Education Program

21 October 2014

New World Academy #5: Stateless Democracy: The Revolution in Rojava Kurdistan

Stateless Democracy: The Revolution in Rojava Kurdistan is the inaugural conference of the fifth edition of New World Academy (NWA).

This conference discusses the current Kurdish resistance in Kobanê, Rojava against ISIS. With help of representatives from the Kurdish movement as well as specialists in the field, it explores the politics and culture of Rojava and the reasons behind the formation and growth of the self-proclaimed Islamic State. The question as to what and how the international community and civil society can help is also addressed—not only to stop ISIS, but more crucially, to support a movement from within the region that is offering a new democratic horizon from which the world can learn.

Keynote speakers include: Dilşah Osman (co-president of the Kurdish Democratic Society Congress in Europe, KCD-E), Dilar Dirik (PhD researcher and activist of the Kurdish Women’s Movement, Cambridge), and Joost Jongerden (researcher and specialist of the Kurdish Movement, Wageningen University), with further contributions by Jolle Demmers (co-founder of the Centre for Conflict Studies, Utrecht University, Utrecht), Dilan Yezilgoz-Zegerius (former Amnesty International specialist on Turkey and council member of the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy, ** ** VVD), Jasper Blom (scientific bureau of the Green Party, GroenLinks), Golrokh Nafisi (artist), and Jonas Staal (artist and founder of the New World Summit, Rotterdam).

The inaugural conference of [NWA #5] is organized by a collaborative alliance between BAK, basis voor actuele kunst, Utrecht; Centre for Conflict Studies, Utrecht University, Utrecht; and De Balie, Amsterdam.

Suggestions from the archive

School

10 March, 12.00–11 March, 19.00 2023

Sancochotopia: A Winter Ultrahospitality Mini Garage School

Community Portal presents...

A temporary cultural platform for diasporic affects and practice exchanges around the kitchen as a site of study. A two-day program for those interested in working with food activists and agri-cultural workers, preparing and serving food as a way to gather community and enact communal forms of study. Sign up required. 

Radio Stream

19 February 2023, 14.00

ULTRACIRCULATORY RADIO STREAM: Critical Circulation Mi

Community Portal presents...

Mi or Mie in Bahasa Indonesia means “noodles,” while mi in Chinese can mean “rice.” These over-indulgences of critical carbs are the workout diet for the Ultracirculation study group. Now in Yogyakarta, Critical Circulation Mi invites listeners into a guided soundscape with aurations by KUNCI Study Forum and Collective, School for Improper Education, Elaine W. Ho, and Wan Ing Que. While eating, listening, and reading, fieldwork-in-progress looking into the so-called “undocumented period” of the New Order Regime will be broadcast and unfolded in collaboration with participants in SOIE.

Field Work

15 February 2023, 10.00-18.00

ULTRASTUDIO THIRD SESSION 

A series of practical publishing workshops hosted by an active squat and anarchist social center in Amsterdam and organized by the Bookbinding Studio of Sandberg Instituut/Rietveld Academy and Lila Athanasiadou. 

Field Meal

4 February 2023, 13.00-18.00

ULTRAHOSPITALITY FIELD MEAL 1: SANCOCHO FLORAL

Community Portal presents...

Using the sancocho (a pan-Latin American soup with no fixed recipe) as a tool for research and encounter, Mercado Lourdes (Bogotá, Colombia) will host and organize a series of field meals. These events activate and connect the multiple affects that have resulted from ongoing research with local producers into the biodiversity of the territory.