A Basic Income is a periodic cash payment unconditionally delivered to all on an individual basis, without means-test or work requirement.
The Royal Society of Arts Explains: [2 minutes]
BIEN Congresses
The next annual BIEN Congress will occur in Wrocław, Poland on 15-17th July 2027 https://biencongress2027.org/
The theme will be Basic Income and the Spirit of Solidarity: Pathways to Justice and Equality. Call for papers will be up soon.
The last annual BIEN Congress occurred August 19th-22th at the Toronto Metropolitan University.
See pictures from the 24th BIEN CONGRESS in Maricá & Niterói here.
Recent News, Opinion, and Research
BIEN Congress 2026
Basic Income for the Arts in Ireland – What have we learned after 38 months?
When? Wednesday, December 3, 2025, 6:30-8:00 PM UK GMT Where? Online (Zoom) UBI Lab Arts, UBI Lab Leeds, UBI Lab Network and Basic Income Ireland present: Please join us for the seventh in our special series of discussions dedicated to reflecting on what we can learn...
A Research Agenda for Basic Income, originally published in hardback in 2023, is now available in paperback
Malcolm Torry's handbook, A Research Agenda for Basic Income, has now been published in paperback and as an e-book. To access the publication, click here.
Cook County Makes Guaranteed Income Permanent in 2026 Budget Proposal
"CHICAGO, IL – As working families struggle amidst an affordability crisis, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle is taking bold action to make Cook County’s guaranteed income program permanent, putting money directly back in the pockets of working families....
Overview of the Basic Income for the Arts in Ireland pilot
In September 2020, the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media Catherine Martin set up the Arts and Culture Taskforce which was tasked with producing a report on how the arts and culture sector could adapt and recover from the COVID-19...
BIEN Asia-Pacific at the Asia-Pacific Social Forum 2025 Conference in Bangkok, Thailand
As part of the Asia-Pacific Social Forum 2025: Another World is Possible, a special programme titled “Towards Dignity, Freedom, and Justice: Building a Future of Care through Universal Basic Income” will be held on November 2, 2025 (Day 2) from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m....
Mayors, Counties, and Legislators for a Guaranteed Income release reports on 25 pilot programs in the U.S.
They're out! MGI, CGI, and LGI have released data from 25 guaranteed income pilot programs from across the country. One thing is crystal clear: guaranteed income works. Here are the top lines: Improved financial resilience: Over and over again, researchers found a...
UBI Lab Network online workshop on 5 November
As part of the Ethical Consumer Conference in London on 7 November 'How can we move beyond corporate power?' (https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/about/ethical-consumer-conference ) UBI Lab Network will offer an online workshop on 5 November, 16 - 17 hrs 'How a Universal...
Why South Korea became a ‘hot spot’ for basic income
In a landmark event at Korea's National Assembly, Sarath Davala, Chairman of the Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN), declared South Korea a "hot spot" in the global push for basic income. The forum, hosted by Hyosang Ahn, Chair of the Basic Income Korean Network...
Taiwan national legislators discuss youth basic income with BIEN’s chairman
Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan hosted Sarath Davala, chairman of the Basic Income Earth Network this month. He was joined by national legislators Mr. Sean Liao and Dr. Juchun Ko, with civil society groups, Bitcoin, blockchain and cryptocurrency advocates, as well as UBI...
Claus Offe
In memoriam On October 1, 2025, one of the co-founders of BIEN, Claus Offe died in Berlin, the city in which he was born on March 16,1940. He was one of Germany’s most distinguished sociologists, associated with the Frankfurt School of thought. He long identified...
This post is not meant to change anyone's mind about the need for Universal Basic Income. If you don't support it, I'm not here today to convince you otherwise. This post is meant for all those who already know they, and everybody else, absolutely need UBI and who...