March 7, 2022 – Please welcome the Prefigurative Education Project (PEP), an independent, liberatory political education initiative. PEP represents the common purpose of its founders: to contribute to the development of an ecosystem focused on the development of a human society centered around liberation, freedom, and the maximization of human potential and well-being. As education is foundational to that milieu, PEP develops tools and infrastructure to enable individuals and groups to build their own education programs, thereby seeding the ecosystem we wish to grow.
Following the philosophy of Paulo Friere, we believe that the peoples of the world are fully capable of self-education, and such models need not be based on hierarchical structures, rooted in oppression and domination. This deviation from more familiar educational models, and the prefiguration of new ones, is core to PEP’s project.
Presently, PEP is in its early stages, but we have ambitious goals. Ongoing work shall:
- Practice a variety of teaching and learning methods
- Develop resources such as curricula and study guides
- Support individuals, communities, and other groups with educational materials and organizing/structural templates
Education is fundamental to the human experience. At it’s best, It is a form of mutual aid in that it should be a process by which people collectively meet the needs of their community through cooperative and decentralized efforts. PEP’s philosophy is grounded in the belief that all who participate in an education project should be doing so on an equal playing field. PEP will help groups build healthy, sustainable, and equality-focused educational models so that everyone in the group feels empowered to contribute and to benefit.
The individuals in PEP share a passion for education. PEP’s shared vision and purpose are that political education should be accessible to all, that it should be organized locally, and that it should be a vital component of liberating humans from systems of oppression or domination. Education should not be encumbered by class, cost, identity or “ivory tower” gate-keeping.
Our world should be one that maximizes freedom and liberation. A solid educational foundation is the bedrock of this aim.
If you are a political education group, and you are looking for help or resources, please connect with us. If you would like to learn more about our project, you can find our statement of purpose here. As we build our capacity, other channels will be developed and strengthened.