#CitizenFriday in Education and Learning communities
Are you a teacher, school leader, parent, educational consultant, governor, youth worker or anyone who cares about how young people learn and grow?
Maybe you've felt it: a sense that there must be better ways to help young people develop the skills and qualities they'll need in an increasingly complicated world. You care about what's happening to communities, and how young people relate to each other and to nature. But you're stretched thin by the demands of the curriculum, and finding the time or energy to do something different can feel impossible.
You're not alone.
That's why we're bringing together people across the education sector who feel the same to explore #CitizenFriday: an invitation to share, repair or get out in the fresh air, starting on Friday 27 November, the day known as Black Friday, reimagined for connection, not commerce.
This may be the first of many calls. No worries if you can't make it - just register here, and we will keep you updated on what's next.
The call
Join Tamasine from #CitizenFriday and ACTionism and Dr Rob Bowden of Lifeworlds Learning and The Global Development Institute for a relaxed online lunchtime drop-in on Thursday 8 October, from 12.30 pm to 2 pm.
Bring your lunch and come along whenever you can, for as long as you can, as we explore how to work together to bring #CitizenFriday into schools and learning spaces this year.
We'll share more about what #CitizenFriday is, hear your ideas and experience, and start to work out practical ways to make it easy for schools to take part, from classroom activities and assemblies to whole-school gatherings and outdoor learning. No preparation needed, just bring your curiosity!
New to #CitizenFriday?
#CitizenFriday is Black Friday, reimagined for connection, not commerce.
Every year, the last Friday in November arrives with corporate fanfare and slashed prices, telling us we need to buy more. But most of us already have more than enough. What we're often missing is time: with ourselves, with each other, with nature, and with the things that make us feel human.
So on Friday 27 November, we're inviting everyone to slow down, find their people and try existing differently, whether that's in fields, homes, classrooms, workshops, on walks or online. After that, it carries on as a weekly ritual, every Friday, however you fancy it.
We think of it as share, repair or get out in the fresh air, but there really are no rules:
Repair – a jumper, a relationship, or even the soil by planting a tree.
> Share – a tool, a skill, an hour, a lift, a meal, or some time making art together.
> Get outside – even if it's just ten minutes and a bit of a nosy at the sky.
For young people, it's a simple, hopeful way to turn care for the world into action, together.
Find out more: https://www.actionism.space/citizen-friday/
Your hosts
This call is convened by Tamasine McCaig, co-founder of ACTionism and part of the #CitizenFriday team, and Dr Rob Bowden of Lifeworlds Learning and the Global Development Institute.
Tamasine has a background in working to help non-fiction authors, charities and change makers build communities around big ideas. She co-founded ACTionism from a belief that we don't need to wait for others to step up and fix things; instead, we can step into our own agency, find the others and start acting together. Whether that's in communities of practice like education, or in the places we live, from towns and cities to villages, she's on a mission to create the conditions for people to take action together.
Rob is best known for designing and leading transformational learning journeys. Through Lifeworlds Learning, he supports learning communities and hosts shared learning spaces, exploring how we might create the new together. His work is rooted in the belief that while we share spaces and relationships, we each experience them through our own lifeworld, and that becoming conscious of this is essential to learning and change.