ATTENTION: FINAL DEADLINE FOR PAPER SUBMISSION EXTENDED!
We announce that the deadline for paper submission for the 24th Congress of the Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN) has been extended to March 20th. This is the final deadline to submit your proposal.
If you haven’t submitted your work yet, you can find the details of the call here. Submissions for panels, papers, posters, and cultural productions are welcome in English, Spanish, or Portuguese. The 24th Congress of the BIEN will take place from August 27 to 29, 2025, in the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
In addition to the main Congress event, taking place in Niterói, two pre-congress events will be held in the city of Maricá:
• Latin America Day – August 25 • Early Career Day – August 26: You can find the call for papers for this day here.
Event registration is available at a discounted rate for early-bird participants until April 30. See you in Brazil! Information: www.bien2025.com.br
The 24th Congress of the Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN) will take place from August 27 to 29, 2025, in the cities of Niterói and Maricá, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The call for papers is open until February 18. Submissions for panels, papers, posters, and cultural productions are welcome in English, Spanish, or Portuguese.
Calendar
Event registration is available at a discounted rate for early-bird participants untilApril 30. In addition to the main Congress event, taking place in Niterói, two pre-congress events will be held in the city of Maricá:
• Latin America Day – August 25 • Early Career Day – August 26: You can find the call for papers for this day here. We look forward to welcoming you to Brazil! More information: www.bien2025.com.br
Steven Janssens is a Belgian filmmaker and engineer known for his diverse career as a director, editor, and trainer. He gained recognition for documenting Crazy Money (2020), a film capturing the Eight project in Busibi, Uganda, where residents receive unconditional basic income. His extensive filmography includes the documentary Wardje (2004), Point Off U (2007), and contributions to Kongo (2010). Steven has worked on award-winning projects like Atoma by Brepols (2012) and web documentaries like Het Antwerpgevoel (2010), and most recent film Blind Spots (instagram: @blindspotsthefilm). Combining technical expertise and creative vision, Steven continues to explore impactful storytelling through innovative and socially conscious filmmaking. Janssens talks about collaborating with sociologist Maarten Goethals to provide unconditional cash transfers in impoverished African communities, including Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Inspired by the transformative potential of basic income, Janssens produced Crazy Money, documenting their pilot project in Busibi, Uganda. By partnering with the University of Antwerp, Eight measured the program’s impact on education, healthcare, and entrepreneurship. Janssens emphasizes trust and autonomy, noting significant improvements in life satisfaction and community development. Eight’s efforts now expand to Côte d’Ivoire, addressing poverty, climate resilience, and gender equality through evidence-based, scalable interventions.
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Today, we’re here with Steven Janssens, a Belgian documentary filmmaker who co-founded the nonprofit Eight, established in 2015. You founded this organization with sociologist Maarten Goethals. What was the original inspiration behind Eight, and why did you focus specifically on underserved communities in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo?
“Natalie Foster believes in creating economic resilience for families. She says income inequality is a real problem; some people work three jobs just to stay afloat.
Foster, who serves as the president and co-founder of the Economic Security Project, was a guest on Wednesday’s edition of “Closer Look.” She talked with host Rose Scott about how guaranteed-income initiatives are transforming the lives of families across the country.
Foster also discussed her new book, “The Guarantee: Inside the Fight for America’s Next Economy.” The book explores what it would be like if all Americans were guaranteed housing, health care, a college education, dignified work, family care, an inheritance and a stable income.”
To listen to the report by LaShaw Hudson of WABE, click here.
“The dominant economic model is destabilizing societies. And the planet. It is time for change It is time for a basic income, too.
A memorandum signed worldwide by 39 renowned scientists and activists for basic income and 35 basic income organisations and networks from almost all continents points out the connection between basic income and socio-ecological transformation. According to the signatories, basic income is also a building block for climate justice. The memorandum will be sent to various UN organisations, the Club of Rome and leading European media in the coming days.
The memorandum is based on the demands of hundreds of scientists from Europe and of the report to the Club of Rome on basic income. It sharpens their analyses: “Global warming and the ongoing exploitation and destruction of nature are caused by the prevailing mode of production and life.” The profit and profit-driven utilisation of the environment and resources must come to an end. “A socio-ecological transformation must be oriented towards the needs of all people as well as towards fundamental ecological requirements – and must stop climate change immediately. Care for people and care for nature belong together. These are sustainable values, not the accumulation of superfluous goods to maintain the prevailing system of production and consumption.”
A basic income would reduce the existential pressure of having to accept even the most ecologically disastrous wage labour. It would also reduce the existential fear of necessary changes in the economy and society. It would promote a radical reduction in working hours and the democratic organisation of the socio-ecological transformation.
The memorandum argues in favour of the basic income movement, the ecological and feminist movements and other social movements coming together.
“Let us fight together for a world in which all people can live a good life on a healthy planet.”
ATTENTION: FINAL DEADLINE FOR PAPER SUBMISSION EXTENDED!
We announce that the deadline for paper submission for the 24th Congress of the Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN) has been extended to March 20th. This is the final deadline to submit your proposal.
If you haven’t submitted your work yet, you can find the details of the call here. Submissions for panels, papers, posters, and cultural productions are welcome in English, Spanish, or Portuguese.
The 24th Congress of the BIEN will take place from August 27 to 29, 2025, in the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
In addition to the main Congress event, taking place in Niterói, two pre-congress events will be held in the city of Maricá:
Event registration is available at a discounted rate for early-bird participants until April 30. See you in Brazil!
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