Beyond Learning

What if our space for learning could turn into a living room, a café – or an island?
In the first episode of the new season, we pass by Vienna to begin our exploration of learning, identity and belonging.
We meet with Margit Lindner from the magdas hotel, a social enterprise that supports learners with a refugee background. Margit takes us on a tour of the hotel and tells us what it means to create a safe space, and to run a business that’s focused on people, and not on profit.
We also talk to Alisa Cela-Goldgruber from Verein Piramidops, a community centre that works with migrant women. She shows us around the neighbourhood, and shares how adult learning can create new spaces for exchange between communities, both physical and metaphorical.

Who makes – and owns – a language? In Linz, we meet with Rubia Salgado, language teacher and co-founder of das kollektiv, a collective of migrant women. As we walk along the Danube, we talk to Rubia about who belongs in public spaces, what it means to be open to change, and why learning about migration can’t be reduced to trying out new dinner recipes. We discuss what grammar and syntax in a language have to do with power and who constructs a language. Rubia also tells us about the benefits of chewing the words – and why poetry can help.

It’s time to change the vocabulary,” says one of the guests of this episode. In Budapest, we visit two civil society organisations that challenge existing narratives. We first talk to Teréz Pataki and her colleague from Mira Haz, a community centre that welcomes migrants and refugees. We discuss intercultural learning and why an integration course isn’t a factory. We also meet with Róbert Kepe from the Shelter Foundation, which supports homeless people. Róbert introduces us to the Hungarian Street Paper, where all contributors – no matter their experience or background – have their art published on the same page. In the meantime, we get advice on where to best learn to fly a kite as an adult, and find out why vending machines in Budapest sell books.

Who has the power to create public spaces?

We first ask the question to Katarina Popović and Maja Maksimović from the University of Belgrade. We sit down in a kafana in Belgrade to talk about cultural identity, practice dark Eastern European humour, and reflect on the value of a stolen Yugoslavian passport. We also do some experiential learning around the concept of Dionisian socialism.

We then meet with Iva Čukić and Jovana Timotijević the Ministry of Space, a collective that reflects on the future of cities. Iva and Jovana tell us how collective practices can recreate a sense of community, and what it means to fall in love with an abandoned building (relationship status: it’s complicated).

This episode also features discussions about the Serbian model of gentrification, the Turkish approach to slow food, and the German take on nostalgia.

Is radio a thing of nostalgia?
In the new episode of our podcast, we revisit the past as we open closets, cupboards and drawers with Maja Maksimovic, our host in Belgrade. While talking about personal memory, we also learn how to make Turkish coffee (and read the future).
We then take a walk in a park with filmmaker Marija Stojnic to discuss “Speak so I can see you”, her documentary about Radio Belgrade. Marija shares with us why radio is an accessible means of learning, and how you can get goosebumps from listening to archives. We also reflect on how to connect with the past without romanticising it.

Who was there before us in our movements? How can we own the narrative of our histories? In the heart of a bustling library and archive in Athens, born through the claims of the Greek feminist movement in the 80s, we meet Irene: an archivist, librarian and feminist. Amidst the books, journals and clippings of the archive, we discuss libraries as sites of collective learning and exploration, where diverse voices converge and histories intertwine. We talk about how libraries and archives are more than just repositories but catalysts for change, documenting movements and revealing untold stories of community learning. In these spaces of gathering and discovery, we see how sharing languages, stories, and demands, bit by bit transcend great narratives and showcase that transformative action is forged day by day, get together by get together, book by book.

How many mothers does it take to raise a child? And what does polymaternalism actually mean?

In this episode we take a look at a winterschool course on Feminism and Motherhood at the University of Antwerp. We talk to learners of the course, both of whom are researchers in the fields of motherhood as well as the organiser of the course. We delve into defining the term of polymaternalism and how becoming a mother is a process of learning and discovery. Check out the episode to hear more from Professor Ariadna Ayala Rubio, Dr Gemma McKenzie and Joke Struyf.

Could tango take over your life? Boris Maidanik, a tango teacher, tells us about his experience of learning to dance tango in his hometown – Buenos Aires, and what it’s like when the whole room stops to a rhythm of a dance. He also shares what migration across different European countries has brought him, and why tango isn’t about learning the steps. We also speak to Ana, a tango learner who reflects on why learning to dance can help you bury an image of yourself – or to reconfirm who you are. In the meantime, we visit a tango practice in Belgrade.

In this session, we delved into innovative educational practices for promoting green transition. Our invited three speakers shared their expertise, while the moderator guided the discussion on how these practices can be implemented in adult education.

Moderator: Aleksandra Kozyra, European Association for the Education of Adults (EAEA)

Speakers:
Agnieszka Borek, NGO Trainers’ Association (sTOP), Poland
Chris Evans, Himalayan Permaculture Centre, UK
Grigoris Protsonis , A.S.T.O, Greece