporting political candidates who stand for our beliefs, and using civil disobedience when needed, we will push for concrete change across continents to fight for our future.

We are launching on January 1st, 2020: we need a new movement for a new decade of change and hope!

The climate crisis is the reality in which we are living because of decades of unchecked pollution, deforestation, over-consumption etc. Without radical changes, the realities of this planet will change so drastically to make life on Earth way more difficult that is today, if not impossible. This has been widely documented by scientists across the world. It’s a crisis as we have very little time left to change the tide, and no choice but to do it! Yet, it’s not being dealt with adequately by governments, nor intergovernmental organizations. The good news is that we already see people uniting across the world and a lot of awareness being created thanks to the amazing job of the youth and of NGOs. Now, we need to ensure that this energy is converted into concrete impact, into laws.

While great examples of global mobilization exist in the digital space or related to a particular topic, there is no other movement that mobilizes people across the world to implement into law clear common solutions to the world’s biggest issues, and to better the current global system of governance.

NOW! aims at filling this vacuum, as a global movement that can leverage youth activism and advance, strategically and conclusively, complex policy solutions on several fronts both in democratic and authoritarian regimes. NOW! will do the work that cannot possibly be done today: join forces across borders, political lines, and issues to bring about simultaneous and radical change. As the movement present everywhere in the world, it will leverage volunteer involvement and advanced campaign methods to strategically and conclusively advance common solutions in the form of legislation across the globe. This means that we will be able to solve global challenges together: our long term goal is for humanity to be able to move forward as One thanks to more transnationalism, and to have solved some existential threats together. We know, that’s no small task, but we can- not wait for others to do good, we ought to try ourselves.

While Andrea and I are two of the three co-founders of Volt, and the two co- founders of NOW!, this is a different endeavour in form, aims and means. Indeed, Volt is a political party present across Europe, with the aim of reforming the EU and working as one on European issues, by running for elections. And it already had a few victories, including by electing someone to the European Parliament. Volt is thus on track and will continue to go forward.

However, despite the successes of many political parties seeking social, environmental and economic progress, we are no closer than three years ago to

curbing the effects of climate change, taxing appropriately multinational digital companies, guaranteeing and uphold- ing the rights of all humans equally, managing earth’s resources in a fair manner or ensuring safe migration. Unfortunately, the list could go on. And time is running out: humankind might become extinct by 2100 because of climate change, and even before in case of nuclear disasters.

And this is exactly why we created NOW!, which on the other hand, is a people’s movement that is global: some issues go beyond countries and continents, and can only be solved together. We need to use peaceful means to push forward legislation in countries and continents across the world that are coherent enough to give us a chance to solve global issues, and push the world to act as one.

In brief, just like a national baseball team cannot play in a global league that does not exist, political parties cannot partake in nonexistent global elections to score a home run. This leaves a vacuum, and a huge one for that matter. And this is where NOW! comes in. Moreover, the non-electoral nature of NOW! will allow for collaboration with political parties, nonprofit groups, business leaders, influencers, etc. NOW! will do the work that can- not possibly be done today: join forces across borders, political lines, and issues to bring about simultaneous and radical change.

On January first, we will launch our 1st global campaign, followed by three others at least in 2020. We will launch those campaigns across continents, testing different methods of mobilization and seeing how they lead to effective change. We already announced the broad thematics, and more details will be published online at the launch: women’s rights, fiscal justice, climate change.

We will at the same time start involving volunteers across the world thanks to our membership system and tech infrastructure, and grow the movement as much as possible!

We decided to do a pre-launch mid- October to sell memberships ahead of the launch and enable us to set up our IT and digital infrastructures (website, design, management software), cover administrative costs (office rent, notary fees, and HR & payroll services), and start hiring.