The FRIBIS Annual Conference 2022 was entitled “Basic Income and Development” and took place in Freiburg from October 10 to 12 October 2022. In view of the current global crises, the conference posed the question to what extent a basic income could provide viable solutions and generate new perspectives. Would it help to use environmental resources more sustainably, preserve biodiverse habitats and make social communities more resilient? Could it assist people in (post-) conflict regions to establish or secure social peace? Or would it have, as some critics suggest, the opposite effect instead? What are the potentials and risks of a basic income for development practices in the Global South, and how do they relate to concepts of redistribution and justice? These and other questions were addressed at the conference.
Due to the global dimension of the topic, the conference focused on international issues, with the collaboration of scholars and representatives from civil society ensuring a lively exchange.
In addition to three keynote lectures by Sarath Davala, Miram Laker-Oketta and Ugo Gentilini, there were a total of 19 panel sessions in various formats. Thanks to technical support from Meeting Owls, hybrid panels were also offered, allowing participants to discuss the topic with people from all over the world, in Freiburg. Two of the keynotes are now available as films (created by Enno Schmidt) on the FRIBIS-YouTube Channel.
The whole FRIBIS team was very happy with the engagement of the participants and we are already looking forward to the next Annual Conference!