From September 19 through 25, Basic Income groups and advocates worldwide have organized events in honor of the ninth International Basic Income Week.

Basic Income Week was initiated in 2008 by the German basic income advocate Günter Sölken. At that time, individuals and groups in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland joined in raising awareness about basic income. In subsequent years, participation in Basic Income Week expanded throughout other European countries.

In 2015, during the eighth International Basic Income Week, events were organized outside of Europe for the first time.

This year’s Basic Income Week will again feature a wide array of lectures, debates, and other events throughout the globe.

bi-week-call-for-participation

The following are only a small sample of the multitude of activities:

• In Germany, the new political party Bündnis Grundeinkommen (Facebook)–a single-issue party dedicated to establishing a universal basic income in Germany–is preparing to launch at an event in Munich on Sunday, September 25.

For more information, see the September 15 Press Release from Moritz Meisel (in German).

Sascha Liebermann has also announced the founding of Bündnis Grundeinkommen in a recent blog post (also in German).

• In New Zealand, BIEN’s affiliate BINZ has organized a roadshow (as previously reported in Basic Income News). The team has already been on the road for much of the past month, traveling about New Zealand’s north island to discuss basic income.

Basic Income discussion with BINZ car in background

Basic Income discussion with BINZ car in background

During Basic Income Week, the roadshow will be in Auckland.  

• In Denmark, BIEN Denmark has organized the Nordic Conference on Basic Income Pilots, which will be held on September 22 and 23. This conference–with a list of guest speakers that comprises many international experts–will examine issues surrounding the design, implementation, and analysis of basic income experiments, with specific application to the Nordic Model.

It will also include a special dinner with entertainment from the Zirkus Orchestra, who have made this promotional video for the event:

• In The Netherlands, a variety of local meetings and discussions are planned. These events include, among others, the discussion of basic income as part of the European Social Innovation Week in Tilburg and a lecture by Rutger Bregman, author of the popular basic income book Utopia for Realists, at the Delft University of Technology. 

By a happy coincidence, the first parliamentary debate about universal basic income will coincide with the first day of Basic Income Week, though this was not planned as a Basic Income Week event.  

• In Ireland, BIEN’s affiliate Basic Income Ireland has arranged a “photo op at the gates of the Leinster House, the seat of the Irish Parliament.

Leinster House CC BY-NC 2.0 James Stringer

Leinster House CC BY-NC 2.0 James Stringer

• Debates and discussions have been organized in countries including the Czech Republic, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Britain, Austria, Canada, and others.

View the complete calendar of events — and add your own events as well — at the official website of International Basic Income Week.


Cover image CC BY-SA 2.0 Stan Jourdan