5-29 July 2004 at L'Aubier, Neuchâtel, Switzerland Programme Contributors Conditions Report Pre-registration for a 2nd Edition
n You are about to leave college or university but want to be self-directing in what you do…
n You are unhappy about the way modern economic life is run and want to do things differently…
n You find yourself alone in your concerns and feel the need to find colleagues…
n You want to take more responsibility but would like to understand better where humanity is headed…
This is the course for you!
The Entrepreneur Course provides a wide-ranging view of modern economic life and its many attendant problems. It also offers insights into the powerful experiences – both challenges and difficulties – that lie on the path of those seeking to add social responsibility and associative working to their manner of doing business. The course is designed to equip participants to give on-going practical effect to the pictures and intuitions they have about their projects (see conditions below).
Created 25 years ago and employing about 35 people in all, L’Aubier combines a hotel, restaurant, boutique and shop, and a biodynamic farm. With scenic views of the nearby lake and neighbouring mountains, L’Aubier is situated in the French-speaking part of Switzerland in the village of Montézillon – 10 minutes from the old small town of Neuchâtel (where L’Aubier also has a Café-Hotel) and 90 minutes from Geneva international airport.
Globalisation: a problem wrongly stated
Today’s distortion of economic life – The limits of competition – Land, labour and capital
The threefold nature of social life
The evolution of human affairs – Articulating social reality – Doing business in a closed economy
The nature of freedom
Understanding the evolution of consciousness – The situation of a modern human being
The I and its shadow
The step from lower egoism to higher egoism – Market economy and associative economy
Axioms of an associative economy
Starting with the human being – Awakening and sustaining responsibility – Economic life as a path of development
The evolution of rights life
The birth of the legal person – Physical person and ‘abstract’ person – Friend or foe?
The different legal forms
Different gestures and their aptness to initiative, ownership and finance – Traps and possibilities
Taxation and VAT
The nature of taxation – The effects of the different ways of treating taxation
Labour: alone and together
On being an employer – Sharing the work, sharing the responsibility – Employer-employee relationships
Insurance and pensions
Mutuality – Different approaches to social security
The story of money
The philosophy, evolution and technique of accounting – Its significance for modern humanity
Double entry bookkeeping
A consciousness-building tool – The income and expenditure statement, balance sheet and closing entries
Working with three kinds of money
The idea of three kinds of money – Differentiating and measuring their effects in day-to-day management
Budgeting and forecasting
Shaping intentions through figures - Making the future happen
Cash-flow and cash management
The importance of cash and how to track it
Imagining the future
From image to financial reality – What kind of money is needed? – Picturing the risks
Getting ready to start
How to look for ‘own capital’ – Choosing the right structure – Raising loans – Banks and alternative sources of finance
Looking back
Review of the course - Last questions
Closing morning and graduation
 | Marc Desaules trained as a physicist before becoming an entrepreneur. He has been a founder-member of L’Aubier and several other enterprises in his native Switzerland, in most of which he is still active. His particular focus is on constitutional aspects and finances. |
 | Anita Grandjean is a founder-member of L’Aubier, where she also has special responsibility for interior design. Using her entrepreneurial and design experience, she also advises other projects in Switzerland. |
 | Dr Christopher Houghton Budd is an English economic historian with a doctorate in banking from John Cass Business School in London. He spends much of his time travelling the world giving workshops and providing consultancy. |
Course Details
The content will be developed through two main morning sessions with the afternoons given over to practical application in terms of the participants' projects. There will be plenty of opportunity for questions and the evenings will be left open for individual activities and initiatives. The weekends will also be free for participants to take time off, go visiting or arrange informal events among themselves. The course ends Thursday morning with a festive ‘graduation’ and the awarding of Course Certificates.
This course is a stand-alone event. It is also the fourth module of the one year ‘Young Entrepreneur Program’ offered by the Goetheanum, Dornach, Switzerland.
Eligibility
The course is open to anyone who is at least 24 years old and has already completed a training of some kind. (Those who do not meet these criteria but who wish to take part should make a case why they should be exempt.) A maximum of 20 (minimum 12) participants can be accepted. Preference will be given to those registering first and those initiating a practical project.
Manual & Reading Material
A course manual, provided on the first day, will include the basic background for the course. As well as detailing practical aspects, the manual will be based on the ideas developed in the following books, which participants are encouraged to read ahead of time:
'A Human Answer to Globalisation' by Marc Desaules (also available in French) and
'The Metamorphosis of the Capitalism' by Christopher Houghton Budd.
Available from: www.cfae.biz/publications.htm
Cost
The course fee is CHF 1’600 (10% non-refundable). This amount includes course materials, administration and taxes. It excludes travel, private insurance, meals and accommodation. Enrolment will become effective with payment of a deposit of CHF 400. The balance is due on or before 25 June 2004.
It is hoped to be able to provide financial assistance for those who need it. Please indicate if you need help or, conversely, are able to help others. Alternatively, please recommend this course to a grant-making body or put them in touch with - Associative Economics Institute (see address below).
Accommodation & Meals
Shared or single room in the village: CHF 1’280 or CHF 1’580
Shared or single room at L'Aubier Hotel (en suite): CHF 1’750 or CHF 1’890
Breakfast and midday meal at L’Aubier included.
fill our online Pre-registration Form and we will contact you as soon as possible.
Associative Economics Institute c/o L'Aubier, CH-2037 Montézillon, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
Tél.+41 32 732 22 12 – Fax +41 32 732 22 00