New Economics Institute featuring OWS in next symposium Nov and news of June conference

[eilen]

This looks really interesting. I wish I could go to the Nov symposium but will definitely request time for the conference. We need a new economy.

From my email inbox:

Zuccotti Park/Initiating Dialogue on Complex Economic Issues


Last week, the staff at the New Economics Institute¹s New York City office
returned to Zuccotti Park, where Occupy Wall Street has been based for over
a month. We brought a selection of the thirty years of E. F. Schumacher
Lecture pamphlets (neweconomicsinstitute.org/publications) to contribute to
the growing OWS library on new economic issues. And we had a chance to
speak with participants.

As occupations spread across the country and world, those following reports
are familiar with Occupy Wall Street¹s democratic approach and reluctance to
commit to an absolute set of demands or goals. The movement expresses a deep
frustration with complex, systemic problems ­ rising inequality, lack of
corporate accountability, social immobility, environmental degradation ­
problems not easily solved by one step approaches. No clear leader is
emerging to address these issues, no clear answer is before us, leaving us
no clear picture for the future.

Indeed, Occupy Wall Street seems more like a call for dialogue then a push
for specific change. Rather than advocating short-term, band-aid solutions,
the occupiers are emphasizing the multitude of problems, the embedded and
persistent nature of their existence, and the necessary patience,
thoughtfulness, and discussion required to solve them.

The New Economics Institute has been long engaged in this discussion. We are
excited to continue this shared conversation at the Thirty-First Annual E.
F. Schumacher Lectures on November 5th in New York City
(neweconomicsinstitute.org/events). In addition to speakers Gar Alperovitz
and Juliet Schor the event will include, "Voices of Today's Youth: Occupy
Wall Street and Youth for a New Economy,² a panel comprised of Occupy Wall
Street participants and other student activists.

In a recent working paper, panelists Charlie Maxwell Young and Rina
Kuusipalo write, ³To really get to the root of perhaps the most fundamental
issue pulling the strings of all society¹s efforts ­ finance ­ we must
confront the concepts of money and banking not as something detached from
activism, but as something we can radically transform to serve the real
public interest and finance the transition to a more sustainable society. We
need a framework for finance that is more diverse and plural, more stable as
well as democratic, and promoting the flourishing of people.²

Banking and financing is one of multiple topics that need to be explored in
transitioning to a new/equitable/green/sustainable/resilient economy. Occupy
Wall Street has garnered unprecedented attention to this and other economic
issues. As the movement¹s influence grows and develops, we are eager to see
how the work of the New Economics Institute can clarify and enhance that of
Occupy Wall Street¹s, and how Occupy Wall Street¹s work can enhance ours.

"Strategies for a New Economy," a conference planned for June 8-10, 2012 at
Bard College in the Hudson Valley of New York will be an occasion to shine a
spotlight on many of the positive efforts underway to reshape our economic
system. Conference topics include:

1. Modeling the New Economy: Shared Prosperity within Planetary Limits
2. Measuring Well Being: Alternative Indicators of Wealth and Progress
3. Banking and Financing a New Economy: Scale, Criteria, Innovation
4. Re-building Local Economies: Engines for Resilience
5. Re-imagining Ownership: Coops, Stakeholders, Corporate Structure
6. Transforming Money: Structuring, Issuing, and Valuing New Mediums of
Exchange
7. Sharing the Commons: Identifying, Allocating, and Restoring
8. Messaging a New Economy: Education, Media, Public Campaigns
9. Forging Justice for All: Economic Security, Equity, and Jobs in the New
Economy
10. Empowered Youth: Mandating a New Economy
11. Responsive Government for a New Economy: Politics as if People and
Planet Mattered
12. Moving Beyond Consumerism: Plenitude, Sufficiency, and Mindful
Consumption

Add your voice to the growing dialogue. Continue to create viable solutions
region by region. And do mark your calendars for June 8-10th, 2012.
Registration material for ³Strategies for a New Economy² will be available
in January.

Best wishes,
Staff of New Economics Institute
Berkshire Office, 140 Jug End Road
Great Barrington, MA 01230 [phone]
New York Office, 437 Madison Ave, 37th floor
New York, NY 10022 [phone]
neweconomicsinstitute.org

Board of Directors: Gar Alperovitz, Jessica Brackman, Eric Harris-Braun,
John Fullerton, Neva Goodwin, Hildegarde Hannum, Dan Levinson, Richard
Norgaard, David Orr, Will Raap, Gus Speth, Peter Victor, Stewart Wallis, and
Tim Wirth.
Advisory Board: Peter Barnes, Merrian Fuller, Bill McKibben, Otto Scharmer,
Doug Tompkins, and Robert Wade.

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