What our programs are
AIBIA programs and field schools are immersive, place-based learning experiences rooted in our Living Labs in Sierra Leone, Italy, and partner sites around the world. They are not add-ons to the Labs; they are one of the main ways our Living Labs think, teach, and transform together with universities and local communities.
Rather than flying in, taking notes, and flying out, participants step into an ongoing process:
a living laboratory where education, everyday life, and political–economic experimentation are inseparable.
Our programs range from two-week intensives to three-month field schools and residencies, but they share a common DNA: critical reimaginative theory, deep engagement with local partners, and a commitment to non-extractive collaboration.
What we are trying to do (conceptually)
Across all locations and formats, our programs aim to:
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Re-center “marginal” places as sites of knowledge.
Inner areas, low-income neighborhoods, rural villages, and grassroots initiatives are treated as producers of theory and practice, not just as “case studies” or “field sites.” -
Bridge universities and communities horizontally.
We build relationships where local actors, students, and scholars are co-researchers and co-teachers, not simply “hosts,” “beneficiaries,” and “experts.” -
Practice prefigurative democracy and autonomy.
Programs are designed to experiment with more horizontal forms of governance, decision-making, and shared responsibility — in how we organize the course itself, not just what we talk about. -
Create two-way South–North knowledge flows.
Sierra Leone, rural Italy, Jamaica, and other sites are treated as places that generate concepts and methods that travel back into European and North American universities — not just the other way around. -
Leave something meaningful behind.
Each program is structured to produce outputs (curricula, films, digital archives, teaching modules, community tools, research collaborations) that remain useful in the Living Lab and community after participants leave.
What happens in an AIBIA field school?
Every field school is tailored to its place and partners, but most follow a shared rhythm. You can think of it in four phases:
1. Preparation (before arrival)
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Online seminars and readings introduce:
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the local context and history of the Living Lab,
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key concepts (autonomy, prefigurative democracy, decolonial and critical pedagogy, autonomous economies),
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and the ethical and methodological framework (non-extractive research, positionality, care, consent).
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Participants meet key local partners and AIBIA staff virtually, starting to build relationships and expectations.
2. Immersion & Grounding (first days on site)
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Orientation walks, shared meals, and conversations with local residents, activists, farmers, or teachers.
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Sessions led by the Living Lab team on:
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how the Lab emerged,
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what tensions it navigates (e.g., dependence on capitalist waste, depopulation, digital divides),
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and what current projects are underway.
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Introduction to the daily life practices that are part of the learning: cooking, cleaning, maintenance, farming, childcare support, or other shared tasks — depending on the site.
3. Collaborative Inquiry & Practice (main body of the program)
Participants work in small, mixed groups (students + local partners + AIBIA staff) on concrete questions and projects, for example:
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documenting autonomous economic practices or community initiatives,
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co-developing educational materials with local schools or youth groups,
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supporting ongoing Living Lab work (e.g., ICT training, agroecological experiments, local mapping, media production),
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or designing and testing small interventions that respond to priorities identified by local partners.
Throughout this phase:
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Mornings might include workshops, seminars, or skill-sharing sessions.
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Afternoons are often dedicated to field visits, collaborative work, and hands-on practice.
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Evenings bring collective reflection, where participants connect their experiences to broader debates on democracy, capitalism, decolonization, and development.
4. Synthesis, Accountability & Next Steps (final days and after)
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Groups present their work back to the community and Living Lab — not just to the university or to AIBIA.
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Together, we identify what should be carried forward, archived, or developed further.
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Participants co-create outputs (reports, zines, videos, teaching tools, research notes) that stay in the Living Lab and feed into future programs.
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Follow-up online sessions keep the relationships alive, connect different cohorts, and support ongoing collaborations (e.g., theses, joint publications, longer-term projects).
What makes AIBIA programs different?
1. Not voluntourism, not extractive research
Our programs are explicitly designed against:
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voluntourism that offers feel-good experiences with little long-term relevance locally, and
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extractive research that accumulates knowledge and prestige elsewhere while leaving communities over-studied and under-supported.
We aim instead for slow, iterative, accountable collaboration, in which:
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the Living Lab sets the terms and priorities,
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participants contribute to ongoing work rather than inventing short-term projects from scratch,
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and relationships are built over years, not one-off visits.
2. Theory & practice are inseparable
An AIBIA program is not “fieldwork plus a theory class.” The field is theoretical, and theory emerges from the field.
Participants read and engage with:
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critical and decolonial thought,
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anthropological and political theory,
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local knowledges, narratives, and practices,
while constantly grounding those ideas in the everyday realities of each Living Lab — from ICT labs in low-income neighborhoods to olive harvests and self-governance meetings in inner areas.
3. Life is part of the curriculum
Cooking, cleaning, taking care of the space, walking, waiting, listening, childcare, dealing with infrastructure that doesn’t work as expected — all of this is part of the learning environment.
We make this explicit:
How we live together during a program is itself a site of democratic, ethical, and ecological experimentation.
Types of programs
You can show this as three “cards” or sections.
Short Intensives (10–14 days)
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Compact, focused programs built around a specific theme or collaboration.
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Ideal for partner universities needing clear timeframes (e.g., spring or summer intensive).
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Often include:
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a few days of deep orientation,
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a central 5–7 day collaborative project,
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and structured reflection and synthesis.
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Field Schools (3–4 weeks)
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More spacious programs that allow for deeper relationships and more substantial contributions.
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Time for cycles of:
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learning → practicing → revising → presenting → rethinking.
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Especially suited for multi-sited or transregional field schools (e.g., Italy ↔ Sierra Leone ↔ Jamaica over multiple years).
Residencies & Long-Term Stays
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For postdocs, artists, writers, and practitioners in residence, and occasionally students doing thesis work.
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Stays can range from one month to several months, often linked to:
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specific Living Lab projects,
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the AIBIA Think Tank’s ongoing research themes,
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or co-creation of teaching materials and media.
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Who we work with
Our programs and field schools are designed for:
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University students (BA, MA, PhD) from a wide range of disciplines: social sciences, humanities, environmental studies, development, design, arts, etc.
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Local community members and partners in our Living Labs, who participate as co-educators and co-researchers.
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Researchers, postdocs, and faculty seeking grounded, long-term collaborations rooted in specific territories.
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Artists, activists, practitioners, and others looking for spaces to link their practice with critical, decolonial, and democratic experimentation.
How programs connect to our Living Labs
Each Living Lab page (Sierra Leone, Italy, and future sites) will describe the concrete programs currently running or in development.
Here on the Programs & Field Schools page, you can add something like:
Where programs happen
Our programs are hosted in AIBIA’s Living Labs and partner sites.
– In Sierra Leone, programs focus on ICT, education justice, digital divides, and community-based development.
– In Italy (Molise), programs center on rural regeneration, inner areas, autonomous economies, and prefigurative democracy.Visit the individual Living Lab pages to see current and upcoming opportunities.
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