Ever since payment card usage began becoming more common, there has been correspondingly less need for physical representation of currency as cash or coins. The transformation of money into a digital concept has been extended to mobile implementations such as M-Pesa in Kenya and Google Wallet in the US.

What is less widely known is the history of complementary, community, or alternative currency systems that predate the digitization of money. I propose a brief (30 minute) session to discuss background information on what I call decentralized currency systems, share insights to recent developments in that field, and offer my two-cents on ways to move forward through a system wherein currency is traceable to how it was earned. I feel that this session would be especially relevant to the current economic environment and relates to concerns raised by the Occupy movement as well as ongoing handling of euro-currency/Greek debit crisis.

Dear THATCamp PNW participants:

When you have a moment (ideally before November 10th), please post your own session proposal on this site, categorizing it under “Sessions Proposals.” Also, feel free to comment on proposals by other participants.

Proposals can be on whatever topic you feel we should discuss at a THATCamp about technologies and social justice. Here’s an example proposal from a previous THATCamp (which did not have a theme). On the morning of November 12th, we’ll use your proposals to collectively draft the agenda for the day. Right now, we’re looking at eight session topics and four workshops.

Looking forward!