The Basic Income Movement in Europe faces a lot of challenges and one of them is the gap between older and younger generation of activists. There is a need to develop clear strategies in bringing more young voices to advocate for UBI to the general public and political institutions. Thus, keeping the momentum going and introducing the idea of UBI to more young people would be one of my goals.

The basic income movement in Europe is in a challenging situation right now. While the idea itself is gaining more and more support, political breakthroughs towards implementation are still missing. UBIE and its members need to find good answers to this challenge. Our network needs a restart after having been put under much stress through the pandemic and through moderately successful projects that consumed lots of energy and caused a substantial amount of tensions.

In this situation, I would be delighted to given the opportunity to support this process with my experience as a board member since 2015, my knowledge of the technical infrastructure that makes our cooperation possible, and my good contacts within the movement, as well as to political decision makers across Europe. If re-elected, I would continue to focus my energies on bringing in new, motivated activists into UBIE and facilitating projects that can spread enthusiasm for UBI and put politics onto the path towards introducing it.

I am Dániel, I was born in Budapest – having lived in Hungary, Germany, Belgium, and the UK, and currently employed as Senior Strategic Communications Officer by the global environmental charity ClientEarth, I know what it takes to keep an international organisation going. I would appreciate your support to be able to continue my engagement for UBIE as a board member.

I have been a member of the organisation since the organisation was founded, right after supporting the preceding ECI campaign. Having struggled with poverty and the challenging nature of devoting time to being an active European citizen when I could not afford it have fueled my conviction that UBI can be the most life changing policy and we need it yesterday.

I have been relatively active in the organisation, but never as much as during my term as vice-chair of the outgoing board, which I treasure massively as an experience. Not only I worked with people I liked, but I also managed to get many things done to drive Europe a few steps closer to UBI becoming a reality.

• I helped develop a youth group for the organisation and coordinate its participation in the European Youth Event 3 times,
• I helped organise several events for the organisation that had an impact on their local community and spread the word to a wider audience,
• I represent the organisation in other relevant projects and initiatives, like BIRAL, slowly initiating a movement of mayors for basic income in Europe as a result,
• I helped in the efforts of the organisation to have an online presence on the web and through relevant media,
• and a whole lot of other things that fulfil the mission of UBIE.

So I’m ready and motivated to devote 2 more years to turn steps like the ones I mentioned before into leaps for making basic income a reality in Europe!

In 2018, while writing my Masters Thesis on the feminist case for Basic Income, I had the opportunity to participate in the European Youth Event as a member of UBIE’s delegation. The people I met there inspired me to take more action for Basic Income and get involved in the organisation. Thus, in 2019, I was elected as a member of the Core Group and dedicated my time for UBIE ever since, while simultaneously becoming a mother.

During my time as member of the board, the world changed dramatically. With the pandemic, we had to adapt our activities to pursue them online thus organising inspiring virtual talks and debates, hybrid events and online petitions. Internally, our organisation also faced many challenges and I really hope to be able to witness the new skin that UBIE is growing since the moult that happened then.

If re-elected, I would continue to put my energy into bringing in new, young, motivated activists into UBIE, taking care of the daily activities and being in charge of the administrative and legal requirements linked to the Belgian authorities.

I have been a member of the Core Group since 2017 and would like to continue this commitment.

The basic income movement is – this is not only true for the European level – at a certain turning point in its political-strategic orientation: The general idea of basic income has become better known in recent years and has a good approval rating of about half of the citizens. However, it remains a utopian idea because it would be a very big leap in social, cultural and economic terms.

Therefore, in the next few years it is important to develop concrete projects and campaigns on a low level, which show the feasibility of the principle of basic income and thus introduce the idea into practical politics, in addition to further strengthening the basic income vision (which lies above all in the connection of BGE and socio-ecological transformation).

My special tasks in UBIE, which I would like to continue (beyond others) are: treasurer, cooperation with academia, cooperation between UBIE and the social-ecological movement.

I currently work as an energy consultant, an external teacher at university and technical school, and a freelance social scientist (at FRIBIS). More about me can be found here. Most of the texts are in German, but you can get an impression of my history, my activities, my memberships, my publications etc.

The energy and experience of UBI promotion in Slovenia I would like to share also on the EU level. Some examples and/or an outline of UBI-related development in Slovenia:

• 2022, 2023: Collaboration with EUMANS on ECI UBI experience: two international meeting and plans for expansion of collaboration further e. g. developing the Humanist manifesto: UBI4EUhumans.
• 2022-2023: We connected the UBI promotion within Trade Union SVOZD and Trade Union Confederation KS90: six public consultations: “The future of Social State and UBI paradigm” in 4 biggest cities in Slovenia.
• In November 2020 she helped Slovenia to become the first country in the EU that reached the national quota in collecting signatures for ECI-UBI 2020-2021 (which started on the 25th of September 2020), personally and as a proud member of the Facebook group Univerzalni temeljni dohodek UTD.
• In 2014 Slovenia she coordinated collecting signatures for ECI-UBI 2013-2014 when Slovenia was the best country in collected signatures per population.
• In January 2021 she arranged a meeting on the possibility that the president of RS, Borut Pahor takes up the personal patronage of the ECI UBI 2020-2021.
• In September 2020 she proposed the UBI on the EU level to Mr. Nicolas Schmit in a videoconference ‘roadshow’, when he consulted with Slovenian social partners and stakeholders on the upcoming Action Plan to further implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights.
• In June 2017 she presented her UBI proposal at the Social committee of Slovenian Parliament.
• She arranged that Slovenia was accepted as a member of BIEN in 2012.
• She arranged the public consultation on UBI in the NATIONAL COUNCIL OF THE REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA in 2010.

I believe in 2023 and 2024 we should prepare pragmatic strategy to include the idea of UBI as the core idea for the EU elections in 2024.