Kortrijk | 5 & 6 September 2024
Over the last four years, the Living Summer School (LSS) has experimented with informal education as a means to inspire meaningful shifts in territorial innovation. During the conference, held alongside the fourth edition of LSS with the theme “Living (in) Repairs,” we invite a diverse audience—including educators, researchers, students, youth and social workers, and artists—to engage with our ongoing research and practice. This event was an opportunity for participants to share experiences, discuss challenges and opportunities, foster new collaborations, and envision the future of informal education in Europe.
We believe that academia is slowly drifting away from practice and crossovers between the two are increasingly challenging. Concurrently, technology is changing the way we meet, communicate, and share knowledge. More alarmingly, these developments are occurring against a backdrop of troubling global trends, including the rise of extremist political movements in Europe and the destruction of educational infrastructure in conflict zones such as Ukraine, Palestine, Syria, and Sudan. These factors raise significant concerns about the future of education.
As a response, institutions, educators, students and activists are engaging with new educational formats ranging from seasonal schools to residencies, hackathons, laboratories, floating universities, construction camps and many more. Not only do these practices fill existing gaps in the education sector, they create more room for rich human interactions and redefine the traditional roles of teacher and student. This is achieved by blending elements from different sectors and practices within new practices: creativity, pluridisciplinary, science, art, activism, etc.
A key element in these processes is informality, which we see as a way to break through the formal boundaries of learning. We have brought together researchers and practitioners from across Europe, representing a wide array of disciplines, to share their insights through panel discussions, keynote addresses, and workshops.
The conference itself was designed to reflect the spirit of informality, with sessions dispersed throughout the city at various sites where LSS students are currently building including an adventure construction playground, a social farm, and a cultural hub, with pools, cabins and cows setting the stage of our conversations. The public forum was an inclusive event, opening up the conversation to both the general public and LSS participants. The insights and outcomes from the conference will be documented in a conference book to be published in the coming months.
Invited Guests
Dr John Birgham-Hall
Theatrum Mundi (Paris, London) - theatrum-mundi.org
Centre for research and experimental learning seeking to reimagine our cities and who has agency in making them.
Irhana Šehović
LIFT Spatial Initiatives (Sarajevo) - daniarhitekture.ba
Grassroot organisation, questioning education as well as the existing economy largely dependent on public funding.
Lydia Gresakova & Viktoria Mravčáková
Spolka (Slovakia) - nevernever.spolka.cc
Space for dialogic education and research about cities, prototype and concept of education for the 21st century.
Sasha Baraitser Smith
Soundcamp (London) - soundtent.org
Transmission ecologies from DIY broadcasting devices to public sound and radio projects.
Jan Striker
ConstructLab - ConstructLab (France, Germany, Brussels) - constructlab.net
Transdisciplinary design-build network that brings together architectural concepts and construction.
Jesse Torenbosch
KU Leuven (Leuven) -kuleuven.be - Doctoral research on informal education and its link with academia.
Felix Wierschbitzki & Jade Dreyfuss
Floating University - floating-berlin.orgUrban practice on and in the rainwater retention pool of former Berlin Tempelhof airport since 2018.
Paul Auboin
BONJOUR (Paris, ENSAPLV) - Place of conviviality for and by the residents of Îlot 27, a neighbourhood near the Paris suburbs.
Toestand
toestand.be - Temporary use of vacant urban spaces by developing inclusive social and cultural dynamics, based on meeting, action and creation.
Bart Rogé
Refu Interim - refuinterim.be
Refu Interim helps build an inclusive and supportive society where everyone feels respected and welcome, and where newcomers have sufficient opportunities to realise their personal ambitions.
Dina SuhanovaArt Academy of Latvia (LDMA, Latvia) - lmda.lma.lv - “FestivaL'and” is a summer school format developed in collaboration with the Valmiera Summer Theatre Festival since 2018.
Emma Pauwels
BAF! - Creative playground for everyone with a taste for co-creation and experimentation.
Rabea Kaczor & Sophie CharlesonForecast Platform (Berlin) - forecast-platform.com
Facilitating, mentoring, and promoting trailblazing creative practices and audacious artistic practitioners.
Jonas Merckx
Haven Cooperatie (Antwerp) - havenvoorjongeondernemers.be
Cooperative that provides a safe testing ground for every young person and every idea.
BONJOUR (Paris, ENSAPLV) - Place of conviviality for and by the residents of Îlot 27, a neighbourhood near the Paris suburbs.
Toestand
toestand.be - Temporary use of vacant urban spaces by developing inclusive social and cultural dynamics, based on meeting, action and creation.
Bart Rogé
Refu Interim - refuinterim.be
Refu Interim helps build an inclusive and supportive society where everyone feels respected and welcome, and where newcomers have sufficient opportunities to realise their personal ambitions.
Dina SuhanovaArt Academy of Latvia (LDMA, Latvia) - lmda.lma.lv - “FestivaL'and” is a summer school format developed in collaboration with the Valmiera Summer Theatre Festival since 2018.
Emma Pauwels
BAF! - Creative playground for everyone with a taste for co-creation and experimentation.
Rabea Kaczor & Sophie CharlesonForecast Platform (Berlin) - forecast-platform.com
Facilitating, mentoring, and promoting trailblazing creative practices and audacious artistic practitioners.
Jonas Merckx
Haven Cooperatie (Antwerp) - havenvoorjongeondernemers.be
Cooperative that provides a safe testing ground for every young person and every idea.
Call For Abstracts & Participation
Panel Sessions & Workshop
Kortrijk, Belgium | 5 & 6 September 2024
Deadline to apply: 1 May
The Living Summer School is pleased to invite proposals for short papers (max. 3000 words) for a research conference on informal education. We are looking for contributions that would share practices, insights, challenges and opportunities linked to education outside or at the margins of academia. Contributions can cover any field such as architecture, urban planning, social and environmental justice and youth work, innovation, entrepreneurship etc... Authors are asked to bring forth novel ideas and inspirational practices that will be shared and discussed with a range of European and Flemish audiences.
Authors are expected to share their final paper no later than the 19th of August to give all panellists and conference participants time to read through the contributions. The final papers will be published in a conference book shortly after the conference, and made available online on the website of the Living Summer School.
Event Description:
What better way to share knowledge on informal education than through an informal conference?
Participants in the panel sessions will hold their panels in the different partner sites that our Summer School program will be working on in parallel. This will allow participants to discover our summer school program and the inspiring work our local partners are doing. A bus will be organised to transport the entire group from site to site. To learn more about these sites visit the summer school event page.
Each of the 3 panels will bring together researchers, educators, social workers, architects, young entrepreneurs etc. who all share a passion for the conference topic, and will be moderated by members of the LSS team. The panels will be held outdoors, making use of the natural settings of the sites we will be visiting. Panellists will be sorted into their panels by the LSS team depending on the content of their contributions.
The panel sessions will end on a public forum, where the key findings of the day will be shared with a wide public, alongside a keynote presentation and a roundtable session. Finally, the first day will culminate in a party so that participants can continue to exchange informally.
The second day of the conference will focus on a practical hands-on workshop where panellists and guests will be divided into focus groups and lead concrete discussions using design thinking methodologies that will be facilitated by expert facilitators.
Conference theme:
Academia is slowly becoming less accessible to the outside world, and the spaces and practices of knowledge sharing are rapidly changing. Different formats are emerging, mixing education, experimentation and practice across professions and geographies. From seasonal schools such as spring or winter schools to residencies, hackathons, laboratories, floating universities, construction camps etc. different modes of bringing knowledge sharing to the real world are being explored. Temporary and long lasting initiatives are redefining what it means to be a student and a teacher, and where the class room is in the first place.
We invite you to take a step back on your own practices or experiences in informal education and question methodologies, values, success stories, failures, challenges, opportunities in informal education. We also welcome historical and prospective insights, ongoing research projects as well as non-formal non-academic contributions.
Selection Process:
Selection for participation in the conference will occur throughout the month of May. The process will be a collaborative effort involving the Living Summer School team, along with our local site partners Bolwerk, Heerlikheid Van Heule, and Wilderbras, as well as our esteemed education partners Constructlab, Fablab Torino, and Forecast.
In evaluating submissions, we will consider the ideas presented in the texts, assessing their alignment with the conference program and their potential contribution to the broader discussion at hand. The LSS team will design the panel sessions by grouping together relevant speakers.
Non-standardised non-academic contributions such as image essays, poems, narratives etc. are all welcome!
Eligibility:
Everyone is welcome to apply!
We welcome persons of all ages, professional and academic backgrounds, and fields of study. This will be a pluridisciplinary event, sharing knowledge across fields such as architecture, art, tech, music, urban planning, design, social work, academia, youth work, entrepreneurship etc.
Participants need to have hands-on experience in organising or participating in informal education initiatives and present compelling insights.
The papers and panel sessions will be in English.
Costs & Expenses:
The entire conference is free!
Housing: The conference will be held in Kortrijk, Belgium, and the Living summer school will cover all housing costs in a hotel room for two nights for contributing panellists. The hotel location will be communicated soon.
Travel: The LSS will provide panel authors with financial assistance covering parts or the whole of travel expenses for European destinations. The final ammount of financial assistance will be confirmed when participants are notified of their acceptance.
Food: We will cover all food and beverages for the days of the 5th and 6th for panellists and guests.
Participants will have access to Bolwerk’s pool, swimming suits are highly recommended!
Application Requirements:
- Bio. This will help us present final panellists in the conference book. PDF, 250 words, max 10 MB.
- Abstract of Paper. The Abstract needs to summarise the key ideas of your contribution. PDF, 500 words, max 10 MB. Only English abstracts will be accepted.
- 5 Keywords.
Deadlines and submission process:
- Registration open: 1 March
- Deadline to submit abstract: 1 May
- Acceptance notification: 15 June
- Final Program Communication: 25 August
- Submission of Final Paper: 19 August
- Arrival in Kortrijk: 4 September (free check in at hotel)
- Conference: 5 & 6 September
- Departure from Kortrijk: 6 september after 15:00
Conference Planning:
05 sept. 2024
- 3 Panel Sessions: 9 am to 5 pm
(These sessions are for all panel authors who have been invited to join the sessions, and guests who have registered in advance)
- Public Forum: 5 pm to 7 pm
(free and open to the public)
- Open Party: 7 pm to 12 am
06 sept. 2024
- Workshop: 10 am to 15 pm
(For panellists and registered guests)
The final program will be communicated in June.
Submit your 500 word abstract by the 1st of May!
The mobility of Spolka was supported using public funding by Slovak Arts Council.