The School brings together people of all ages to: do fun activities and share food, share and build knowledge, create solidarity across campaigns and issues for social and environmental justice, and organise and support local, national and international actions and campaigns.

The idea came about for a number of reasons:

-There are lots of different activist groups in the NE, some who have been around for ages and some who are new, prompted by new developments and the need for action (for example Shut Down Rafael and Stop Rosebank). Some of us are involved in multiple things, and it can feel like putting energy into one can detract focus from another. What if there was more connection, coordination, intersection and solidarity between the groups, sharing resources, time, and collaborating on actions?

-There are often barriers for people to get involved in activism. How can we create an inclusive and accessible community which helps to address some of these barriers (for example parents who need to be with their children) so that people can be part of an activist space, and be supported to be there, and together try to reduce the barriers and find different ways for people to be involved?

-There are people who care about what’s happening in the world or in their communities but don’t feel empowered to take action or feel they don’t know enough. How can we build and share knowledge and increase political education, so that we all feel better equipped and empowered to be advocates, to understand the forces that shape our lives and the systems we are subject to, and to be able to challenge them and propose alternatives? Formal /mainstream education isn’t designed to do this. We can take inspiration from past and present examples like: The Black Panther Movement, The Pan-African Saturday/Supplementary Schools movement in London and beyond, The Trade Unions’ Political Education weekend schools/courses in the 1970s, The Red Sunday School in Glasgow, and The Centre for Theatre of the Oppressed and Escola de Teatro Popular (School of Popular Theatre) in Brazil.

-Activism is hard work and can lead to burnout. It can also be creative, fun, motivating, create connection and community, and give us energy and purpose.