Upcoming Events

I've spoken at over 150 events in 18 countries over the last couple years. This includes big festivals (like Wilderness, Secret Garden Party, Camp Bestival and Shambala), university events (including LSE, Warwick, Cambridge, Oxford, Edinburgh), think-tanks & institute events (including Open Data Institute, V&A) and international conferences in Germany, Greece, Lithuania, Poland, Netherlands, Italy, Sweden and Ireland. I really enjoy discussing ideas with people, so ping me a message if you want someone to chat on alternative finance, financial activism, and economic hacking. I also know a lot of people in these scenes, so can also recommend other speakers.

October 2016
  1. Berlin (Germany), 26th-29th October: Tacit Futures - futher details soon
December 2016
  1. Amsterdam (Netherlands), 1st-2nd December: Moneylab 3, financial surveillance


PAST EVENTS I'VE PARTICIPATED IN: 2016


January 2016
  1. London - Jan 21st Sharing Economy Panel at Google Campus with Economy of Hours: All about start-ups, trust and the sharing economy
  2. London - Jan 28thCulturehacking: Talking financial surveillance, startups and hacker culture on a Panel with Simon Denny, Heba Amin, Ryan Gallagher, in conversation with Charlotte Higgins
February 2016
  1. London - Feb 2nd: Finance & Ethnography meetup - activist anthropology of finance
  2. London - Feb 4th: Paytech 2016 Technologies of Exchange in a Digital Economy - speaking on panel about monetary history, cashless society, and payments startups
  3. London - Feb 17th: St. Ethelburga's Centre for Reconciliation & Peace: No wealth but life series: Money - What else is there? Evening workshop looking at money, local currencies and social banking
  4. London - Feb 18th: Fintech 4 Good - Talking about my UNRISD paper on blockchain technology for international development
  5. Cambridge - Feb 20th: Cambridge Climate Forum - talking on a panel about different forms of financial campaigning related to climate change
  6. Warwick University - Feb 24th: Exploring money with students in the Capital Cities programme
  7. London - Feb 25th: City University: Reforming the City - Perspectives on Banking from Anthropology and Law - in discussion with Joris Luyendijk & others
March 2016
  1. London - March 5th: Furtherfield residency at The Photographers Gallery - a weekend building new monetary imagery and working on the 'Activist Bloomberg Terminal'
April 2016
  1. Manchester - 16th April: Economics for Everyone (Rethinking Economics) - Alternative currencies, cashless society & what 'the future of money' really means
  2. Brussels - 20th April: EU parliament blockchain roundtables
  3. Mainz (Germany) - 23rd April: Mainzlab @ Staatstheater Mainz - Adventures in Alternative Finance workshop
  4. Mainz (Germany) - 23rd April: Mainzlab @ Staatstheater Mainz - A Beginner's Guide to Global Finance (evening talk)
  5. Berlin (Germany) - 26th April: OpenOil Aleph hackday - Using Open Data to track Big Oil
May 2016
  1. London - May 9th: Method London - Digital finance (In-house seminar)
  2. Bridport (UK) - May 13-15Alternative Finance: A Deep Dive into the Art of Financial Hacking: Epic 3-day workshop I'll be running with StirToAction
  3. Amsterdam - 19th May: Transnational Institute - Digital finance
  4. Berlin 24th May - Conscious Fintech Meetup: On the Ethics of Blockchain Technology
June 2016
  1. Belgrade, Serbia - June 3rd - Ko Gradi Grad Alternative Currencies workshop
  2. Belgrade, Serbia - June 3rd - Impact Hub Belgrade, Adventures in alternative finance
  3. London - June 14th - Startupbootcamp Fintech What does 'The Future of Money' mean?
  4. London June 20th - ICAEW AuditFutures Blockchain Salon - blockchain for audit
  5. Brussels June 21st - EU Commission, Blockchains for Social Good, panellist
  6. Tallinn (Estonia) - June 26-30thSocial Banking Summer School - leading sessions on fintech for social banking
July 2016
  1. London 1st July: Financial Times Festival of Finance - Facebook & Technological Neo-imperialism. Panel with Baron Richard Allen, Nandan Nilekani & Mihir Sharma
  2. London 6th July: Amnesty International, In-house workshop
  3. Berkhamsted (UK) 7th July: Ashridge Masters in Sustainability & Responsibility, day workshop on alternative Finance
  4. California (USA), 15th July: Singularity University: Global Solutions ProgrammeBlockchain technology for financial inclusion workshop
  5. Newcastle (UK), 19th July: Newcastle University Digital Economy Summer School Hacking global finance
  6. Secret Garden Party (UK) - 23rd JulyScience Fiction & the Future of Finance

August 2016
  1. Fintech Innovation Meetup (UK), 10th August: Fintech & Ethical Banking panel
  2. Off Grid Festival (UK), 12th August - Further details soon
  3. Singapore 18th August, IMF blockchain forum - Financial inclusion & blockchain technology

September 2016
  1. Bucharest (Romania), 3rd September - INURA conference - further details soon
  2. Forum for the Future, 12th September, Blockchain tech for decentralised energy 
  3. California (USA), 22nd September - Symbiosis Gathering, Hactivist Village


PAST EVENTS I'VE PARTICIPATED IN: 2015


  1. Dec 14th: Goldsmiths University SoME Seminar Series: Activist Anthropology of Finance
  2. Dec 5th: Bitcoinference (Amsterdam): Talking on Bitcoin in the context of a cashless society
  3. Dec 4th: Moneylab 2 (Amsterdam): Returning to Amsterdam for the awesome Moneylab conference to moderate a panel on Tactics for Economic Dissent
  4. Dec 2nd: Bitcoin Wednesday (Amsterdam): Keynote at Bitcoin Film Festival
  5. Nov 21st: Furtherfield & LSFA: Building the Activist Bloomberg Terminal
  6. Nov 19th: Lancaster University Digital Futures seminars: Mapping the Frontiers of High Finance: Creative approaches to exposing the invisible world of money
  7. Nov 17th: Bedfordshire University School of Art & Design: Mapping the Frontiers of High Finance: Creative approaches to exposing the invisible world of money
  8. Nov 16th: LSE Green Week: Sustainable finance & the divestment movement
  9. Nov 14th: Centre for Ecological Learning (Luxembourg): Creative approaches to mapping high finance
  10. Nov 14th: Centre for Ecological Learning (Luxembourg): Adventures in Alternative Finance workshop
  11. Nov 13th: Aspire Conference (Vienna): Alternative finance workshop
  12. Nov 10th: Disruptive Innovation Festival: panelist Disrupting Money
  13. Nov 9th: UCL New Frontiers in Responsible Research and Innovation: Talking on responsible innovation in the financial industry
  14. Nov 7th: RAI & LSFA: Behind the Screen-World: Visualizing Markets & Hacking Finance - workshop on financial visualisation
  15. Nov 4th: Disruptive Innovation Festival: The Digitisation of Finance
  16. 25th October: Cambridge Festival of Ideas: Talking on the future of payments systems and the pitfalls of cashless society
  17. 22nd October: UEA Healthy Planet divestment debate - panelist 
  18. 9th October: Digital Experience Collective (Istanbul): Mapping the Frontiers of High Finance: Presenting at the seminary series "Contagious Bodies: Network Politics In The Age of Data-Oriented Worlds". Talking on approaches to exposing the invisible world of money
  19. 1st October: Transeuropa Festival (Belgrade): Discussion with Paul Currion on financial hacking, alternative finance and economic activism
  20. 28th Sept: Kings College London: Chevening Gurukul Leadership Programme: I'll be talking on technology in finance and high frequency trading, alongside Nigel Dodd (LSE) and Anush Kapadia (City University)
  21. 22nd Sept: Economy of Hours: A beginners guide to the future of money: Talking on money for the great London timebank Economy of Hours
  22. 9th Sept: British Science Festival: Living on the planet of the machines (Bradford): I shall be a panelist in the annual Huxley Debate: "There's no denying that robots are already among us - but often they look nothing like Hollywood would lead us to believe. Some of the most powerful are just algorithms or large libraries of code and they underpin our daily lives. Should we be worried about their increasing power and what measures are in place to control them?"
  23. Aug 20th: Rhodes University History Department (South Africa): The Heretic's Guide to Global Finance
  24. 23rd-26th July: Secret Garden Party: Real Change: On a panel chaired by Heydon Prowse of BBC Three's The Revolution Will Be Televised, discussing strengths and weaknesses of different forms of activism
  25. They Are Here: Demystifying the Financial Sector: Working with artists on BANK, "a research project created to facilitate a collective exploration of the dominant financial systems."
  26. 10th July: LSE Summer School on Social Studies of Finance: Guest lecturing on financial anthropology, culturehacking & subversive adventures on the dark side
  27. 5th-9th July: Institute for Social Banking Summer School (Germany): Running workshop on the digitisation of banking, and potential opportunities for social banks in this area. More details to follow...
  28. 2nd July: Financial Sovereignty @ Tenerife Isla Colaborativa (Canary Islands): I'll be discussing local currencies and their role in local development and economic sovereignty at this collaborative economy getogether
  29. 27th-28th June: Rethinking Economics Weekend (London): I'll be speaking on two panels related to rethinking finance. More details to follow...
  30. 27th-28th June: AuditFutures Open Innovation Salon (London): Talking at Royal College of Art alongside Jackie Hunter CBE, Dr Sarah Teasley & Indy Johar on how to apply design thinking & open innovation in accounting & audit
  31. June 15-16th: Blockchain (R)evolution (London): I'll be moderating a panel on the use of blockchain technology for financial inclusion & remittances. More details to follow
  32. 6th June: Enquete Art & Nowa Amerika: Ecological design principles for finance: Nowa Amerika is an experimental nation at Słubfurt on the border of Germany & Poland. I was talking at the participatory Parliament on the topic of ecological design principles for finance
  33. May 20-21st: Paris: Ouishare Fest: I'm speaking at two sessions of the awesome Ouishare fest in Paris. The first is called 'On the role of capital and financial tools in driving innovation and socializing value', chaired by Izzy Kaminska of the Financial Times. Then I co-run a workshop session with Charles Eisenstein and others called 'After capitalism: Let's reinvent everything!'
  34. May 18th: Fairfin (Brussels) divestment workshop & evening talk on financial hacking: I'll be hosting an afternoon workshop on fossil fuel divestment with the great Belgian socially responsible finance group Fairfin. Then I do a broader talk on financial activism in the evening
  35. May 15th: Münster: BUKO congress: Transnational finance campaigning: I return to the BUKO congress, the fantastic German conference for radical shitstirrers. I'll be running a workshop on transnational finance campaigning, and how we can strengthen it
  36. May 11th: Geneva: UNRISD workshop on social & solidarity finance: I'll be presenting on alternative finance at the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, as part of their programme on social and solidarity finance
  37. April 28th: Zurich: COMPARE Network workshop on alternative currenciesI join the anarchic crew from COMPARE network to explore automation, cooperatives, and complementary currencies, as part of their broader "interdisciplinary explorations of self-organization in practice"
  38. April 25th: Royal Anthropological Institute: Mapping the frontiers of high financeThe workshops will introduce students to research from the flourishing field of financial anthropology, and to the work of contemporary artists who have drawn on anthropological theory and ethnographic methods in order to explore and represent financial techniques, flows and architectures.
  39. April 24th: Brixton Pound ConferenceI'll be talking at the Brixton Pound conference on alternative currencies, their trajectory and why I dig them
  40. April 10th: 3DaRoC: Redesigning money & exchange in alternative finance systems: I'll be speaking on P2P finance systems, digital currency, open source finance and alternative financial systems more generally... further details forthcoming
  41. April 4th 2015: Stir Magazine Alternative Finance Workshop: This workshop looks at the problems of mainstream finance, and alternative design principles for building a better financial system. We’ll discuss successful examples of alternative money systems, lending systems and banks, then try to prototype our own mini alternative finance projects.
  42. Liberty League Freedom Forum: Bitcoin debate: Delving into the libertarian subculture, speaking on panel with Preston Byrne of Eris Industries, Kevin Dowd of the Cobden Centre and Charlotte Bowyer of Adam Smith Institute
  43. 26th March: Finance Innovation Lab: Democratising finance: What does it mean: Can citizen power or the push to democratise finance really change the financial system?
  44. March 19th-20th: Goldsmith's Political Economy Research Centre (PERC): Talking at 'REcovery to DIScovery—changing the terms of debate on the economy'. Details to be announced
  45. March 18th 2015: How to Work Together: Sharing economy panel: Details to be announced, but I'm going to be taking part in panel on the sharing economy, what it means, and what it doesn't mean
  46. March 14-15th 2015: Nesta FuturefestSpeaking on a panel entitled 'Blockchain: How Encryption Will Shape The Economics and Politics of The Future', chaired by Jaromil, and featuring Stacy Herbert & Jorge Timon of Blockstream
  47. Feb 10th: Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences - Bitcoins, financial "hacking" and the new digital economy - should we really care? : Talking on the topic of financial hacking, digital currency and how it relates to ecological systems. This is part of the Global Economic Dynamics & the Biosphere programme
  48. Feb 5th: V&A Digital Futures - Currency prototyping: I'll be facilitating this fourth and final part of the Digital Futures: Money No Object series of events, a series of discussions and presentations around alternative currencies and their politics by artists, creative technologists and theorists
  49. January 16th: Warwick Debating Union - Should Cryptocurrencies be banned? I join a lineup featuring Nigel Dodd (LSE), Jonathan Levin (Coinometrics), and Nick Lambert, discussing the case for and against banning cryptocurrencies


PAST EVENTS I'VE PARTICIPATED IN: 2014


  1. December 12th: Kings Review presents Bitcoin: The Future of MoneyI'll be speaking on Bitcoin at the launch of the new Kings Review Magazine, alongside Prof. Nigel Dodd of London School of Economics, Izabella Kaminska of the Financial Times, and Paul Gilbert  of the University of Sussex
  2. December 8th: Coinscrum - Bitcoin, the year in reviewTalking alongside Vinay Gupta, Peter Todd & Gavin Wood of Ethereum, reviewing the year in cryptocurrency
  3. December 2nd: Permaculture Picturehouse: Alternative currencies: I'm going to be talking on the topic of alternative and complementary currencies, alongside Leander Bindewald of the New Economics Foundation. More details to follow
  4. November 25th: Sustainability Week: Disruptive Finance for SustainabilityModerating a panel featuring Christian Busch (LSE), Julia Groves (CEO, The Trillion Fund), and Josh Ryan-Collins (The Brixton Pound), discussing business models for sustainability
  5. November 20th: Emmanuel College, A guide to financial sector campaigningDiscussing divestment campaigns, shareholder activism, bank activism and alternative finance for Emmanuel College Cambridge ethical investment society
  6. November 11th: World Congress of Accountants 2014 (Rome): I'll be speaking on a panel called New Horizons for Accountancy, alongside participants in AuditFutures, a programme of ICAEW run in collaboration with the Finance Innovation Lab.
  7. November 14th: OpenHere (Dublin): Talking on Open Sourcing Finance, and then interviewing Akseli Virtanen of Robin Hood Minor Asset Management, an activist hedge fund
  8. October 27th: LSE Sustainable Futures SocietyTalking alternative finance, shareholder activism, sustainability and the politics of investment for the LSE Sustainable Futures Society
  9. Compare Network International Symposium, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki: Presented on alternative currency at Compare Network international symposium on Sharing Experiences of Self-Organisation
  10. Oct 7th: V&A Digital Futures Money No Object panel discussion: This session marks the conclusion of Heidi Hinder’s practice-based research project at the V&A, Money No Object, exploring the impact of technology on future currency and transactions.
  11. Sept 25th-28th: The Art of Being Many (Hamburg): I'll be collaborating in this collective festival of artists, activists and researchers, delving into obscure topics like materiality, vogue and voodoo, blockade and panic, and real democracy
  12. Sept 16th: London Design Festival: The Future of MoneyOrganised by design house Method and chaired by Philip O'Dwyer. I'll be on a panel talking about, you know, the future of money
  13. August 15th & 16th: Green Jazdów festival (Poland): Holiday EconomicsI'll be speaking at Holiday Economics programme of the Centre for Contemporary Art, Ujazdowski Castle, part of the broader Green Jazdów festival. I'll be speaking on global finance, and also on alternative currencies
  14. August 1st 2014: Camp Bestival: Beat the banksI'll be speaking as part of the Literary Institute programme, talking about open source finance and taking on the banking system. I'll also be speaking on Bitcoin as part of the teen programme
  15. 13th-20th July: EINS summer school (Volos): From Smart Cities to Engaged Citizens: A week taking part as a tutor, helping students explore smart cities applications, participatory urban interaction design, user-owned wireless networks, and complementary currencies.
  16. 13th June: Show me the money: The image of finance: Panel discussion: Taking part in a panel discussion at the Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art to mark the opening of ‘Show Me The Money: The image of finance, 1700 to the present’,
  17. May 29th-June 1st: BUKO-Kongress (Leipzig): I'm heading to Leipzig to take part in a gathering exploring urban struggles, freedom of movement, migrant rights and other crucial issues. Going to be speaking on technologies of de-alienation... or something to that effect
  18. May 7th: Anglia Ruskin University: Bitcoin as disruptive innovation: Talking about whether crypto-currencies challenge mainstream financial systems, whether they'll force government-backed fiat currencies to innovate, and much more...
  19. April 29th: Edinburgh University Ethical Investment panel: Took part in a panel discussion regarding ethical investment, divestment from fossil fuels, and the role of university investment in setting a precedent for the broader investment industry. Set up to build ideas for a response to the Responsible Investment Consultation
  20. April 27th: Ecology Building Society AGM: Walking tour of Finance & Power: I led a group of 20 people on a tour of Westminster, exploring links between the financial sector, government and broader society
  21. April 10th: Login Tech Conference Lithuania: Cryptocurrency discussionOn a panel with Spectro Finance and Remigijus Šimašius, the former minister of justice of Lithuania. Discussing potentials and drawback's of blockchain technology
  22. March 31st: The real value of Bitcoin: Speaking on a panel hosted by Coinscrum, reflecting on the disruptive potential of the underlying blockchain technology.
  23. March 24th: Fossil Free KCL: Divestment: A social revolution? Talk at the Kings College London Go Green Week, alongside Green Party leader Natalie Bennett, Ranghild Freng Dale, Tom Smith, Holly-Rae Smith and Nick Burniston.
  24. March 21st 2014: The Institute of Network Cultures: Moneylab: Speaking about Dismantling Global Finance with Franco 'Bifo' Beradi, Tiziana Terranova and Brian Holmes. Also moderating panel on critical analysis of crowdfunding
  25. March 13th: Sussex University: Talking about financial and economic culturehacking, or the use of anthropology as a tool for activism.
  26. Feb 8th 2014: Oxford Climate ForumThe Oxford Climate Forum is a conference aiming to raise awareness of the debates surrounding climate change. Speaking on climate finance, fossil fuel industry, and financial system.
  27. Feb 1st: Warwick University: One World Week Conference: Talking on the topic of 'Are corporations the main cause of our failing economy?'
  28. Jan 15th: LSE Sociology Forum: Alternative Currencies Reloaded: Talkin' bout bitcoin etc. with historian Garrick Hillman and sociologist Nigel Dodd at LSE's McKenzie room


PAST EVENTS I'VE PARTICIPATED IN: 2013 & 2012



  1. Nov 30th: The culture of Bitcoin at London Bitcoin Expo: Speaking about the culture of bitcoin, in particular its gender dynamics
  2. Nov 26th: Oxford student union talk on divestment: Fossil fuel divestment and other forms of activism, in conjunction with the student union and the Oxford Fossil Free campaign
  3. November 23rd: How to Stop Global Tax Dodging: ActionAid campaign event, appearing alongside Richard Brooks from Private Eye, Emma Seery from Oxfam and Zambian tax campaigner Andrew Masiye
  4. Nov 20th: Transition Totnes @ Schumacher College: Permacultural finance: Incorporating permacultural design principles into finance
  5. November 2nd: Shared Planet Conference with People & Planet: Workshop on investigating the financiers behind fossil fuel companies
  6. October 30th: Cambridge Students Hubs talkDelving into the world on financial activism and economic alternatives for Cambridge Student hubs
  7. October 26th/27th: Edinburgh World Justice Festival: Workshop on demystifying the financial sector and climate campaigning
  8. October 27th Edinburgh Edinburgh Independent Radical Bookfair Speaking about my book and financial activism
  9. 19th October: People & Planet @ Surrey University: Ethical banking and student divestment campaigns & People & Planet's regional gathering
  10. Oct 12th: Thought Menu @ Transeuropa FestivalMeta-Nomadism & the Lifestyle Hackers: Big Picture Day run by Thought Menu
  11. Oct 11th: Open Data Institute - Open source finance: What would it look like?What changes, technologies and players are required to open up the financial sector
  12. October 9th: Stir Magazine Launch @ Housmans BooksStir To Action's October issue launch, speaking alongside David Boyle about economic alternatives
  13. October 4th: Fierce Festival Birmingham: Talking about alternative economies and financial performance art alongside Alinah Azadeh and Joon Lynn Goh
  14. September 12th: fanShen pop-up theatrePost-show debate with James Millar of Triodos Bank, Michael Robinson from BBC and Sam Coates from The Times
  15. Aug 23rd: Shambala Festival - Design your own Shambala Pop-Up Currency: Introducing alternative currencies & exploring ideas to implement a Shambala currency
  16. Aug 2013: Wilderness Festival Natures Tent Financial activism, and how high finance can be rewired towards alternative ends
  17. Aug 2013Cabaret of Dangerous Ideas: How to be a Financial Hacker: How people can engage and change financial institutions that they’re normally highly daunted by
  18. June 2013: Rethinking Economics - Economic Alternatives: Local currencies, timebanks and alternative economies as new green shoots of economic and social recovery
  19. Worldstrike! @ 2 Degrees Festival: Untangling the web of finance by reading & discussing the Financial Times
  20. June 2013: Grand Challenges @ University of Exeter: Workshop with students seeking to answer the question "How do we make our banks serve the common good"
  21. Feb 2013: GoGreenWeek @ University of Birmingham: Using financial markets in campaigning
  22. Dec 2012: 2°C or 6°C: What's the Plan? with UKYCC: Climate justice & financial markets
  23. Jan 2012: Guest lecture @ Ashridge Business School for MSc in Sustainability


IN-HOUSE WORKSHOPS
I also do in-house workshops with organisations from time to time. For example, I've given internal talks at Friends of the Earth, Tearfund, Oxfam, and Forum for the Future.