Here's our Elephant recording with Open:Coop's finance radical, Olly Sylvester-Bradley. Some clear tools to build a next system with

Here’s the full recording (minus break out groups) of our Zoom event with Oliver Sylvester Bradley (a great friend of A/UK over the years - see this archive) that took place on Tuesday, August 18th, 17.00-18.30. It’s part of our “The Elephant Meets…” series.

This was one of our most fascinating and empowering events. Olly took us through what a “mutual credit” scheme, powered by smart software, could do for communities. It’s as much a mechanism to produce more trust between people, as it is a supplement to existing currency systems.

Olly fielded very impressively some equally impressive questions - about how alternative currencies related to tax and the state, whether people could really juggle different kinds of “value” in their financial lives, how mutual credit relates to zero-carbon societies.

We can certainly say this was one of our most practical and tool-like sessions. You’ll find clear, usable building blocks by which to build a “next” economic system.

See elsewhere in the blogs this week for our next Elephant Zoom event with Jamie and Rosie from the Mindfulness Initiative!

The original blurb for Oliver’s event:

Olly has been working at the nexus of the new economy (particuarly new finance), cooperatives, and digital platforms for some years now - actively convening and practically making the elements of a “new” or “next” economy.

He is most known for two projects. First, the Open: Co-op conferences, which (undaunted by Covid) have been extraordinary meeting-places for those who imagine that a different economic and business practice is possible, using alternative measures of value, and staying in touch with cooperative traditions (see our archive, and watch the videos from the Open: 2020 conference).

And secondly, Oliver is a co-founder of the Open Credit Network - which is a digitally-powered version of mutual credit schemes. These schemes don’t require interest charges - and thus provide the small businesses that participate with micro-loans that don’t burgeon into unsustainable debts. Oliver and his partners call this “people-powered money” - and invite you to join!