Culture as a medium for emancipation

Background

The social and political system in which we live affects the way how Knowledge is produced and transmitted.

On the other side, social and community movements took the responsibility of creating an alternative culture based on solidarity, cooperation, respect and commitment. Nevertheless, these initiatives are still very much in the process of creating an alternative answer to the formal educational system and often may still suffer from market dynamics.

If we want to build a new world based on a different set of values, we need to work activelly to produce them in all aspects of our lives.

Atheneum Project

Atheneum is a working progress community project that aims at elaborate and promote a new way of producing and transmitting knoweledge.  Having this in mind, Atheneum creates an open space for meet and share knowledge in a different way than that of the current educational system. As non-formal educational project we work with all members of the community to create a common interest based on self-education and cooperation.

Methodology

The Atheneum is organized in groups, these groups are non-jerarchical and based on the active participation of all members.

We start from creating working groups, which will diversify following proposals emerging within the groups or novel proposals from new people. The whole Athenaeum (all the participants) is going to meet once a month to make the program for the next one together. A monthly program will be organized by participants once the groups are consolidated. Each group will decide the perodicity and the methodology to follow in the sessions, which may go from collective lectures to debates, talks made by an expert in the topic, seminars prepared by the mates, discussions, presentations and so on. Every group may evaluate their work retrospectively if they want, existing the possibility of that two or more groups conflux at some point in one session which is of interest of everyone. Different formats will be proposed, such as

1. Collective readings and discussions.
2. Debates.
3. Seminars (somebody prepare a topic and present it).
4. Talks.

Periodicity

The periodicity is up to each group. Also we may consider to bring experts of any topic to talk about it.

Organization

Now that we are starting, we meet every week. However, the goal is to have one meeting every second Monday of every month with all the participants to make the program, and take the responsibilities of the communication and coordination.

Contact

We meet every Monday at NieuwLand’s Public Space (Pieter Nieuwlandstraat 93) from 7 until 9.

If you have any proposal for a new group is better to come and tell us in the meeting. Nevertheless, you may contact with us by mail at nieuwlandathenaeum@gmail.com.

In a, hopefully, soon future we’ll have also a website to check our activities.