<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">---------- Forwarded message ----------<br>From: <b class="gmail_sendername"></b> <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:stephen@complementarycurrency.org">stephen@complementarycurrency.org</a>></span><br>
Date: Mon, Feb 13, 2012 at 4:55 PM<br>Subject: [cc_research] Fw: Strategies for a New Economy/Registration Open<br>To: <a href="mailto:cc_research@complementarycurrency.org">cc_research@complementarycurrency.org</a><br><br>
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Complementary Currency Resource Center<br>
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-----Original Message-----<br>
From: New Economics <<a href="mailto:neweconomics@neweconomicsinstitute.org">neweconomics@neweconomicsinstitute.org</a>><br>
Date: Sat, 11 Feb 2012 16:02:52<br>
To: <<a href="mailto:stephen@complementarycurrency.org">stephen@complementarycurrency.org</a>><br>
Subject: Strategies for a New Economy/Registration Open<br>
<br>
Dear Stephen DeMeulenaere<br>
<br>
We are at a turning point in history. Rising temperatures are now<br>
recognized as a sign of a planet in crisis. Inequities between rich and<br>
poor, North and South, grow ever deeper.<br>
<br>
The global economy has failed in its promise to produce and deliver basic<br>
goods in an efficient manner for an expanding population, leaving increasing<br>
numbers in abject poverty.<br>
<br>
The environmental crisis, the equity crisis, and the crisis of distributed<br>
production, all have their roots in the current economic system with<br>
implications for our culture, our society, and for our health and<br>
well-being.<br>
<br>
What would an economy built on principles of fairness and sustainability<br>
look like? How do we model it; where is it emerging; how do we collectively<br>
strategize to fully implement it? These are the pressing questions of our<br>
time.<br>
<br>
In response, the New Economics Institute is convening "Strategies for a New<br>
Economy," a conference June 8-10th at Bard College on the Hudson River in<br>
New York State. It will gather together what are often diverse and<br>
scattered efforts to reshape our economic system, place them under one tent,<br>
and raise the flag to announce that transitioning to a new economy will mean<br>
engaging politicians, researchers, media, educators, citizen activists,<br>
business leaders, financial experts, scientists, union workers, cultural<br>
leaders, advocates for the disenfranchised, and youth -- all working<br>
together to achieve a common goal.<br>
<br>
The three-day conference will include over 60 workshops, plenary gatherings,<br>
and participatory strategizing sessions organized in 10 theme areas (see<br>
below). "Strategies for a New Economy" will highlight best research and best<br>
practice under each theme and ultimately demonstrate that a decentralized,<br>
sustainable, cooperative economy is already taking shape, offering a<br>
strategy for action.<br>
<br>
Registration is now open. <a href="http://www.neweconomicsinstitute.org/conference" target="_blank">http://www.neweconomicsinstitute.org/conference</a><br>
We invite you to be part of the dialogue.<br>
<br>
Best wishes,<br>
Susan Witt on behalf of the staff and board of directors of<br>
New Economics Institute<br>
<a href="http://www.neweconomicsinstitute.org" target="_blank">www.neweconomicsinstitute.org</a> <br>
<br>
Strategies for a New Economy<br>
Conference Themes<br>
<br>
1. Visioning and Modeling the New Economy: Shared Prosperity within<br>
Planetary Limits<br>
<br>
What will a new/green/resilient/just/sustainable economy look like and how<br>
do we get there from here? That is the question addressed under this theme,<br>
providing a framework, a long view on the subject. Workshops will cover<br>
historic examples, systems thinking approaches, economic modeling tools,<br>
grass roots community planning, and leadership training for a new economy.<br>
<br>
2. Banking and Financing a New Economy: Scale, Criteria, Innovation<br>
<br>
The current global banking and financing system has failed us, creating<br>
havoc with national and regional economies, and leading to real life<br>
personal tragedies in lost jobs and lost homes. How might an alternative<br>
system be structured that promotes long-term sustainable development rather<br>
than short-term value? Presentations will include talks on public,<br>
cooperative and community banking, citizen-organized community financing<br>
programs, radical impact investing, and the role of government in financial<br>
reform.<br>
<br>
3. Measuring Well Being: Alternative Indicators of Wealth and Progress<br>
<br>
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has long been used by economists to measure<br>
wealth and progress, but is it really a measure of our well-being? The<br>
presenters on this theme will argue that other factors must be considered to<br>
account for ecological health, quality of life, and well being. The<br>
workshops will showcase some of the popular alternative indicators, consider<br>
how these have been applied at the policy level, and give specific examples<br>
of putting these new measures into practice.<br>
<br>
4. Messaging the New Economy: Education, Media, Public Campaigns<br>
<br>
A new economics will require the development of new curriculum material both<br>
in content and presentation. It will be multi-disciplined, acknowledging<br>
that the transition to a new economy will involve a complex cultural change.<br>
It will draw on both the theoretical and practical application. It will be<br>
a distributed learning, relying on social media, informal learning circles,<br>
and peer education. Where is this new economics training emerging? And<br>
relatedly, how best to bring the story of this emerging movement to<br>
attention of media and build public campaigns that lead change?<br>
<br>
5. Rebuilding Local Economies: Engines for Resilience<br>
<br>
The Local Economy Movement is considered by many to be the engine of the new<br>
economy. Vibrant, energetic, self-empowered, it is driven by citizen<br>
activists not waiting for governments to solve problems, but building now<br>
the kind of economy they would like for their future. Blossoming out of the<br>
local food movement, these local initiatives are supporting multiple kinds<br>
of local production to meet local needs. Shaped by local skills and local<br>
resources they differ in form from region to region -- but all are<br>
characterized by the vision, creativity, and community spirit of its core<br>
groups who dare to take risk and try what has not been done before.<br>
<br>
6. Reimagining Ownership and Work: Coops, Stakeholders, Corporate Structure<br>
<br>
When business is owned by capital instead of by workers and stakeholders, an<br>
uneven distribution of wealth inevitably occurs. Workshop presenters have<br>
both research and practical experience with new ownership models including<br>
consumer and producer coops, the Mondragon cooperatives in Spain, the<br>
Northern Italian flexible manufacturing networks, Employee Stock Ownership<br>
Plans, and multiple stakeholder ownership models, demonstrating how these<br>
have contributed to social justice, economic development, secure and<br>
fulfilling jobs, and sound management of the commons. <br>
<br>
7. Responsive Government for a New Economy: Politics as if People and Planet<br>
Mattered<br>
<br>
Some have said that the biggest hindrance to transitioning to a fair and<br>
sustainable new economy is the impasse in our political system, the<br>
bickering, the corruption, the cost of campaigns. Panelists in the<br>
Responsive Government theme will discuss the forms of governance,<br>
participation and action‹at local, national and global levels‹necessary to<br>
support the transition to a new economy. Speakers will move from an initial<br>
focus on reforming our current government institutions to discussion about<br>
deliberative democracy and alternative models of participation and<br>
decision-making.<br>
<br>
8. Sharing the Commons: Identifying, Allocating, Restoring<br>
<br>
What is the appropriate place of land and natural resources in a just and<br>
sustainable economy? Should land be a commodity traded on the market to the<br>
highest bidder, allowing those with ownership to benefit from our common<br>
need and common heritage? If not via market, how might land and natural<br>
resources be otherwise allocated.<br>
<br>
9. Sustainable Production and Consumption: Simplicity, Sufficiency,<br>
Abundance<br>
<br>
While much of the focus of transitioning to a new economy is on changes in<br>
government policy, business structure, banking, and financing, there remains<br>
a considerable role for individuals and households in this transition. How<br>
can we develop mutual support systems that replace our dependence on<br>
acquiring more stuff? The elegance of simplicity, the richness of<br>
community, living within the bounds of our bioregion, shorter work weeks --<br>
these are all elements of a new American Dream. TimeBanks, meta-currencies,<br>
asset-based community accounting, resilience circles -- are all tools for<br>
facilitating what will be a social and cultural shift as well as economic.<br>
In the process new local forms of production emerge, involving producer and<br>
consumer working in association.<br>
<br>
10. Transforming Money: Structuring, Issuing and Valuing New Mediums of<br>
Exchange<br>
<br>
Though the tool of money is a social construct, the very form and nature of<br>
its current method of issue is rarely questioned when addressing the need to<br>
transform our economy to one that is more just and sustainable. What might<br>
be sound principles for monetary issue in a new economy? How might the<br>
process be more democratized? These are some of the questions discussed<br>
under this theme from both a theoretical and applied point of view. Panels<br>
will examine the nature of money, its origins, its status as a commodity,<br>
and its place in social relationship and language. Other panels will examine<br>
specific contemporary examples of regional currencies including BerkShares,<br>
WIR, and Chimgauer, and the potential offered by community based electronic<br>
platforms to work alongside present currency systems.<br>
<br>
* * * * * * *<br>
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