The organiser of a free education festival in Lambeth wants to radically alter the way education is considered and delivered in the UK.
The ‘anti-university’ campaign aims to be a ‘collaborative experiment’ by providing an inclusive education that bypasses the confines of the university.
The festival’s mission was to ‘challenge academic and class hierarchy through an open invitation to teach and learn any subject, in any form, anywhere’.
Shiri, the festival’s co-founder and United Voices of the World trade unionist said: “It’s a radical learning format.
“Obviously, there are no entry requirements, everything is free, and the whole way that we think about education is outside and against academia.”
The annual event has been running since 2015, and the line-up’s range gives traditional university departments a run for their money.
Workshops and talks covered were DIY radio to circus skills, coding, big data, climate change, art therapy, windrush, and renters’ rights.
An employment law workshop participant said: “It’s absolutely vital events like this can run, London is in a state of decline in terms of workers’ and students’ rights, I’ve learned a lot here today.”
The festival finished on Friday 15 June, culminating in talks about gendered artificial intelligence, basket weaving for beginners, and critical museum studies.
