Basic Income – Cornerstone of the Nordic Welfare State

Welcome to a conference launching the pamphlet
Basic Income – Cornerstone of the Nordic Welfare State

29.11.2021 at 10:00 – 17:00 Finnish time (GMT + 2)
in Luckan – the Finland-Swedish information and cultural centre
Georgsgatan (Yrjönkatu) 27, Helsinki, Finland
Organiser: BIEN Finland in cooperation with Luckan.

With this pamphlet, the Nordic Basic Income Earth Networks (BIEN) urge the Nordic governments to introduce universal basic income and show a roadmap for a more just and sustainable world, as well as a more democratic economy.

With the participation of the contributors to the pamphlet and invited guests, the morning session, 10:00 – 13:00, will be devoted to the content of the pamphlet. The afternoon session, 14:00 – 17:00, deals with the financing of universal basic income.

In line with this roadmap, Geoff Crocker will, based on his book Basic Income and Sovereign Money: The Alternative to Economic Crisis and Austerity Policy, elaborate on the affordability of basic income.

The language of both the pamphlet and the conference is English and there will be no translation available.

There are a limited number of places for participation in Luckan. FREE ENTRANCE, and registration is not obligatory, but to make sure you fit in, do register.

REGISTER for the event in order to attend and participate in Luckan: Fill the registration form here: https://forms.gle/XCgMAKXSMzVwsd6e8

(If you are NOT coming to Helsinki to the event, please do not register. You can watch the event live and comment live in written format through YouTube – no registration required.)

The event can be followed live on the BIEN Finland YouTube channel: https://tinyurl.com/bien-finland

Here included the event program (changes may apply):

Conference launching the pamphlet BASIC INCOME – CORNERSTONE OF THE NORDIC WELFARE STATE
Monday 29 November 2021
Place: Luckan, Georgsgatan / Yrjönkatu 27, Helsingfors, Finland

PROGRAM

10:00 – 10:15 Opening the seminar
Welcoming speeches

Morning session 10:15 – 13:00

Presentation of the pamphlet
Presenter Eetu Lehto, Pamphlet editor,
Basic income – cornerstone of the Nordic welfare state. Global challenges and the Nordic welfare state as a role model

  1. Societal change – basic income a stabilising driver, Martin Bruun Michaelsen, Denmark
  2. Universal Basic Income – the best way to accomplish the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (Ingunn Grande & Kristine Endsjø, Norway) presented by Kjel Magne Fagerbakke, Norway
  3. Work as a human value – a challenge to GDP, Vivan Storlund, Finland

11:10 – 11:40 Coffee break

  1. Social Security, Jouko Hemmi, Finland
  2. Peace work, Kaisu Kinnunen, Finland.
  3. A changed perception of work and civil society , Vivan Storlund & Gerdur Palmadottir, Iceland. A pre-recorded round table discussion with the participation of Narcy Calamatta, Malta, Martin Schoenhals, USA and Gudmundur Oddsson, Iceland

13:00 – 14:00 Lunch

14:00 – 17:00
Round table discussions
The need for and feasibility of a basic income, Geoff Crocker, UK
In this session we will discuss an amply needed Copernican Revolution to reshape our assumptions of how money works, its relation to economic policy, and how we can achieve these policies. Geoff Crocker presents his analytic and policy proposal for basic income funded by debt-free sovereign money.

What economic policy should government pursue after the special measures taken to meet the needs caused by the Corona crisis? Here the required new-thinking is needed to avoid the negative consequences of the ways in which the economic meltdown of 2008 was handled.

Geoff Crocker will be joined by persons from the Nordic countries and Finnish think tanks to reflect on these questions.

Patrizio Lainà, Chief Economist at Finnish Confederation of Professionals (STTK) Finland
Halldora Mogensen, Member of Parliament, Pirate Party, Iceland

15:25 – 15:45 Coffee break

Round table discussions continue
Geoff Crocker with pamphlet contributors

Carbon tax, Harald Enoksson, Sweden
UBI as a base for economic democracy, Jan Otto Andersson, Finland
Basic income as an EU social dividend, Erik Christensen, Denmark

General discussion

17:00
Closing of the conference, Jouko Hemmi