On Thursday, October 26, 2023, the documentary film “Crazy Money” will be shown in cooperation with the aka Filmclub.
Time: 08:00-10:00 PM
Location: Schänzlestr. 9, 79104 Freiburg im Breisgau
Tickets are available at the evening box office only!
On Friday, October 27, 2023 a basic income seminar will be held by “Crazy Money”-director Steven Janssens & project organizer Maarten Goethals with the title “Cash without conditions: Methodology, results &´sustainability of unconditional cash transfers in Uganda and DR Congo”.
Time: 10:00-11:30 AM
Location: Universitätsstr. 5, Room 1
No registration required!
This seminar is being held officially by the Götz Werner Chair (GWP) of Economic Policy and Constitutional Economic Theory in support of FRIBIS.
About the event:
In the documentary Crazy Money, we meet the 150 inhabitants of Busibi, an African village in western Uganda. Since January 2017, they have been receiving a fixed monthly allowance via their cell phones: 16 euros for adults and 8 euros for children. Without any conditions, advice or obligations. But of course, this is accompanied by some new challenges…and tensions.
The result? This unique film shows how “unconditional cash” (in the jargon, “crazy money”) makes an entire village thrive. From a community with no basic necessities, no school or hospital, to a village with a great appetite for entrepreneurship. Their successes and difficulties illustrate the impact of one of the most daring projects in development cooperation today. The villagers’ life stories unexpectedly prove all too familiar. They make us laugh. They move us. They come together to form a colorful and poetic portrait of reality that illustrates the huge consequences of a small amount of money.
On the following day, Steven Janssens & Maarten Goethals, both organizers of the project, will talk to you in their seminar titled “Cash without conditions” about their results, experience, and the possibilities as well as challenges of such a project!
About the presenters:
Steven Janssens: During his film education at the Academy in Sint-Niklaas (SASK), Steven Janssens also finished his studies as industrial engineer at KAHO Ghent. In the years that followed he built a career as an independent filmmaker, freelance editor, trainer and director. In 2015 Steven set up Eight vzw along with Maarten Goethals. In 2016, Steven began filming the developments in the Eight project in Busibi, a village in Western Uganda where each inhabitant receives a basic income, money without conditions. The result: Crazy Money. Steven is currently finishing his second feature documentary: Blind Spots.
He is also the director of Eight, operating at the moment UCT-projects in 4 villages in Uganda and 2 villages in DR Congo.
Maarten Goethals: With a Master’s degree in Sociology (University Ghent), Maarten started as the North-South consultant with “Ieder Voor Allen”, later to become Trias vzw in 2003. There he worked as an organisation development and R&D consultant. In 2014, Maarten started working as a consultant with communication agency Jusbox and founded “Alter.Today”, working on meaningful and effective change using action research and process counselling (check www.alter.today for more info). In 2015 he became the co- founder of Eight vzw along with Steven Janssens.