Occupy Sydney Free School
Where: Martin Place, near Elizabeth Street – Opposite Channel 7
When: Saturday afternoons
Check the Calendar or Facebook Group for upcoming sessions.
What is Occupy Sydney Free School?
Occupy Sydney has been present in Martin Place almost continuously since 15 October 2011. A crucial part of the occupation is open public discussion of issues confronting humanity and the planet. Some of these discussions are organised into a ‘Free School’, held on most Saturday afternoons.
Anyone may offer to lead a Free School discussion or workshop session and everyone is welcome to attend.
Free School is:
- a space for honest, frank and respectful discussion and the building of solidarity amongst participants
- open for everyone to present or join sessions and workshops
- a collective way to address questions about Occupy Sydney’s directions and purposes
- an approach to building the movement and keeping it relevant and sustainable
- an occasion to discuss how we relate to existing movements,groups, actions and struggles
- a place of learning about practical skills and interests helpful to Occupy participants as well as other activists and people interested in open learning environments
- an opportunity for enjoyable group conversations and fun in growing together
- a free and family friendly way to spend Saturday
How can I get involved?
If you would like to run a session in the future, or have recommendations for individuals or groups/organisations who you think we should approach, please contact us at occupysydneyfreeschool@gmail.com. The full program of events is available on the Occupy Sydney Events Calendar. If you are interested in being a part of organising Occupy Sydney Free School – there is also a Facebook organising group. you can also leave a comment on this page.
Examples of past sessions:
- Art, Tent Monsters and Revolution
- DIY renewable energy
- A History of Radical Sydney
- Borders and Occupy
- Community Renewable Energy
- Discussion on Occupy Melbourne
- Circus workshop
- Quakers, non-violence and activism
- Nonviolence tactical training
- History of occupation and indigenous struggle in Sydney
- Struggle in Spain and the Indignad@s
- Feminism and Occupy
- Activist Legal Rights and the Arrest Process
- The Environment and Capitalism
- Alternative Ideologies
- Radical Education
- Workplace Organising
- Contagious Strikes: Talk on workers’ struggles in China
- Confronting Capital in an era of risk, with Dick Bryan, Professor in Political Economy at Sydney Uni
- Inequality and Class in Australia, with Mike Beggs, Lecturer in Political Economy at Sydney Uni
- What’s the story with changes to welfare in Australia? With Annette Maguire.
- Mass Media and the ‘manufacturing of consent’ with Wendy Bacon, Professor of Journalism at UTS
- Squatting Struggles in Europe with Marco Sofia
- Chomsky’s Challenge with Paul Rubner
Loading...
5 Responses to “Free School”
Hi,
below is the schedule for the Free School at Martin Place on this coming Saturday, December 17. It is:
1.30 – 2.30
DIY Renewable Energy/Where to for Occupy in 2012
2.45 – 3.45
Radical Education/Workplace Organising
4 – 5
Songs for Social Justice/ Experiences of Capitalism
updated with the sessions! After today I will do a post with the free school, Occupy The Suburbs on Sat and upcoming move night on the 19th.
Are the free schools still running? I am coming to Sydney next weekend and would like to come along.
yes, today, and then every fortnight. They are in the calendar – and we post the schedule to the front page of the site.
Here is todays: http://www.occupysydney.org.au/2012/02/01/occupy-sydney-free-school-saturday-4-feb/
Next will be the 18th, so you may miss out – but you should come along to site and say hello!
Thanks!
Its on again (its on fortnightly) this Saturday 18 February do come along…
1.30 -2.30 pm
1) Where Next For Occupy: The View From Oakland
2) Sustainable activism.
2.45 – 3.45pm
1) Radical artists run spaces
2) The history of the road to rainbow liberation
3) Neo-Liberalism and the 1% in Tertiary Education
4 – 5 pm
1) Cooperatives
2) How to spend a night in lock up
3) Relational art: building sustainable community and creative occupation of public space
Some workshop descriptions
Where Next For Occupy: The View From Oakland:
A short presentation to prime a discussion on vision and strategy (not to mention where next) for the Occupy movement, based on the experiences of Occupy Oakland, it’s eviction and actions (such as the so-called General Strike, and port shutdowns) which have followed. Ramsey has lived and worked in Oakland, California for well over a decade.
Sustainable activism:
Occupy Sydney members face a unique form of stress by being part of a long term, ongoing protest. Sleeping rough, and frequent contact with the police compound this stress even further.
Activist burnout is a real and serious problem. Sustainable activism looks at what you can do to help yourself stay healthy and focused.
In this free school workshop we will look at the most common causes of activist burnout. We will also talk about what to do if you are experiencing something more serious.
-Cooperatives:
The occupy movement has been challenged repeatedly on the grounds that it doesn’t know what it wants and that it doesn’t have a mission statement. This class is based on the fact that
alternatives already exist. Our challenge, and the purpose of this class is to discuss and learn about those models and how we can use them to promote the change we would like to see.
We’ll discuss alternatives to the corporate/capitalist business model are, and what the role of business or commerce in the community is and should/could be.
Creative solutions to complex problems. We’ll discuss the history of coops around the world and here in sydney as well as other member owned, or worker owned collectives around the planet that
are really pushing forward positive ideas.