It may take a village to raise a child, but one person can support an entire village. Bruna Augusto is the President and founder of ReCivitas Institute, Institute for the Revitalization of Citizenship. She’s the coordinator of the Basic Income Startup Project at Quatinga Velho, Brazil. This is a success story case study for how basic income can work. She’s a trained biologist and I love that she includes that she’s an activist and mother in her bio.
Bruna and I met in the early stages of her work to make Basic Income a reality in Brazil, through Partners of the Americas. Now she and her husband Marcus have spoken at conferences and congresses around the globe, from Brazil to France and Portugal to Germany, Oxford and Japan. And they have two TEDx talks.
It rained overnight in Brazil, so just moments before the show, Bruna realized she couldn’t have access to the camera and mic on her computer. Always resourceful, she realized that we could communicate through the private chat function on Streamyard, the platform for the show.
Key Takeaways
- Basic income is a guaranteed minimum salary for every citizen. With so many jobs being lost to artificial intelligence, the idea of is becoming a more part of public conversation. According to a 2020 Gallup poll, 48% of USAmerican support a universal basic income program.
- Basic income is an important instrument to combat poverty, reduce social inequality and promote social justice, but it is not exactly a welfare policy.
- Bruna and her husband believe in that all children should have access to books and toys, and regularly donate through their NGO to Quatinga Velha. The also sponsor the basic income ($10 per person, per month) in the village.
- The organization, Recivitas, is a Think Tank of Innovation in applied public policy projects. Development and implementation of Social Technology in Basic Income, Direct Democracy and EcoLibertarism.
