Popular Education Network (PEN) Conference, June 26-29 2018, Cape Town and Goedgedacht Trust, Riebeek Kasteel Background The Popular Education Network (PEN) was formed in 1997 as an international network of university teachers and researchers who share an essentially radical understanding of their work. PEN is one response to conditions of increasing managerialism, precarious working conditions and marketisation at higher education institutions. It was formed to defend the radical margins of university adult and community education, and to sustain a sense of solidarity and common purpose among politically committed academics who seek to engage with marginalized community groups and social movements in civil society. (Crowther and Shaw 2017) In the context of the South African higher education landscape in which all but one adult and community education departments have been reduced to programmes, an association such as PEN renders an important intellectual and collegial service to academics who engage popular education approaches in their teaching, research and community work. In contemporary higher education practices the culture and organization of bi-annual PEN meetings have always been counter-hegemonic: PEN fosters critical dialogue rather than competition, collective knowledge production rather than personal advantage. Network meetings engage with social and political struggles and participants chart ways in which academics can work together in solidarity with progressive ideas and movements. Conviviality and creativity are considered important for creating mutually productive spaces. Previous PEN conferences were held in Edinburgh (2000), Barcelona (2002), Braga (2004), Maynooth (2007), Seville (2011), Malta (2014), and Edinburgh (2016). PEN 2018 At PEN 2016 South African participants suggested Cape Town as the next venue the first meeting outside Europe, and the first in the Global South. The conference working group and organizing committee, made up of colleagues from the University of the Western Cape, University of Cape Town decided to broaden the scope
of participating academics and activists and included NGOs engaged in popular education. Furthermore, younger participants were invited to join PEN. Recruitment Unlike in Latin American countries, popular education is not well known in most African universities. Recruitment for PEN 18 was mindful of this and included the following actions: an extensive literature search as a basis for establishing new links with colleagues; connecting with organisations that actively promote and use popular education contacting the various international adult education institutes / associations, in particular, the International Council for Adult Education (ICAE). announcing and promoting PEN through the website and social media supporting the participation of students linked to research / community service programs who considered the conference to be a training ground in PE maintaining constant contact with all those who expressed an interest. offering modest bursaries for travel, accommodation and conference fee. Participants Participants at PEN18 came from 15 countries, including Ghana, Zambia, Uganda and Kenya. The Latin American and Caribbean popular education network, CEAAL, selected a representative who addressed the conference in the opening plenary session. At Goedgedacht, for the main part of the conference, there were 81 people, from 15 countries. Of these, fifteen participants had previously attended one or more PEN conferences. There was a notable presence of young people, many of whom contributed critically in sessions. The topic: Engaging (with) power Popular education works consciously and self-consciously to understand structural injustice how we are dominated and oppressed not so much by individuals but by the conditions that allow some to act with impunity to serve their own, individual interests. This education is deeply political and partisan: it is based on an analysis of the nature of inequality, exploitation and oppression, and informed by clear political purposes. Popular education aims to support the struggle for a more just and egalitarian social order and a sustainable, living planet. Defining principles of PEN are its rootedness in the real interests and struggles of people, its critique of the status quo, and its commitment to progressive social and political change.
Format PEN18 took place at two sites: (i) Community House, Salt River Rd, Salt River (26 June 2018) Community House is an historic site of living heritage. Since the mid 1980s, it has been known as a site of activism. The building itself houses NGO s and trade unions as well as a labour and community history museum. (ii) Goedgedacht Trust, off Riebeeksrivier, Malmesbury District. (27-29 June 2018) This site was carefully chosen for its conviviality but also because the meeting would benefit the non-profit purposes of the integrated environmental and youth development programmes of the Goedgedacht Trust. Programme (see programme attached) Open Day at Community House PEN18 ran two parallel processes: a market that featured stalls from various NGOs that showcased their work and provided information, materials and products, and a programme of popular education, inside the hall, that offered valuable insight into a variety of popular education programmes in South Africa, and elsewhere. Popular education recognises that learning and education does not happen through cognitive processes alone; the programme thus included vibrant rhythm and dance sessions, song, visuals, in addition to presentations. There were 120 registered participants, coming from a wide spectrum of civil society organisations and Higher Education Institutions. Goedgedacht PEN 18 had invited contributions to eight key themes. From abstracts received, 36 presentations or workshops were selected. Over 2 days (two half days and one full day) there was a wide spread of different sessions: - 5 plenaries - 3 parallel workshops - 5 parallel sessions with 29 papers / presentations Opening The conference began with 2 very informative films that explained the history behind and rationale for Goedgedacht Trust, thus situating PEN within a particular geographical, social, economic and environmental site. A warm-up session invited all participants to meet and greet while they played a game of Bingo. This was followed by a process focused on the theme of
the conference: popular education and power. The multiple understandings of what constitutes popular education could be vented and the signal for engaged and critical dialogue was given. An early morning Tai Chi session facilitated by Michel Friedman and Nosipho Twala emphasised the importance of learning / educating with head, heart and hands / feet! Plenaries Viviana Cruz-McDougall gave the first plenary address on Popular Education and the present post-hurricane context in Puerto Rico: because a different world is possible. The reality of climate change was brought very close to all including questions of race, class, gender, as extreme weather events affect all irrespective of who they are, when the entire infrastructure of a country is destroyed. Importantly, the session directly addressed questions of power and interest, and throughout the rest of the meeting, there were many references to this plenary. The second plenary at night was entitled Creative dissent, community radio and social movement learning: a collaborative meaning-making panel on the Yihi Katseme. The session included a film documenting the performance of a play made by Yihi Katseme salt workers, followed by brief presentations and discussion. As in the afternoon plenary, the session became an illustration of how much is possible when people work together, with common purpose. Plenary 3 focused on workers education with 6 speakers invited to briefly address the question what kinds of knowledge do workers need today to rebuild their organisational strength and radical vision of the future? There was broad agreement that workers need both organizational skills, and the ability to imagine alternatives. There was plea for concepts / theory that would broaden workers critical understanding of the world. The contributors to a new forthcoming book spoke in plenary 4, entitled decolonising knowledge; learning in resistance to resource dispossession. The link between political / financial interests and environmental degradation and exploitation was made very clear in a critique of capitalism as was the role of educators in this process. Plenary 5 was a review session. Ian Martin, as one of the founders of PEN, had been asked to offer some comparative thoughts on PEN over the years of its existence. He began with an overview of the changes that have occurred in the last 21 years of PEN and referred to Stuart Hall s question are we thinking dialectically enough?. He emphasized the importance of interrogating ideology, the relationship between individual and collective as evidenced in caring for ourselves rather than others. Finally, he highlighted that, as many of the presentations demonstrated, we can always find spaces and opportunities within the constraints.
Finally, Viviana Cruz-MacDougall and Rosaluz Molina from Puerto Rico presented their critical reflections on the PEN conference. They advised that we should all be vigilant to avoid becoming colonizers ourselves we should maintain a healthy suspicion about ourselves. They suggested that the struggles in Latin America are similar to those in South Africa : they did not feel as outsiders because the issues, ethics, strategies, socio-economic conditions resonate across geography. They pointed out that CEAAL and PEN had much in common, and therefore there are great possibilities to work together. Parallel sessions The 6 parallel sessions had a wide range of topics best perused by looking at the programme and collection of abstracts. A number of issues came to bear upon how we allocated speakers to sessions: there was a strong emphasis on the question of decolonising an issue that does not only affect South Africa. Related to this was the question of knowledge whose knowledge counts, and what other knowledges can be brought in to challenged established canons. The theme of environmental pressures and change resonated through a number of papers. Culture as an important component in popular education praxis was examined and practised in a range of presentations, as were questions around community and development. The theme of power ran throughout the sessions particularly in discussions following presentations. Review / reflections While there are many claims made regarding popular education practices from different quarters, including corporations, often this is no more than a claim based on applying a participatory methodology. Within the context of the 1980 s in South Africa, universities offered a safe haven to do activist work that could not be done outside. It was also a time when adult and community education departments / institutes flourished both within and outside the academy, and many applied the ideas of Paulo Freire expressed in the Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Todate, the neo-liberal university no longer welcomes the idea of activism. Popular education has lost its base at universities and so it was not surprising that more than ever before, many participants at this PEN came from NGOs rather than HEIs. The notion of disruption, central to PEN, is in itself at stake. Debates around what knowledge? and inclusive processes of knowledge production have moved out of the academy. While PEN in the past stretched the academy1 engagement with knowledge and movements have now been formatted into internships and community experience. As organisations and community groupings improve their capacity to make convincing arguments and articulate their practice theoretically where and what is the role of academics? 1 Thompson, Jane (2000) Stretching the Academy: the politics and practice of widening participation in Higher Education, NIACE; and Crowther, Galloway and Martin (2005) Popular Education: Engaging the Academy. International Perspectives. NIACE.
Tensions and contradictions, as always, enhanced critical dialogue: For some, PEN18 raised the question of where is the theory? because of the emphasis on the practice part of praxis; others felt uncomfortable about the pressure from activists outside the academy. Fractures surfaced as questions of local / indigenous knowledges became important and were explored in relation to power. In every conference and meeting, time constraints are lamented as the hindrance to in-depth dialogue and this PEN was no different. Finding the balance between people wanting/needing to present papers and encouraging especially emerging scholars to do so in this non-threatening environment, on the one hand, and allocating sufficient time for deeply reflective conversations and dialogue, on the other, is challenging. We tried but we did not succeed, entirely: the programme was too full. Popular education involves learning in order to act on social, economic, political, environmental world. Developing a critical analysis of the world and the ideas and powers that move it is crucially important and popular educators are deeply committed to initiate and support this process of what Freire called conscientisation. PEN18 stimulated much thinking about interrelated injustices across the world; the location of the meeting on a farm in South Africa brought issues of inequality very close to participants. Presentations from all the participants honed in on particular aspects of such injustices and issues and the opening and final reminder to cast all of the issues within the increasing pressures from climate change left all with a sense of urgency. We hope many of the emerging scholar-activists who attended will continue to support / be supported by PEN. PEN 18 attempted to implement some ideas such as offering free solidarity accommodation in Cape Town, for people from outside. Provisionally, the next PEN will be in Maynooth, Ireland but maybe the time has come to move further South, and creatively to imagine how to engage in multi-lingual ways. We thank the NIHSS for their financial support, that allowed us to offer bursaries for deserving participants, for the donation of pens and paper and for sending a representative to the conference. We thank Anna James for interviews with PEN participants, to be uploaded to the website. We also acknowledge gratefully the ongoing support by the NIHSS for the research into Traditions of Popular Education. Astrid von Kotze Shirley Walters 22 July 2018