Presentation by ISS Associate Professor, Dr Georgina Gomez, Dr Laura Ebert, Dr Will Ruddick and Dr Leanne Ussher on their paper discussing complementary currencies in the context of humanitarian aid.
The humanitarian sector has gone through a major shift toward injection of cash into vulnerable communities as its core modality. On this trajectory toward direct currency injection, something new has happened: namely the empowerment of communities to create their own complementary currencies (CC).
CCs can be used alongside Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA) programs to mobilize different actors working towards collective action, building a network that is more resilient and less vulnerable to crises. CC are superior in localizing, decentralizing and democratizing aid in support of collective needs. CCs act as a “binding agent” to call forth and enlist “hidden, scattered, or badly utilized” resources for development purposes, connecting economic units with different capabilities or inputs and diversifying outputs to meet new needs of other entrepreneurs.
The presentation will be followed by questions and discussion.