Talks and Workshops

This presentation will address the following three questions:
- What are the key ingredients for a successful sustainable development model during an Information and emerging Knowledge Age?
- How does today’s conventional monetary system serve or hinder such a development?
- What monetary innovations are already operational to remedy the development problems caused by the conventional money system?

At the core of a sustainable development process lies the value system of a given society, This matters even more than natural resources or physical investments As the core values are the engine that drive change Recent research demonstrates that one of the key tools by which collective values are shaped is the monetary system it uses. At first blush these findings run against conventional wisdom: indeed, since Adam Smith it has been implicitly assumed that money is value neutral – i.e. that it doesn’t affect the kinds of transactions performed or the relationships it engenders among its users. However, both theoretical and empirical research has proven this hypothesis invalid. Money does affect the nature of the transaction and the sensibility of the relationships. This shift in consciousness is currently being reflected in new monetary innovations around the world, which now number over 4,000 systems are currently being experimented around the world.

This conference is therefore not about theory, but about practical on-going monetary projects that demonstrate how values are shaping the development process, and how those values are in turn shaped by choices in monetary systems.