R(evolution)izing Online Education

Our education systems are constantly evolving, adapting to the needs, goals, and aspirations of our societies. With the global public health crisis, we are witnessing yet another evolution-- from in-person to online education, from classrooms to Zoom rooms, from universities to home offices. While complex and sudden, this evolution is necessary for the wellbeing of both individuals and the collective. However, at Pachaysana, we are asking more from this moment; we seek to spark revolution from this evolution. How can we dig deeper and use this disruption as an opportunity to rethink the ways we teach and learn? To reassess the needs, goals, and aspirations of our education systems? To question who gets to define these needs, goals and aspirations, and include more people in the conversation? How can we work together to create the models of online education we believe the times are asking for-- ones rooted in justice, empathy, and dialogue? 

This month, we share with you the various ways we are revolutionizing online education, as well as how you can get involved. We hope you will join us in this (r)evolution-- one that may begin online, but will surely follow us into the future!

Image: International students & local participants present a creative, group project in our online Theatre for Social Change course last Spring (Spring 2020).

"From the Cracks": Virtual Study Abroad Program for Spring 2021

We are excited to formally announce our virtual study abroad program for Spring 2021: “From the Cracks.” The public health crisis has disrupted our ways of “doing education,” exposing deep cracks in our higher education institutions. Simultaneously the community-led movement to end systemic racism, supported by many students, faculty and administrators, is revealing even more cracks in our ways of knowing, being, and relating. These fractures in our system intersect, making it clear that none of us will return to an old “normal.” Pachaysana sees these disruptions as opportunities to continue re-imagining international and intercultural learning, and we have created a virtual study abroad program that is born “from the cracks.” With members from our partnering Ecuadorian communities and students from our partner institutions in the US, this program plants seeds of change in the cracks, inspiring the radical learning, healing and dreaming that these times demand from us.

This virtual program will be offered in the Spring 2021 semester over two modules of seven weeks each. We will examine big human questions related to identity and systemic injustice, integrating epistemologies and voices from the Global South, and explore interactive and “decolonizing” methodologies to foment a creative dialogue among international students and local Ecuadorian counterparts. In all our courses we place emphasis on our learning space where we rehearse the changes we hope to create in the world. Interested in learning more about how you can get involved? Reach out to us at info@pachaysana.org. 

Image:  A screen-grab from our online courses last Spring. From art projects to skits, our online offerings always maintain our creative spirit (Spring 2020).

Online Workshops and Webinars: Join Us!

In addition to creating this new Virtual Study Abroad program, we have been piloting our online workshops/webinars with partner universities since August. Among others, we have been working on a series on "Global Environmental Justice and Storytelling" with partners from UNC Chapel Hill, a series on "Epistemic Justice" with partners from Ohio State, and will soon be joining Brown University’s theater department for a series on "Storytelling, Social Justice and Space." We are grateful to all of our current online programming partners for joining us in this process of dreaming, creation, and dialogue, as well as all the students, professors, and staff who have participated thus far. 

Additionally, we have two online events coming up next month that will be open to the public. On October 12th, we will be partnering with ISEEN for a webinar & workshop on “Experiential Education as Social Justice Methodology.” We will explore what it means to “re-story” experiential education so that participants can more intentionally integrate social equity into their teaching, applying methods such as Spoken Word, cognitive mapping, and visual art (click here to register-- enter as a new user).

Throughout October we will also be co-hosting a 4-part online workshop series on "Storytelling for Social & Planetary Change," in partnership with Counterpoint Knowledge, that focuses on storytelling and its relationship to knowledge, justice, healing, and the creation of new possible futures for the planetary community. A combination of panels & interactive workshops that go deeper into the themes, we hope to create spaces where we can share, process, and explore the power and necessity of stories in these uncertain times. Click here to register! Participation is free of charge, however we are accepting donations from those who are able, in order to recognize the labor of the panelists and event organizers. We hope to see you there to dialogue and create together! 

Image: Having fun during a Rehearsing Change workshop at partner collective Casa MachanKara (Quito, Spring 2018)

Updates on our Future Programming: Spring & Summer 2021

While we are mainly focusing our energies on transitioning our Fair-Trade model and decolonizing methodologies online, we are tentatively moving forward with in-country plans for the Spring 2021 semester of Rehearsing Change, as well as a special full-credit-bearing Summer 2021 term. As of now, we are accepting applications for both terms.

Working closely with our community partners, we are carefully crafting an experience that readily adapts to the realities on the ground, providing the safest experience possible for students and local participants. We are exploring creative ways to maintain the most meaningful aspects of our program, such as the focus on community-building, our creative methodologies, and the creation of collective projects. While a challenge, we are excited for another opportunity for (r)evolution. Click here to read our working plan for these terms. 

Image: International students and local participants from Tzawata work together to design a community-based project (Tzawata, Spring 2019).