Basic Income Ireland’s Joint Coordinator Bobby Lambert attended the 2026 Congress of the Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN). Here are his reflections on the experience:
I was privileged to attend the BIEN Congress 2026 in Toronto from 19-22 August.
The Congress itself was a very successful event, in terms of the attendance, energy and contributions made. Hats off to the Canadian organising committee for their wonderful job with such a short lead-in time.
Over the 3 days, some 65 separate sessions were run, in 11 different concurrent streams. These were preceded by plenary sessions in the mornings and complemented by evening sessions, including on Thursday a celebration of BIEN’s 40th anniversary, on Friday the launch of the movie ‘The Elephant Run: Inside the Basic Income Movement’, and on Saturday, the launch of the documentary movie ‘Bootstraps’. In addition, a number of poster presentations were on show throughout. On the Wednesday after the Canada day, there was a BIG Meet-up, hosted by Electric Mind, at their new offices. Each day ended with an adjournment for informal discussions in one or other pub.
It was clear that Ireland was seen as a positive example in this arena, with the Basic Income for the Arts receiving quite a bit of attention, including 2 presentations directly on this topic (by Jenny Dagg and Andrew White). Canada and South Korea, inspired by the Irish example, are planning to launch similar schemes in the near future.
Overall, it was a great opportunity to re-energise and re-commit to this important cause, to appreciate the global scale of the movement and its growth, and the energy, calibre and commitment of those working for UBI globally.
There was a general and strong feeling that the movement needs to move beyond pilots and studies (there are so many, all positive), into organising and action for implementation.
One of the many highlights for me were the discussions on unconditionality, the magic sauce that gives UBI its va-va-voom!
I look forward to participating in the next Congress on 15-17 July 2027 in Wroclaw, Poland.
Reflections on BIEN Congress 2026
Published by Basic Income Ireland on
Basic Income Ireland’s Joint Coordinator Bobby Lambert attended the 2026 Congress of the Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN). Here are his reflections on the experience:
I was privileged to attend the BIEN Congress 2026 in Toronto from 19-22 August.
The Congress itself was a very successful event, in terms of the attendance, energy and contributions made. Hats off to the Canadian organising committee for their wonderful job with such a short lead-in time.
Over the 3 days, some 65 separate sessions were run, in 11 different concurrent streams. These were preceded by plenary sessions in the mornings and complemented by evening sessions, including on Thursday a celebration of BIEN’s 40th anniversary, on Friday the launch of the movie ‘The Elephant Run: Inside the Basic Income Movement’, and on Saturday, the launch of the documentary movie ‘Bootstraps’. In addition, a number of poster presentations were on show throughout. On the Wednesday after the Canada day, there was a BIG Meet-up, hosted by Electric Mind, at their new offices. Each day ended with an adjournment for informal discussions in one or other pub.
It was clear that Ireland was seen as a positive example in this arena, with the Basic Income for the Arts receiving quite a bit of attention, including 2 presentations directly on this topic (by Jenny Dagg and Andrew White). Canada and South Korea, inspired by the Irish example, are planning to launch similar schemes in the near future.
Overall, it was a great opportunity to re-energise and re-commit to this important cause, to appreciate the global scale of the movement and its growth, and the energy, calibre and commitment of those working for UBI globally.
There was a general and strong feeling that the movement needs to move beyond pilots and studies (there are so many, all positive), into organising and action for implementation.
One of the many highlights for me were the discussions on unconditionality, the magic sauce that gives UBI its va-va-voom!
I look forward to participating in the next Congress on 15-17 July 2027 in Wroclaw, Poland.
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