Mar 04 2019
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Basic Income & Social Rights: Local and European Perspectives (Bologna)

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Event Background

This event is part of the Green European Foundation transnational project Basic Income – European Public Debate.

Basic income has emerged in recent years as a potential tool to reverse the current issues facing society, such as lack of affordable housing and access to education and healthcare, income inequality and disparity between generations.

As basic income gradually permeates into mainstream debates and factors like technological advancements change our understanding of work, it is important to explore how such a scheme could be implemented, and the impact it would have on social rights at the local and European level.

About the Event

This workshop will be held as a side event of the Federation of Young European Greens (FYEG) four day educational event on social rights, and organised with the support of FYEG.

It will bring together young people locally and from across Europe, with international participants including those from FYEG member organisations, social movements, and trade unions.

Participants will learn via roundtable discussions about basic income, existing pilot projects and the connection with social rights. They will identify the pressing requirements to make such a scheme a reality.

Programme

The workshop will be divided into three parts, with breaks in between:

  • The presentation of the GEF publication European Green Perspectives on Basic Income will provide an introduction to the basic income concept and describe successes and limitations of past pilot projects, and discuss the results of research into the impact of basic income schemes on access to housing, education, healthcare and employment.
  • Two fishbowl-style dialogues will serve as a basis to discuss the challenges and solutions to basic income implementation. This part will touch upon the need for certain infrastructure to be in place and the challenges associated with competing views of basic income.
  • Finally, roundtable discussions will delve deeper into the realisation of basic income on the local and European level, with a focus on connecting the two levels together and how basic income could strengthen social rights at these levels.

Speakers

  • Natalie Bennett, GEF Board of Directors
  • Alex Foti, author of the General Theory of the Precariat

Registration

The workshop will be free and open to everyone but subject to registration. You can register by filling in this form. Deadline for registration is Sunday, 21 April 2019, midnight CET.

Language

The event will be held in English but whispered translation from English into Italian can be provided on the spot.

For further updates, check out the Facebook event.

Feb 18 2019
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European Green Perspectives on Basic Income

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Throughout 2017 and 2018, the Green European Foundation transnational project Basic Income for all EU Citizens? focused on basic income and investigated the proposal’s potential in relation to employment, the recognition of work beyond paid work, and the gendered division of labour.

This collection of articles brings together experts on basic income from all across Europe, to debate and clarify different aspects of the topic and help develop proposals. The aim of the publication is to inspire the next steps in promoting the basic income discussion, one which encompasses some of the biggest challenges faced by society today.

In 2019, GEF will continue its work on basic income and contributing to transnational discussion with the project Basic Income – European Public Debate. 

Download

Available in Spanish

 

Oct 09 2018
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Chicken or Egg – Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN) Congress Summary

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Chicken or Egg – End Neoliberalism and Deliver Basic Income, or use Basic Income to End Neoliberalism?

Natalie Bennett was in Finland as part of the Green European Foundation’s expert group for a transnational project on Universal Basic Income, initiated in 2017.

In the framework of the “Basic Income for all EU Citizens?” transnational project, the GEF expert group, comprising Basic Income experts from Finland, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Serbia, and the United Kingdom, ateended the BIEN Congress to discuss the latest developments in the studies and application of the Basic Income models across Europe.

In addition to their participation in the conference, the expert group came together in a meeting organised by GEF to facilitate the development of the GEF Basic Income project.

GEF was present throughout the Congress, displaying and disseminating the outcomes of various GEF projects related to the topic.

 

Read the article in Spanish.

Aug 13 2018
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UBI - Basic Income

Technological Unemployment and Basic Income (Budapest)

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Context

Technological change causes short-term job losses, that can ultimately lead to lasting increases in unemployment. Especially among young people in Europe, unemployment is already extremely high and unequal distribution of common resources, shrinking of social security and lack of access to low-skilled jobs deepens the insecurity about the future of work. To counter the erosion of the 20th century welfare state and the increasing youth precariousness, new ideas  have to be put forward on how society’s wealth can be distributed in a just way.

About the event

In the framework of this year’s Basic Income for all EU Citizens? transnational project, we will host this particular workshop to have a closer look at the prospects of a Universal Basic Income to combat youth precariousness and will especially address the following questions:

  • What is technological unemployment, what are its possible consequences and how does it relate to young people?
  • What are policy answers to technological unemployment and what kind of role could Basic Income play?
  • What are the digital tools we can use and what is the strategy to advocate for Basic Income in a digital world?

The workshop will be hosted at the Federation of Young Europeans’ week-long training “Common Digital (R)evolution”.

Programme

During this workshop, young Green activists from all across Europe will learn more about technological unemployment and its relation to basic income from Lilja Tamminen, Director Of Operations & Product Management at a computer software company, former Deputy Member of the Helsinki City Hall and expert on technological (un)employment.

Furthermore, the participants of the workshop will receive practical tools during a hands-on training session to argue for basic income as a means to move towards a more just society.

For more info on the event and how to participate, contact office@fyeg.org

Jul 13 2018
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UBI - Basic Income

GEF at the BIEN Congress 2018 (Tampere)

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Context

In the framework of the “Basic Income for all EU Citizens?” transnational project, the GEF experts’ group, comprised of Basic Income experts from Finland, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Serbia, and the United Kingdom, will attend the BIEN Congress to discuss the latest developments in the studies and application of the Basic Income models across Europe. In addition to their participation in the conference, the experts’ group will come together in a meeting organised by GEF to facilitate the development of the GEF Basic Income project.

GEF will be present throughout the entire Congress displaying and disseminating the outcomes of various GEF projects related to the topic.

About the event

The 2018 BIEN Congress plans to build on the growing interest in Basic Income by inviting activists, stakeholders, policymakers, students and researchers to discuss the promises of Basic Income against the background of the need for a “new universalism”. The 2018 Congress is entitled “Basic Income and the New Universalism: Rethinking the Welfare State in the 21st Century”.

BIEN 2018 features a Film Festival with a dozen productions from around the world on the topic of Basic Income. The Film Festival will run alongside the congress and can be visited by Congress participants but is also open to the general public. The Congress language is English.

For more information about the conference and registration, visit the website of the BIEN 2018.

Jun 22 2018
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Fighting for Our Common Planet (Selce)

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Context

The Summer Camp ‘Fighting for Our Common Planet’ is part of Federation of Young European Greens’ annual project on commons. Commons refer to shared resources and social practices that are maintained by communities in a sustainable manner. Good management of commons offers a sustainable and accessible alternative to the current centralised and dominant role of the state and market.

The Summer Camp will focus on environmental commons, particularly on how the climate can be managed in a sustainable, inclusive and participatory way.

About the event

A central part of the programme – ‘Climate Change Summer Workshop’, organised by the Green European Foundation – is built around Climate Change. It aims to increase awareness of the importance of combating climate change among Young Greens, and a better understanding of climate negotiations and what actions are needed on the EU and national level to make a difference. Moreover, young people will be trained to bring climate change into the public debate and make it a relevant subject.

Programme

Friday July 27

12:00-13:30 ‘Looking into the Paris Agreement’

​Introduction to climate negotiations – understanding how international stakeholders cooperate to mitigate temperature rises and adapt to climate change. We will look into what the Paris Agreement brought to the table, what were the commitments by different European countries, and how far are we in reaching them. From FYEG’s Climate Change Working group we will learn the relation between the European Union and nation states when it comes to national policies related to climate change.

14:30-16:00 ‘Towards the climate change solutions’ ​(with a livestream)

Three guest speakers coming from different backgrounds are invited to discuss the main challenges faced within international climate negotiations and in the elaboration of European Climate Policies (Mitigation, adaptation, North/South Solidarity, Transfer of knowledge, Loss and damage, etc.). The panel will address questions such as: Why is COP24 in Poland important? What policies are planned in relation to combating climate change around Europe and in the EU? What changes can we expect in the upcoming elections in regards to climate change policies? Is Europe ready to mitigate the consequences of climate change? What are the next steps in the fight against climate change and what are the entry points through which young people can influence the outcome of climate negotiations?

Speakers: Yan Dupas​, Political advisor in the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament (tbc); Kelsey de Porte​, Jonge Klimaatbeweging; Luka Tomac,​ Green Action/Friends of the Earth Croatia (tbc); Moderator: ​Zuzana Pavelkova,​ FYEG’s co-spokesperson

Saturday July 28

12:00-13:30 ‘Storytelling about Climate’

With the engagement of a guest-trainer from the Green European Journal (tbc) and a famous French vlogger Vincent Verzat (Partager C’est Sympa), participants will be trained about efficient ways of communicating climate change to a wider audience. Emphasis of the training will be put on how to create a positive narrative on combating climate change, and how to incentivise people about the issue. The program will be based on the principles of ​non-formal education​ and intercultural learning. We strive for an active, inclusive and direct communication and sharing of knowledge.

Practicalities:

The workshop is open to the public. Those interested can receive information about available places at project.manager@fyeg.org.

 

The event ‘Climate Change Summer Workshop’ is organised by the Green European Foundation with the support of the Federation of Young European Greens and with the financial support of the European Parliament to the Green European Foundation.

Jun 21 2018
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It’s Our Turn! Congress of Young Europeans (Prague)

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About the event

At the four-day congress in Prague, selected participants will have the chance to come together in a historically important Central European capital to discuss their visions of Europe’s future. Participants will reflect on the protest movements from 1968 and 1989 and debate issues that concern them today as well as ways in which they can mobilise to shape the future for the better. In addition to this, the Green European Foundation (GEF) will contribute to the congress with a pre-event online course, providing for a common knowledge base for all participants, as well as a platform for debates ahead of their trip to Prague.

Programme:

Thursday August 30

18:00-22:00 Opening event and dinner reception

Friday 31 August

9:30-10:30 Welcome and introduction

Ellen Ueberschär, Heinrich Böll Foundation, Germany

Carlotta Weber, Green European Foundation, Belgium

Teo Comet, Federation of Young European Greens, Belgium

10:30-12:30 ‘It’s Our Turn’ – plenary discussion about young activists, politicians, artists and public engagement

Moderation: Özge Kara, Cooperation and Development Network Eastern Europe, Serbia

Václav Kříž, Mladí občané, city councillor in Krásno, Czech Republic

Sergey Lagodinsky, Heinrich Böll Foundation, Germany

Vincent Madeline, Europe Écologie-Les Verts, France

Maria Demisheva, Feminist Workshop, Ukraine

14:00-17:30 City walks in Prague

17:30-19:30 Film screening: ‘Leave/Stay’ followed by discussion with Mariann Dósa, School of Public Life, Hungary, and László Józsa, Film producer, Hungary

19:30-20:30 Dinner

20:30-22:30 Screening of the film “Jan Palach”by Robert Sedláček (2018, English subtitles)

Saturday September 1

9:30-10:00 Introduction of the community space Studio ALTA

10:00-12:00 WORKSHOPS: Protest Movements and Activism

  • Elections, protest movements ad the role of young people – School of Public Life, Hungary
  • The use of artistic tools in contemporary activism – Studio ALTA, Czech Republic
  • Human Rights Workshop – Panoptykon Foundation, Poland
  • “The spirit of 1968”: What it was and what is left – Heinrich Böll Foundation, Germany

12:00-13:30 Lunch

13:30-15:30 Participants’ presentations and discussion

15:30-16:00 Coffee break

16:00-18:00 WORKSHOPS: Our Role in Public Spaces

  • Manage your town! – Mladí Občané, Czech Republic
  • Art and culture shaping public spaces – Studio ALTA, Czech Republic
  • “We started from the bottom, now we are here” – interactive workshop with urban activists from Eastern Europe – Cooperation and Development Network Eastern Europe, Serbia
  • Children in Urban Development – Milota Siorová, Urbanist, Slovakia
  • Housing in European cities – Czech Young Greens

18:00-19:30 Dinner

19:30-21:00 PANEL DISCUSSION: The Future of Democracy in Europe – How to defend the core values of open and plural societies?

Moderation: Agata Skrzypczyk, Journalist, Poland

Lluis Camprubi, Iniciativa per Catalunya Verds, Catalonia – Spain

Vít Havelka, Europeum, Czech Republic

Terry Reintke, Member of European Parliament for Greens/EFA, Germany

Ellen Ueberschär, Heinrich Böll Foundation, Germany

Sunday September 2

9:30-11:30 WORKSHOPS: Our Future of Europe

  • European Green Activism – Green European Foundation, Belgium
  • Safeguarding Democracy in the EU – Heinrich Böll Foundation, Germany, and Linda Schneider, Humboldt University Berlin, Germany
  • The Role of Youth in Shaping Europe – Federation of Young Europeans
  • “Migration is our Encounter with Globalisation!”: A Future Lab on the EU’s Migration Policy – Heinrich Böll Foundation, Germany, and Ali Nobil Ahmad, Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient, Germany

11:30-12:00 Coffee break

11:45-13:30 Presentations from workshops – Follow-up

13:30-14:45 Lunch

14:45-16:00 Evaluation and closing

16:30-19:00 Film screenings and discussion in cooperation with the JIHLAVA Film Festival

19:00-20:00 Dinner

20:00-22:00 Farewell Party with a concert of Šarbilach Orchestr

 

This event is organised by the Green European Foundation in collaboration with the Heinrich Böll Foundation Prague.

Mar 12 2018
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UBI - Basic Income

Universal Basic Income – a Green Answer to the Future Challenges of the Labour Market? (Antwerp)

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Context

In 2017, the Green European Foundation started, with the support of different national partner foundations a transnational project on basic income with the objective to refine the concepts behind Universal Basic Income and contribute to the Europeanisation of the debate while taking into consideration the huge differences of social security systems across Europe. To this end, we formed a basic income expert group with representatives of Spain, Catalonia, Switzerland, Germany, Serbia, Belgium and Greece. In 2018, the focus of the ‘Basic Income for all EU Citizens?‘ project lies on the financial concepts and on formulating first ideas for a European pilot project on basic income that can deliver comparable results for different European countries.

About the event

During this session, we aim to make the link of those discussions to the broader debate on the future of work and whether basic income can become part of the Green answer to the challenges the labour market is currently facing. At the same time, the session shall serve as an opportunity to exchange on examples and different ideas of Green parties across Europe.

We will organise an interactive session, using the “fish bowl” method: the discussion starts in a semi-circle with one moderator and the three panelists and two empty chairs; after the  first input by the moderator and the three panelists, the audience is invited to fill the empty chairs and take the role of panelists themselves; after the input the chairs have to be left to other participants.

Finally, the workshop will provide an opportunity to present the results of a planned survey we launched on the state of play of the UBI debate within the different Green parties across Europe as well as in the national public discourses.

Moderators

Ville Ylikahri, GEF Board Member, Secretary General in the Green Cultural and Education Centre – Visio in Finland, representative of project expert group for Finland;

 

 

Susanne Rieger, GEF Co-President, responsible for European issues and European relations in the Catalan Green foundation Fundació Nous Horitzons (FNH), Project coordinator of the GEF transnational project on Basic Income.

 

 

 

Speakers

  • Wolfgang Strengmann-Kuhn, Member of Parliament, Germany
  • Julen Bollain, Member of the Basque Parliament, economist & researcher specialised in unconditional basic income, Spain
  • Predrag Momcilovic, Executive Committee Member Federation of Young European Greens, journalist, PhD student on political ecology and degrowth, Serbia
  • Irina Studhalter, Local Councillor Lucerne & political campaigner, Switzerland
  • Natalie Bennett, politician and journalist, former leader of Green Party of England and Wales, United Kingdom

 

Stay tuned for updates

Subscribe to our Facebook event, where you will receive reminders and the latest news on content. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter to learn about our other activities.

 

Feb 27 2018
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Congress of Young Europeans (Prague)

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At the four-day Congress, taking place from 30 August to 2 September in Prague, selected participants from all over Europe will have a chance to come together in this beautiful and especially historically important Central European capital to discuss their visions of Europe’s future.

The main theme of this year’s Congress of Young Europeans is protest and activism in time: How activism in the past has shaped our present, and how the young generation of today can shape our future.

  • Are you already involved in European matters or do you feel the need?
  • Are you interested in sharing your visions, knowledge and ideas?
  • Are you below 30?

APPLY to the Congress of Young Europeans and become part of a young and innovative European network!

The working language of the congress will be English.

The organisers will cover the travel costs and accommodation for all selected participants of the Prague Congress of Young Europeans. The number of spots is limited to 60 participants. Application deadline is 6 April 2018!

Download the call: Call CYE

Application form

Jan 03 2018
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Basic Income Greece Project

Constraints Against and Prospects Towards the Implementation of the Basic Income in Greece Within the Crisis

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This report is one of the outcomes of GEF’s transnational project on Basic Income. Within this framework two study visits and multiple discussions on the topic took place.

The demand for securing all members of society against life’s adversities and the negative effects caused from social structures has been an ongoing concern of all social formations. From a historical point of view, this need was expressed in various forms in different times throughout history, ranging from food distribution to the poor in the times of the great empires (i.e. Egyptian Empire) and the charities of the monasteries in Middle Ages, to a universal basic income for all, the major social demand in late capitalism.

In contemporary industrial and post-industrial capitalism, this demand is expressed in two distinct political proposals: The first one focuses on unconditional universal basic income for all members of society irrespective of their financial status (Van Parijs, 1992) and the second one focuses on conditional basic income exclusively for those in unfavourable situation – if not in the most unfavourable situation – with respect to acceptable levels of living.

Read about the Finnish Basic Income Model here.

Dec 18 2017
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Basic Income Model of the Finnish Greens

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This report is one of the outcomes of GEF’s transnational project on Basic Income. Within this framework two study visits and multiple discussions on the topic took place.

The Finnish Greens have been talking about the possibility of a basic income since 1980’s. Initially the term ‘citizen’s wage’ was used, but in the 1990s the term ‘basic income’ became standard. 2007 marked a big step forward in the basic income debate; that year, the Greens presented their first comprehensive basic income model. It established for the first time that a transition to a basic income model is possible. The basic income model was calculated using micro-simulation modelling as a cost-neutral and feasible model with a view to showing how Finnish social security could be organised in a new way so that it would be more just and supportive for everyone. In 2007, the Greens proposed that a basic monthly income of €440 be distributed to all Finns, and that a related tax reform be implemented.

Because the Finnish social security system was reformed and the associated minimum benefits improved, the Greens needed to update their basic income model. This update was done in 2014. The basic income level was then set at €560, which is still equivalent to the minimum level of social security for an unemployed person. The Greens’ 2014 basic income model did not restate the objectives of the model, since these were detailed in the context of a paper published with the 2007 model. This model has also been translated into English. The basic income model presented by the Greens in 2014 is still highly topical. When they published the model, the Greens insisted on a pilot study of the basic income, which the current Government of Finland has now implemented. In the basic income pilot, a small number of unemployed people receive a basic income of €560, which they will not lose even if they find work or receive other income. The pilot study is in many respects incomplete, but it is nevertheless yet another step towards realising the utopian idea of the basic income in practice.

The Finnish Greens based the calculations for their 2014 model on the micro-simulations calculated by the Finnish Parliament’s information service. The analysis based on the simulations can be accessed at www.vihreat.fi/perustulo (in Finnish). The analysis was very thorough, and it also showed many of the problem areas in the basic income model. For example, it argued that it is very difficult to combine the basic income with housing benefits. Nor does the basic income model also remove all economic disincentives. Even so, the analysis does provide a credible basis for the model proposed.

Next, the Finnish Greens aim to modify the model on the basis of the results of the ongoing pilot study. At the same time, the Greens have started discussing how housing benefits can be combined with the basic income model, and how implementing the real-time income register could enable social security automation as intended by the basic income model.

Nov 17 2017
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Possibilities and Perspectives for Basic Income around Europe (Leuven)

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This event is a part of our transnational project, which aspires to contribute to the discussion on basic income and aims to further explore social and fair solutions to increasing inequality within the European societies.

Debate in Leuven

This debate will provide new perspectives on how basic income could be organised on European level. We will gather relevant experts from different parts of Europe to share insights and research possibilities for basic income in different parts of Europe, with a special focus on the youth.  Furthermore, we will discuss different models of basic income and how they can affect society on economic, social, environmental and feminist levels.

The list of panelists includes:

  • Irina Studhalter, Member of Swiss young Greens, local councilor and part of the GEF Basic Income expert group (Switzerland);
  • Simo Raittila, Member of the party council of the Finnish Greens Vihreät – De Gröna, researcher (Finland);
  • Cinta Gonzalez Sentis, Member of Catalan Young Greens (Catalonia).

The debate will be moderated by Predrag Momčilović, FYEG Executive Committee member and part of the GEF Basic Income expert group (Serbia).

For more information to attend the event, send an email to project.manager@fyeg.org.

Jul 18 2017
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Migration Workshop at FYEG Summer Camp

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This event is a part of our ongoing transnational project “My Life According to me”: A New Narrative on Migration in Europe which aims to provide new positive narratives for migration in Europe and to counter the negative perception of migratory processes.

Therefore, our workshops at the FYEG Summer Camp aimed to empower young Greens to contribute to the creation of more welcoming and inclusive societies for migrants and refugees. A group of experts provided insights and practical skills for the participants on how to successfully shape positive narratives on migration and generate impact.

Date: 30 July 2017

 

Jan 09 2017
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Building up for Paris: COP21

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2015 is a crucial year for climate negotiations. The current agreement – the Kyoto Protocol – is in its final commitment period (2013-2020) and this year marks the deadline for world leaders to reach a new agreement. As the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) states, this agreement could be in the form of “a protocol, another legal instrument or an agreed outcome with legal force under the Convention applicable to all Parties”, which will enter into force post-2020 in order to keep global warming below 2°C.

Over the year, the Parties met at different sessions. The most recent one took place in Bonn in June and there will another session in the beginning September. These events all pave the way towards the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP) that will be held in Paris in December, where the negotiations will peak.

The chapters in the report are structured as follows: chapter two provides a summary of the history of COPs since the UNFCCC was created by the Parties following the Earth Summit in 1992. The third chapter assesses what is at stake in Paris. In the fourth chapter, we discuss the legal nature that a Paris deal could adopt.

The fifth chapter provides a deeper analysis on a core principle guiding the negotiations: common but differentiated responsibilities. The sixth and the seventh chapters give an insight on the broader concepts of mitigation and adaptation in the context of the UNFCCC negotiations.

The eighth chapter focuses on the CBDR principle and the notion that the implementation of the Convention worldwide needs financial mechanisms. This chapter is followed by a critical perspective on market mechanism, before moving on to discuss land-use, land-use change and forestry in the tenth chapter – giving an insight on the broader topic of agriculture within the UNFCCC.

To follow, the eleventh chapter deals with another part of the Convention, essential for its implementation but often forgotten: education. The twelfth chapter focuses on the blockers in the UNFCCC process, divided in two parts: the countries analysed through their group position (Umbrella and EU); and the business and industry networks. Finally, the publication concludes with the elaboration of possible scenarios for the COP in Paris.