Curriculum

Classes

Class	Description	Why Activists Need this	Number of Classes	Assignments
Financial System	The financial system is opaque and mysterious to us, and yet defines much of what exists — and what cannot exist. There is no useful understanding of our society without an understanding of its core.	Some activist programs are so contrary to the tides and currents of the financial system that they have little chance of success. Others exploit loose links in the system. Know your system.	5 lectures 5 discussions	– Read “Debt – the first 5000 years” – 2 Essays – 1 Test
History of Popular Movements	If we look at movements that have worked or failed in the past, we can gain intuition about what can work in the future.	Don’t repeat obvious mistakes of the past.	2 meetings 1 Presentation round	Prepare a public presentation in form of slides or videos describing briefly 2 failed movements and 2 that worked
History of Public Relations	Freud’s nephew, Edward Barneys used Freud’s insights about human nature to manipulate the public. Public Relations as we know it was born.	PR is an area that activists have long neglected: The manipulative nature is contrary to the world we want to work on. Yet, we need to understand how it works, why it works, and how we can use this knowledge to the benefit or direct action.	5 meetings	– Write essay – Group assignment in at least twos: Make Video or Presentation
Public Relations	Practical workshop on managing our own PR	How activists present their actions to the public influences a lot what impact the actions can have on society.	2 workshops	1 video per group of two
Mind Control Techniques	PR and propaganda make use of several mind control techniques…	Especially activists must be able to recognize mind control techniques	2 meetings	Write essay or make video
Biases	We’re trying to be rational but are subject to a huge number of surprising biases.	Becoming aware of their existence and practicing their detection contributes to a higher level of lucidity.	2 meetings	Write essay or make video
Basic Statistics	How to understand statistics presented in the media.	Activists must be able to back up their claims with statistics, and must be able to detect when opponents have gotten tricky with theirs.	1 meeting	Using a news article, describe alternate interpretations of the reported analysis.
How to Read the News	How to determine trust in news coverage.	Activists must be able to verify news articles before forwarding them.	1 meeting 1 discussion	– Analyze a topic reading a number of articles – Essay or Video

Working Together

Class	Description	Why Activists Need This	Amount of Classes	Assignments
Poles of Attraction	How can we manage and form coherent working groups?	This concept enables activists to work on what they want without having to force or push their own views or ways onto other people	1 lecture with Q&A	Essay
Management of Similarity	We tend to discuss differences and problems more than areas where we are alike — because it’s easier than managing similarity?	Focusing on our similarities forces our attention on why we are working together in the first place.	1 Workshop	Presentation of Results
Decision making for Small Groups	Various collective decision making processes, and their pros and cons.	Figuring out decision making tends to be the first thing groups of activists need to work out in order to work together.	1 Workshop
Communication Trouble-shooting	Communicating within a group, fairly, safely, and effectively. How to avoid common problems.	Effective action follows effective communication	1 Workshop
For Germans: Understanding Indirect Communication	Diplomacy is based on indirect communication. It is the art of saying something without forcing your interlocutor to react.	When working with foreigners, understanding indirect communication is better than insisting that it isn’t happening.	1 Workshop	Anecdotal essay or funny video

Skills

Class	Description	Why Activists Need It	Amount of Classes	Assignments
Basic Book Keeping for Small Projects/NGOs	Open Source software, basic management, German NGO bookkeeping regulations, tips and tricks	In most projects there is cashflow, and someone needs to keep track of it.	3 classes	Manage the Books of one of the House Project for the whole period of time
Podcasting	Audio recording and editing	Podcasting is one of the many ways activists can broadcast about their activities.	Every two weeks, 4 hour Workshops	A by-weekly podcast episode is edited, out of conversations that have happened in the house.
Videoing	Video recording, lighting, tips, tricks for cameras and phones.	TikTok/YouTube are one of the many ways activists can broadcast about their activities.	There is weekly Video Production Workshop	You are part of the Social Media team (a short time)
Film editing	Open Source software for phones and computers, editing tricks, effects, greenscren etc.	see above	There is weekly Video Production Workshop	You are part of the Social Media team (a short time)
Foto Shooting	Basic skills, lighting, angle, layout/motif, arranging a foto shooting set up (including people), light editing, managing people	For any kinds of action, documenting and broadcasting via blogs and other media outlet, good lighting and setting are a great way to have more reach with media material	2 Fotoshootings	Presentation
Grafik Design	Basic Grafik Design with Open Source Software	Flyers, Posters, Banners, Stickers	2 Sessions	One idea in different formants for banners, flyers, posters, stickers etc.
Moderating and Self-Moderation	Moderation skills	Especially when managing large groups of activists, a facilitator is required.	Beginning from the fourth week	Moderation of all plenaries, or taking turns with other students.
Grants	Applying for Grants	Some NGOs may have access to certain funds and it’s important to pounce when it happens, as deadlines approach soon.	1	Find possible grants for our area and the area you normally live in.
Fundraising	Techniques to raise funds fast	Crowdfunding is a good option to fund projects, especially if they are not supported by the government.	4	Analyse two successful and two unsuccessful crowdfunding campaign
Event management	Learn how to organize communal meals, fundraising parties or concerts & community events	Often times, activist groups organize event to connect with other activists and people and learn from them.	10	Mount one event during your stay.

Pick one of the following, according to interests

Class	Description	Why Activists Need This	Amount of Classes	Assignment
Programmers or those who want to learn: System Administration	Activists need system admins	There are many cool useful apps, also in the Open Source world, thanks to activists! 🙂	5 x per week	Different kinds of system administration tasks, throughout your stay
Video and audio recording	How to get a clean and attractive recording that does not distract from your message	Each video is one chance to put out one message
Video editing	Use open source software to edit videos	You must keep attention to deliver a message	5 x per week	You are part of the TikTok team, throughout your stay
Grafik Design	Basic Grafik Design with Open Source Software	Flyers, Posters, Banners, Stickers	5 x per week	You are part of the Social Media team, throughout your stay
Fundraising	Techniques to raise funds fast	Crowdfunding is a good option to fund projects, especially if they are not supported by the government.	5 x per week	Crowdfund a project througout your stay.

Requirements

As a Resident Activist you manage a large project on your own and you need to be skilled and knowledgeable enough to do this. You need the above skills and knowledge to become a Resident Activist.

That said, you can become an Resident Activist without doing the Student Program. Everything from the Student Program is available in books and on the internet, and you might already know half of it yourself. We can provide you with, titles, sources and links of everything you might want to read and work out on your own.

The online version of the Student Program consists of only the assignments, you can work the rest out yourself. Our tests and assignments will keep you on track of your progress. When you are ready (you can leave 2 classes and 2 workshops out), you can sign up as Activists-in-Residency. Contact us if you have more questions on how to sign up. If you haven’t completed the Student Program, you may be asked to prove your skill and knowledge level via an in depth interview, a test, references, degree documents or the like.

A university degree is not necessary if you like to read, and if you follow the world news from a couple of sources. Very good command of English, at least understanding and writing, is required. If you only have good command of English, a big part of your stay must be used to study English at the same time, every day. (If you know the language of the Activersity’s host-country, three hours of the spoken language must be committed to improve your language skills while you are in the country.)

Projects

Activists-in-Residency will choose from one of the following projects. You can apply with your own project in mind, but Activersity only supports real action, not stomping your feet.

Choose Project	Activersity Style Direct Action	Traditional “Direct Action” Approach
Advertising Poster Crowdfunding	The crowdfunded money will pay for a high number of giant poster ads such as the ones in Bus and Tram stops. The messages will be political. Already the crowdfunding campaign creates a big buzz. The proposed posters are created in advance. Possible topics can be Climate Chance, Financial System, Proposing/Advertising alternatives.	Organize a demonstration and demand that educational institutions and media teach the population the right things. Squat the streets to form a traffic blockade. Pass out flyers to explain why you are being annoying. Hope that they will support your movement although you’ve destroyed their day.
Create Cargo Bikes building project	A Cargo Bikes Building project for a neighborhood is created. The aim is a space where cargo bikes are built with old bikes and materials from a regular construction store. Customers can build their own cargo bike, rent cargo bikes or rent out the cargo bikes they have built or bought from the project.	Petition to the government asking for funding to pay for expensive cargo bikes
Community Garden	The Neighborhood is engaged by flyers and networking to a) make their urban gardens or garden plots available for planting edible plants, and b) to manage all the gardens that have been made available by the entire group (in shifts, but together with several people). The crops are shared and the project is presented throughout via social media channels	Petition and demand bees saving policies.
Housing Foundation	A Foundation is created to which old people with no heirs can bequeath their house to. The foundation promises by contract that the house will be (partly) forever used for the purpose the bequeathers intended – a good cause of their choice. This way, their house is not automatically bequeathed to the city, and the people can rest in peace, knowing their house will be used for good. Society benefits because theses houses are taken from the speculative market forever, and intentional housing groups will manage the houses, making sure that the intended cause is fulfilled, and guranteeing stable and affordable rents.	Petition for stable rents. Go to the streets and demand lower rents. Demand from goverment to make social housing available.
Independent Apps and internet services	The project provides open source, encrypted and secure messaging, cloud, e-mail and collaboration services. Ready-to-use Raspberry Pis (mini computers without case) are programmed with the needed servers and applications and offered for a fee to customers whose security and independence concerns are of high priority to them. When ther eis a problem, the SD-cards are simply swapped and the services are good to go again.	Sign petitions to demand better internet security or less data privacy issues. Complain to your peers that internet applications have become very aggreesive in their contracts. Write open letters complaining that companies have gone wild.
Maker Space	A maker space is created where people can hang out and work on their projects, while sipping a coffee or enjoying their tea – rather than only sipping coffee and enjoying tea.	Petition and wait for the EU to make laws against obsolesence.
University Movement	Assemble a supporting team of students, professors and lecturers and organize privately held lectures about topics that need to be discussed in the University environment. Only if the University is unwilling to make space available for such lectures, make a big stink and demand it publicly. It’s likely that they will make space though.	Squat the university main auditorium and demand that the lecturers and professors take responsibility for their role in fighting climate change.
Alternative Currency	Organize an alternative currency to be used in a neighborhood/city to exchange local goods and services.	(No known direct action against financial system)
Very funny TikTok Channel about Financial System	Shoot and edit educational and fun videos about the financial system that people can understand and are going to be likely to share. Set up a website with sources and longer explanations.	(No known direct action against financial system)
Campaign for Decentralized Social Media Platform(s)	Make Flyers, Social Media entries, Blog Posts, Pamphlets and organize and invite to community bonding events, campaigning for joining a decentralized, non-commercial social media platform, such as Mastodon.	Demand from the governement to regulate Facebook.
Build a Compost Toilet	An urban non-stinky compost toilet is built (for the house, or it can be donated to other projects if more are made). A sustainable future consists of many different water and energy saving practices, also in an urban environment.	(No known direct action known)
Build a Grey Water System	Grey water from sinks, showers and/or laundry machines is collected and repurposed for toilet flushing tanks.	(No known direct action known)
Build an automatic sprouter	Fresh water that wants to go fill up a toilet tank is pre-routed outside of the room (or otherwise far away from the toilet) to flush a sprouter with fresh water each time someone uses the toilet. This tiny little indoor garden provides locally produced fresh vitamins with almost no amount of work. This reduces the dependency from vegetables that are shipped from far away.	(No known direct action known)
Build a Spirulina Tank	The algae Spirulina provides important nutrients, and we could grow it ourselves, fertilized by our own urine! Fresh, it is tasteless and can be consumed as a smoothie, or dried and compressed to tablets or left as a powder. This reduces the dependency from vegetables that are shipped from far away.	(No known direct action known)
Build an Aquaponics System	On the top, plants grow, in the bottom, fish grow. The fish poop in the water, which fertilizes the edible plants. You can eat both the crops and the fish. This reduces the dependency from vegetables that are shipped from far away.	(No known direct action known)
Open-Source Computer Party	Organize an event where people can bring their laptops or phones to. Programmers and Open Source savvy people help people who come to install open source software and encrypt their devices.	Demand from the governement to regulate popular apps. Petition to stop the government from spying on our data.