Get Involved

 

Join AIBIA’s work

AIBIA is not a service provider or a project that comes and goes. It is a long-term experiment in how we learn, live, and build more just futures together across different places.

Getting involved with AIBIA means becoming part of that experiment:
sharing responsibility, bringing your skills and questions, and helping shape what our Living Labs and Think Tank become.

There are many ways to join us—as a student, as a local collaborator, as a scholar or artist in residence, as an institutional partner, or as a supporter.

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1. Study with us: Programs & Field Schools

Our programs and field schools are one of the main ways people first encounter AIBIA.

You can get involved by:

• joining a short intensive (10–14 days) or field school (3–4 weeks) in one of our Living Labs,

• participating in a university course or summer school that partners with AIBIA,

• or taking part in online and hybrid seminars that prepare and follow up on on-site programs.

In these programs you will:

• live and learn alongside local residents, AIBIA staff, and other participants,

• work on real questions emerging from the Living Labs (not invented case studies),

• and help co-produce concrete outputs that stay in the community—curricula, media, tools, or ongoing collaborations.

For whom?
Students (BA, MA, PhD), early-career researchers, practitioners, and anyone ready to approach “fieldwork” as shared work and shared responsibility.

How to get involved
– Ask your university or program coordinator whether they already partner with AIBIA.
– If not, they can contact us directly to co-design a course or field school.
– You can also write to us individually to hear about upcoming open calls for programs.

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2. Partner with us: Universities, Schools & Organizations

AIBIA works through long-term partnerships. We are always interested in collaborating with:

• Universities and research institutes
  interested in critical, decolonial, and experiential education;

• Schools and community organizations
  working in rural areas, low-income urban neighborhoods, or other “peripheries”;

• Grassroots initiatives, cooperatives, and movements
  building autonomous economies, prefigurative democracy, or community-led development.

Partnerships can include:

• co-designed field schools and exchange programs,

• joint research and funding applications,

• co-production of teaching materials and open-access curricula,

• residency opportunities for students, staff, or community members at our Living Labs,

• and shared media projects (films, podcasts, publications).

We look for partnerships that are:

• non-extractive – no “research on” without “work with”;

• reciprocal – benefits and resources move in more than one direction;

• long-term – we prefer multi-year commitments over one-off projects.

How to get involved
If you represent an institution or organization and would like to explore collaboration, please contact us via the Contact page with a short description of who you are, what you do, and how you imagine working together.

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3. Contribute locally: Community collaborators

AIBIA’s Living Labs are rooted in specific places. If you are based:

• in Sierra Leone (especially in our current areas of work),

• in Molise or neighboring regions in Italy,

• or in other regions where new projects are emerging,

you can get involved as a local collaborator by:

• co-developing educational activities, workshops, or youth programs,

• hosting or guiding participants (e.g. farm visits, community projects, local walks),

• contributing your knowledge of land, crafts, histories, and struggles,

• or joining governance and decision-making spaces in the Living Labs.

We are especially interested in working with:

• community groups and associations,

• teachers and educators,

• farmers and food producers,

• youth groups, cultural collectives, and informal networks.

How to get involved
Reach out through the Contact page, letting us know where you’re based and how you would like to collaborate. We can then arrange a conversation with the relevant Living Lab team.

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4. Think and create with us: Residencies & the Think Tank

The AIBIA Think Tank is our space for research, reflection, and creation based on what happens in the Living Labs.

You can get involved as:

• a researcher or postdoc,

• an artist, writer, or filmmaker,

• an activist or practitioner working on related themes,

by:

• applying for residencies in our Living Labs,

• joining collaborative research projects and working groups,

• co-authoring publications, white papers, and media,

• or helping develop critical re-imaginative theory grounded in specific territories.

Residencies and collaborations are designed so that:

• your work is rooted in the realities of the Living Labs,

• you contribute to ongoing local projects,

• and outputs are shared openly whenever possible (with respect for local confidentiality and consent).

How to get involved
We will periodically publish open calls for residencies and research collaborations on the News & Updates page. You can also contact us to explore possibilities for co-supervision, joint projects, or self-organized residencies.

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5. Support our work: Donations & Practical Support

Building and maintaining Living Labs and alternative educational structures requires time, care, and resources: buildings and land, equipment for ICT and media, scholarships and local stipends, travel support, and basic infrastructure.

If you share our goals and would like to support AIBIA, you can:

• contribute financial donations to help sustain the Living Labs and scholarships,

• support specific needs (e.g. equipment for ICT labs, renovations, tools for agroecology or craft production),

• connect us with foundations or funding programs aligned with our values,

• or share professional skills (legal, technical, architectural, communications) in ways that strengthen the autonomy of our projects.

We are transparent about how resources are used and commit to:

• prioritizing local needs and infrastructures,

• supporting those who do the everyday work (local coordinators, community partners),

• and keeping our educational offerings as accessible as possible.

How to get involved
A donations/information section will be available here once our structures are set up for receiving support across countries. In the meantime, please contact us directly if you wish to contribute or discuss specific forms of support.

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6. Stay connected: News, networks, and invitations

Even if you are not yet ready to travel, partner, or donate, you can still be part of AIBIA’s growing network.

You can:

• subscribe to our newsletter for updates from the Living Labs, new programs, and calls,

• follow our News & Updates and Media pages for stories, films, and reflections,

• share our work with people and institutions who might want to collaborate,

• invite us to speak in your university, community, or organization.

AIBIA is meant to be a constellation, not a closed circle. Staying connected and in conversation is already a form of involvement.