International: BIEN participates at CO-ACTE meeting in Romania

The last thematic meeting of the CO-ACTE project was held in Timisoara, Romania, on the 16th and 17th of September. This international meeting, titled “Democratic governance of common goods for the well-being of all today and in the future”, was attended by Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN) Executive Committee member André Coelho, as well as individuals from several other organizations, such as the Community Land Trust, Giuseppe Mastruzzo, Mairie de Saillans Municipality and the School of Peace. Members of local Romanian organizations were also present.

Like previous CO-ACTE meetings, the event was organized by the Together association, in collaboration with a local partner based in Timisoara, a beautiful historical city at the southeast edge of the Banat plain.

This meeting was an important step towards the final presentation of the project, which has been reported on before, to be held in Braine-l’Alleud (Belgium), November 2-4. At this event, project participants will present CO-ACTE’s 10-year development results to political actors, including top officials at the European Commission. The CO-ACTE project focuses on societal developments and public policies for the well-being of all, using the results from a large popular consultation effort (an application of a technique called the SPIRAL method).

Basic income is one of the policies defended within the CO-ACTE project, where it is considered central to achieving a balanced state of economic activity which aligns with the well-being of all, both now and for future generations. This relates perfectly with the aforementioned meeting on democratic governance, since it has long been realized that there is no real freedom, hence the shared management of common goods and direct forms of democracy, without economic security.

More information at:

CO-ACTE website