——— Forwarded message ———
From: UBI Lab Network <info+ubi-lab-network-info@email.actionnetwork.org>
Date: Wed, 27 Aug 2025 at 06:00
Subject: UBI Lab Network newsletter: UBI news, events and opportunities
To: <peterchallen@gmail.com>

Hello UBI Lab supporters, Welcome to this month’s newsletter, where you can find updates from the UBI Lab Network, the wider Basic Income movement, UBI in the news, upcoming events, and ways you can campaign, support, share and otherwise get involved. UBI Lab Network Basic Income for the Arts in Ireland: what have we learned after 32 months? In case you missed our webinar on 4th June, you can now watch a recording on our YouTube (it lasts 90 minutes). The Irish government is currently running a Basic Income pilot that began in September 2022. 2,000 artists and cultural workers are receiving a weekly unconditional income of €325 a week for a period of three years. In this webinar, we checked in with some of the artists involved in the pilot and learnt how it’s affecting them and their creative communities. The session also includes a short presentation of the qualitative research report by Dr Jenny Dagg. Bill for Basic Income in Colombia The newly-formed UBI Lab Colombia are already off to a flying start. A few weeks ago, supported by UBI Lab, the country’s first Universal Basic Income Bill was filed in Congress. The proposal is backed by 7 political parties, 32 Congress members, and a diverse range of organisations and social movements. Over the coming months and weeks, we’ll see this groundbreaking bill debated in the Congress of Colombia. We invite activists, organisations and political actors to join this debate, and help turn Universal Basic Income from an idea into a political reality in South America. Basic Income pilot for care leavers in Wales The Welsh Government have published a written update on their Basic Income pilot involving care leavers which is coming to a close, with most recipients having received their final Basic Income payment. The evaluation is now ongoing, and a final report will be published in 2027. The final insights from the monitoring data will be published in August 2025.  A difficult start for the Labour government Several authors, including the UBI Lab Network’s own Dr Dave Beck, have published a new paper: A Difficult Start for the UK Labour Government, But Time Is Still on Their Side. It proposes the gradual introduction of a Universal Basic Income in the UK to tackle poverty and address the growing wealth and income inequality that’s leading to political instability and a rise in support for far-right nationalism.  UBI around the world Peace with Nature: Can Cash Build Peace in the Amazon? Elsewhere in Colombia, our friends at Equal Right are getting ready to launch a world’s-first Basic Income pilot in partnership with Cool Earth. “The idea is simple but revolutionary,” they write. “Can regular, unconditional cash help reduce conflict and protect rainforests? The pilot targets a region where deforestation has surged amid stalled peace talks and rising insecurity. It’s home to Indigenous communities who’ve preserved the forest for generations, and who now face growing risks to both life and land. Peace with Nature is the first to use basic income for conflict transformation, aligning with the UN Secretary-General’s call for basic income in conflict prevention. With Latin America in the spotlight for COP30, this pilot shows how conservation and poverty relief can go hand in hand, creating a sustainable future for both people and the planet.” Basic Income in the Presidential Palace A seismic moment for the Basic Income movement in South Korea, as a supporter of the policy was elected the country’s president in June. “Lee Jae Myung, who was voted to power as the President of South Korea in the first week of June 2025, has been an ardent supporter of Basic Income and has attended and addressed several of BIEN Congresses and conferences,” report the Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN). “Basic Income Korean Network (BIKN) has been working closely with him ever since he has been the Mayor of Seongnam city where he introduced the ‘Youth Dividend’ – unconditional cash given to everyone in a specific age group – 18 to 21. Subsequently as the Governor of Gyeonggi province, he introduced several basic-income-like schemes and experiments” “Eradicate poverty, save money, implement a Universal Basic Income” “Last year, the EU think-tank the Coppieters Foundation published a paper called “A European Universal Basic Income” which found that a UBI sufficient to eradicate poverty across the entire union could be entirely paid for by relatively modest changes to income tax and the savings found from the reduction of poverty itself,” report Scottish newspaper The National. “Its model called for a UBI of €6,857 per year for adults and half that for children under 14. This is the equivalent of £113 per week for adults and £57 per week for children. The paper claimed that the increase in income taxes to pay for this level of UBI would themselves be relatively modest and the “breakeven” point for people who’d pay more income tax than they’d receive in UBI would be at around the 80th percentile. In other words, eight out of 10 people would be directly better off with the UBI. And, to repeat, while this is still a relatively small sum per person if you have no other income, it would be enough to eradicate poverty across the entire EU and would be cheaper overall – after the health, crime and social inequality costs of poverty are factored in – than the current systems.”  – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – Interested in joining the UBI Lab Network?Start your journey now As a member, you’ll be able to connect with others in the network, attend events and access shared resources to help make Basic Income a reality.After signing up, you’ll receive more information on next steps and a member of the network will contact you to arrange a welcoming and onboarding session. Join the UBI Lab Network today. If you’re in a position to do so, please consider donating to support our work. We believe that there are better ways to provide security to citizens and build more resilient economies. UBI Lab is a worldwide network of citizens, researchers, activists and campaigners exploring the potential of Universal Basic Income. The Network resources citizens from the grassroots up to engage with civic and political society to look at the potential of a Universal Basic Income for all. To support the Network please donate here. Yours unconditionally, UBI Lab Network   Sent via ActionNetwork.org