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Doing Finance Differently
Money as social technology for a livable future

The financial logic of return, growth, and risk diversification has permeated the very fabric of our everyday existence. The result is a heavily monetized society with an economic and financial system that facilitates the exceeding of our planet's limits and only increases social inequality.

Why this program?
You work with money and see it flowing toward what yields a return, not toward where it is truly needed. That is not a derailment: the system is doing exactly what it was designed for. It was built to grow capital, not to serve life. Money creates money by placing an ever-increasing claim on the future, thereby passing the bill on to future generations. You know things need to change, but how do you change a system of which you are a part?

Money is a social agreement, and agreements can be revised. In five days, together with economists, bankers, regulators, and activists, you will dissect how the financial system works, who steers it, and where it is already tipping: from public money and new ownership models to divestment and collective capital.

You discover which levers are at your own disposal, as a professional, investor, or citizen. You translate these into a concrete practical assignment.

What we do
In five days, we investigate how the financial system has become too big, too concentrated, and too fragile, and what concrete changes are needed. We explore alternatives: from public money and democratic capital governance to new ownership models and regenerative investing. We alternate in-depth analysis with games, site visits, dialogue, and active exploration. We learn from guest lecturers at the forefront of the financial transition, from practitioners to thinkers redesigning the system.

For whom

• You work in or around the financial sector: at a bank, pension fund, or regulator, as an investor, entrepreneur, or policymaker.
• You sense that the financial system needs to change fundamentally, and that green labels and ESG scores are not enough for that.
• You want to understand how money is created, where it flows, and who determines that direction.
• You look beyond quarterly figures and return targets, and seek concrete ways to channel capital towards social justice within ecological limits.
• You are seeking allies in the financial world to set the transition in motion together.

What does it yield

• A clear framework : you learn to understand the financial system: how money works, where it flows, and which power structures keep the system in place.
• Insight into alternatives : you will be introduced to alternatives to the current system, such as public funds, democratic capital management, and regenerative investing.
• Action perspective : you discover how you, as an individual or with your organization, can contribute to the financial transition.
• Connection to practice : you learn from examples and case studies and meet pioneers.
• An inspiring community : you meet like-minded people who want to build a financial system that serves life together.

Program
Day 1: Setting the scene
With Hans Stegeman (Chief Economist Triodos Bank) and Shinta Oosterwaal (Senior Teacher De Groene Afslag School)

We start with the basics: What is the financial system, how is it embedded in the economic system, which power structures hold the system in place, and how can things change? In the morning, Hans Stegeman will guide you through the core of the transformation to a financial system that serves society, change theory, and a suitable economic post-growth framework. Throughout the day, we will experience what is going wrong in the current financial system through a serious game.

Day 2: Money, payment systems, cryptocurrencies and the digital euro.
With Ernst Hobma, Menno Broos (De Nederlandse Bank) and Thomas Siderius (Community wealth building).

Payments form the nervous system of the economy – invisible when working, immediately felt when they falter. Yet this system has increasingly fallen into the hands of a handful of private players. We investigate how payment systems work, who controls them, and what alternatives exist: from public payment infrastructure to digital central bank money and the alternative financial structures in local communities.

Day 3: Mobilizing capital for regeneration
With Joeri de Wilde, Lucas Mol, Lambert de Pater and Denise Harleman.

Capital flows, but where exactly? We delve into the question of why so much money circulates within the financial sector itself, while the real economy cries out for investment in housing, nature, healthcare, and transition. We explore how capital allocation works, which actors are active, and where capital flows to. We discuss why some things of value receive very little funding. We also explore why shareholder value has become dominant, and what alternatives exist: from democratic capital governance and new ownership models to regenerative investing. How can we make money flow toward what serves life?

With Lucas Mol and Lambert de Pater, we dive into the entrepreneurial practice of De Groene Afslag with a tour of the unique building and a dialogue on impact financing. Afterwards, we are introduced to the groundbreaking example of Collectief Kapitaal, the movement that breaks down structures of inequality and explores new forms of coexistence and capital distribution. With Denise Harleman, we examine—raw, honest, and open—how power structures operate in our lives and what it takes to live together on equal footing, using money as a tool.

Day 4: Delegitimization; activism and advocacy
With Hiske Arts (fossil-free) and Anna Koolstra

Transition is not only about building the new, but also about dismantling the old. Today, we explore delegitimization as a financial strategy: how does the fossil fuel and extractive monetary system lose its self-evidence, its societal license, and its power? Hiske Arts takes us into the practice of divestment campaigns: how pension funds, banks, and institutions withdraw their money from the fossil fuel industry under pressure from citizens, and what that does to the legitimacy of an entire sector. Anna Koolstra shows how a bank uses advocacy to call into question the rules of the financial system itself. Together, we explore what it means not only to build differently, but also to consciously tear down, and what role you can play in this with the money that passes through your hands.

Day 5: Your role in the financial transition
With Christiaan Uittenbosch, Ruth van de Belt and Shinta Oosterwaal.

We start with Christiaan Uittenbosch with a walk in nature and the insights that 3.8 billion years of natural wisdom offers for the financial system. Afterwards, we look back with Shinta Oosterwaal and work on a concrete practical assignment: how do we translate these insights into concrete actions to contribute to a more sustainable, fairer, and more resilient financial system? What levers are at your disposal, as a professional, as a citizen, or as an investor? We support each other in formulating intentions and actions. Ruth van de Belt tells you about the Financial Transition Room, the place at De Groene Afslag for the finance community that puts the transition into practice.

TEACHERS
SHINTA OOSTERWAAL

Shinta Oosterwaal is an economist and senior lecturer at De School van De Groene Afslag. She views economics as a living societal tapestry, with patterns that shape not only systems but also people. In her teaching and research, she invites us to re-examine these patterns and break the myth of normal, both in collective system structures and in our inner world. Drawing on traditional and innovative economic perspectives, systems thinking, and a moral compass, she explores how values such as reciprocity, justice, freedom, and coexistence can guide an economy relevant to the times in which we live.

HANS STEGEMAN

Hans Stegeman is Chief Economist at Triodos Bank. He is responsible for Triodos Bank's economic and sustainability research, as well as the impact strategy. The common thread in everything he does is the realization that our economic system must change fundamentally and that the financial sector plays a crucial role in this. He holds a PhD in economics, and before joining Triodos, he worked at Rabobank, the CPB (Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis), and the FNV trade union. He writes columns for various media, including the Financieele Dagblad and Vrij Nederland, and maintains his own blog.

ERNST HOBMA

Ernst Hobma is an economic researcher at Triodos Bank and, in this role, works on the bank's vision of the financial system. He is a PhD candidate at Erasmus University, where he conducts research into the role of bank loans in sustainability. He lives in Utrecht and enjoys endurance sports.

ANNA KOOLSTRA

Anna Koolstra is Advocacy Manager at Triodos Bank. In this role, she works on change towards a sustainable, just financial system. Previously, she worked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs within the European institutions and at the Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment on affordable housing. She views societal issues as interconnected systems in which policy, economics, and social structures influence one another.