7th Biennial RAMICS International Congress: The Future of Money: Democracy, Localism and Inclusion

The Ramics research association focuses on studying monetary innovation and community and complementary currency systems. Since 2011, the network has met every two years to share experiences, ideas, and practices on complementary currencies. The 7th congress will be held in Rome, Italy, Nov. 6-9, 2024. Against a backdrop of citizenry's mistrust towards the governments of their own countries successive economic crises over the years have further widened the gap between the local and central institutions. In view of these challenges, complementary currencies may be able to reconnect the knots of the citizens with formal institutions (and vice versa). Many experiences with complementary means of payment in recent years have resulted in systems of mutual exchange traceable to business communities, with the creation of closed circuits in which members voluntarily exchange goods and services, offsetting debts with credits. Or with initiatives characterized by solidarity and participatory systems aimed at strengthening community relations for development that aims at being financially and economically sustainable. One of the unknowns often encountered is the relationship with national and subnational institutions and in particular on the presence or absence of specific state regulatory references. In the case, in fact, of weakness of state norms, the production of goods and services has moved "regardless" of such references, eschewing the formal economy. The need to meet the motivations from below, born to avoid processes of impoverishment of communities, through the use of complementary monetary circulation systems, and the ability of regional and local institutions to transpose the pushes from below are at the basis of the possibility of creating social innovation or, in negative cases, an economic reality at the edge of the invisible. It is therefore on these issues that we invite researchers, activists and anyone interested in such processes to the conference entitled: "The Future of Money: Democracy, Localism and Inclusion."