We opened a solidarity and mutual aid opportunities page in the ecoversities website. Some friends of the alliance are in dire need of help and support. Saleh's family, Essam and Ahmed along with their families are trapped in Gaza and are seeking to evacuate. Please consider supporting them as you can, pass the voice, any contribution is appreciated. Together we can make a difference.
Collective Memory: IV Abya Yala Ecoversities Regional Gathering in La Huasteca Potosína, Mexico
“It was as if I had traveled the world without having to leave my family for so many days. It is as if I had had in Ecoversities, the opportunity to live in other places, or another country, without having to leave my territory. Receiving you was very rich for all of us." - Carmen Ramos, Tlalij Yolojtli uan Nemililistlij, Red Mujeres de la Huasteca, México.
“It strengthens my conviction that what is at the heart of the network, at the heart of the alliance, is relationality." - Yeyo Beltrán, Herramientas del Buen Vivir, México.
“The seed for me was relationships, nurturing relationships and group healing. I realize how important relationships are at this time in our lives. To be able to relate to more people from different places, different cultures, different feelings, it makes us grow so much more and be more compassionate.” - Sandra Lezama, Mushuk Away, Ecuador
Tales from the Second Asian Ecoversities Regional Gathering in Hoi An, Vietnam, October 31st - November 3rd, 2023
Speaking of gatherings, the Asian Ecoversities Alliance visited Hoi An, Vietnam for their Second Regional Gathering. They were lovingly welcomed in the Triem Tay Garden by their comrades of the VCIL Community. About 40 people coming from various ecoversities and backgrounds met to put their own stories, experiences, and dreams into a conversation around re-imagining higher education. Opening the door to alternative settings for learning, such as river-versities, mountain-versities, grandmother universities, favela universities, jail universities, that is: Ecoversities, learning spaces that attend to the local and the ecological, in service to aliveness on Earth. Learn more about this gathering in our website.
“It was clear at the onset that we were a group looking to come together in Love, and to create ritual, to share stories and to live a world that we believe in.” - Vanessa Meng, Thailand/Taiwan
"Our aspiration is to shift from mainstreaming to "many streaming." Like the tributaries that feed a river, we acknowledged the value of diverse perspectives and streams of thought. Instead of attempting to convert others to our viewpoints, we aimed to share and appreciate the richness of multiple perspectives, believing that a world with many streams is more beautiful" - VCIL Community, Vietnam
"Before coming to Vietnam, I admit it was difficult to explain what magic happens at an Ecoversities gathering. But being there with everyone, it exudes a spirit of warmth and love. The magic is felt so deeply and we at HIRAYA are honored to be embraced by everyone. I cannot wait what magic the 3rd Asia gathering would bring! Sending warmth and light from La Union.” - Eva Wang, Hiraya Collective for the Blind, Phillipines
Save the Date! Our 3rd Asian Regional Gathering will be celebrated in Nepal on May 11 - 15th, 2024! More details coming soon
What is the Sound of the Border: A Worlding Gathering in London
"What is the sound of the border?"is an ongoing multilingual, sound investigation initiated by Ultra-red collective, members of the Ecoversities Alliance, such as Free Home University, and asylum seekers, that welcomes those living in displacement conditions. It is a worlding exercise that seeks to reclaim knowledges, languages and sounds about the border beyond geopolitical boundaries and apparatuses of exclusion and control framed by the state. Initially based in Paignton, Devon, the project moved online after being dispersed by the UK asylum system, gathering briefly in London, visiting the radical social centre and archive, Infoshop 56A.
Their primary tool for inquiry is the creation of “sound objects” around border words: one minute recordings that encode deeper meanings, tensions, rituals, situations, that are later untangled in a collective listening session that dismantles and talks about the border in its own terms. Learn more about this interesting exploration here.
“It is beautiful to see how this Alliance, this movement that creates this Ecoverse, has a force of its own. Independently of the parts that make it turn, it seems to have an atmosphere of its own. An atmosphere that when you get in, starts touching you, like a docile stream that follows down its course dancing around the rocks and bringing life to where it passes (..)”
Follow Clara Luz (Instituto Etno) as she reflects upon her role within the Ecoversities Pollination, Exchanges and Residencies Circle, as well as her pollination across the territories of Sierra Grande, Bahia Brazil, strengthening local networks with The Web of Peoples. Read more in our website.
The Ecoversities Germinator Service Circlenurtures young ecoversities while drawing wisdom and memory from elder members and collaborators. Here we share a few gestating projects that are currently being supported by the alliance:
Arboretum: The Ecoversities of Philippine Native Trees and Vegetables is a project that addresses the alarming loss of indigenous trees and vegetables in the country and collective memory. Next March, during the International Day of the Forests, they are planning to plant 3000 trees. ‘The need to change the current state of education where school textbooks fail to document and mention native trees and vegetables cannot be overstated. The Arboretum and Nursery project aims to reintroduce these trees through outdoor experiential pedagogy, providing students with handson learning opportunities and promoting the value of preserving and protecting our natural heritage.’ - Teza Ramos, Arboretum, Philippines. Read more about this beautiful initiative.
Evolving Education is an online platform democratizing educational practices that empower children and youth to take responsibility for their learning, their lives and co-creating a more beautiful world. It is an unlearning and trans-personal journey that has been recorded in about 150+ hours of interviews with leading educators around the globe. “Last January we launched The Learning Expedition, a 3-month experiential learning training community where you can learn the practices of the most transformative learning centers on the planet. In this iteration, we have 38 agents of educational change, coming from 17 countries and 5 continents. We are exploring this question around education and the different ways that learning happens.” - David Caballero y Luz Olid, Evolving Education, Europe/Abya Yala Region.Learn more about their project.
Ecoversities Conflict Composters 🪱🌱
Within Ecoversities there is a service circle dedicated to composting and transforming conflict. We have met regularly since November 2022 with the intention of taking care of our relationships, while approaching conflict with interest and curiosity, as a teacher, an opportunity for growth, healing. and unlearning beyond apparently irreconcilable differences. You can read a resourceful overview of the circle here.
⛰️ Anywhere with Ecoversities… 🌺
In this section we usually share a few ecoversities encounters that took place during the last few months, they can happen anywhere…
“We were exploring the vibrant streets of Dangang City, our bonds only grew stronger as we delved into local museums and savored the flavors of authentic Vietnamese cuisine. Here's to unforgettable moments with cherished friends. Our connection deepened beyond the conference walls. Here's to forging lasting bonds grounded in shared passions and unforgettable adventures” - May Srithaworn on what happened after the 2nd Asian Ecoversities Regional Gathering, 2023.
Day of the Dead in Oaxaca, honoring our ancestors and territories. Members of the Ecoversities reunite at Yeyo's and Aerin's house to have a dialogue about relationality, life, death, dreams and the future of the alliance.
If you have a magical ecoversities encounter that you would like to share, please reach out :) bye now.
If you know someone that might like this newsletter, someone curious who identifies with the goals and vision of theEcoversities Alliance- reimagining education, livelihoods, and the world - let them know about us!
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