Modelling for Mutual Aid

School of Machines, Making & Make-Believe presents a 5-week online class dedicated to building communities and toolkits for mutual aid.

About this Event

How can we build communities in support of mutual aid networks that begin to model the better societies we all deserve to live in?

How can we build communities in support of mutual aid networks that begin to model the better societies we all deserve to live in?

/ Five-week Live* Online class begins 20. February ends 20. March

/ Every Saturday, 12pm-2pm EST / 6pm-8pm, CET

/ Small class of participants

/ Book tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/modelling-for-mutual-aid-tickets-134402297891

Course Description

The origins of mutual aid models are rooted in the common survival of all living things.

Even before people existed, plants and animals developed and thrived through impressively complex cooperative systems that continue to provide resources among their peers. As we humans have evolved organizationally over time, so have our methods of ensuring that our people survive.

Mutual aid is practiced widely in marginalized communities as a necessity for protecting members from the resource scarcity caused by capitalistic patterns of power and distribution. In these mutual aid systems, everyone works together to ensure each other's needs are met by providing equitable access to survival items like: food, clothing, information technology, tools, shelter, and more basic needs items.

This 5-week class is for people who are inspired to build their own mutual aid model or get involved with an existing community project in an impactful way.

During the first two classes, you'll be provided background context for how mutual aid models have evolved over time and research methods for examining existing mutual aid projects that are relevant to you or your interests.

In the third and fourth classes, you will start to develop your own personal action plan that outlines the capacity of resources necessary to operate your mutual aid project of choice. This action plan is meant to serve as a guide and inspiration for your future role development as a community (or even project) organizer. You'll also have the chance to learn some basic project visualization tools, such as SketchUp and the Adobe Creative Cloud suite, and how these tools can help you communicate your ideas more effectively to others.

In the fifth class, everyone shares their mutual aid project & plans for future action. This class is merely the beginning of your journey as a mutual aid organizer. It will set the groundwork for helping you and others understand and fight against systems of oppressive power through collective action and the equitable share of resources while (mostly) avoiding inevitable burnout.

As an option, the instructor will be hosting informal weekly group discussions on Discourse that cover optional assigned readings relating to topics of mutual aid from Pyotr Kropotkin, Douglas Rushkoff, Angela Y. Davis, and more. This discussion space is for anyone who wants to nerd out on the philosophy behind mutual aid models.

Who is this course for?

The class is designed for artists, hackers, and anyone looking to reprogram and redistribute their creative output for collective good. Come join us. Enthusiastic like-minded community included. No experience necessary.

The classes are live?*

Classes are 'live' meaning that you can directly interact with the instructor as well as with the other participants from around the world. Classes will also be recorded for playback in case you are unable to attend for any reason. For specific questions, please email info[at]schoolofma.org

Instructor

Maggie Kane https://www.streetcat.media/

Born and raised in the south, Maggie Kane's creative and professional practices have centered around southern culture and its intersection with technology accessibility.

She is the owner of Streetcat.Media (http://streetcat.media), which is a systems consulting and management company that focuses on creative digital entrepreneurial development. She also is involved as a community organizer for a few technology communities in Atlanta, including roles as lead organizer for the Google Developer Group of Atlanta and board member for Atlanta's 501(c)3 non-profit maker and hackerspace, Freeside Atlanta.

When not involved with a community group event or project for her business, Maggie is always scheming up new ways to create efficiency through personal use of technology in the digital age.