by John Michael 

 

As part of the Asia-Pacific Social Forum 2025: Another World is Possible, a special programme titled “Towards Dignity, Freedom, and Justice: Building a Future of Care through Universal Basic Income” will be held on November 2, 2025 (Day 2) from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the College of Interdisciplinary Studies (CIS), Room 301, Thammasat University, Bangkok, Thailand.

Jointly organized by the Justice Peace and Integrity Commission (JPIC), the Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN), the Montfort Social Institute (MSI), the India Network for Basic Income, and WorkFREE, this programme will explore the transformative role of Universal Basic Income (UBI) in shaping a more just and caring future.

Bro. Varghese Theckanath (MSI & JPIC) will discuss UBI in reality, focusing on its effects on marginalized communities and its power to restore human dignity and social justice. John Michael (BIEN Asia-Pacific) will reflect on the broader Basic Income movement across the Asia-Pacific and Global South, examining how UBI challenges entrenched colonial, patriarchal, racial, casteist, and ableist structures.

The session will also feature a screening and discussion of the film Unconditional (30 minutes, English subtitles), which portrays real-world Basic Income experiments in India and Bangladesh — stories that redefined the meaning of justice, care, and social transformation.

Together, the programme invites participants to imagine and build futures where dignity, freedom, and justice are not privileges, but the foundations of society.

For more details and registration, click here.