User:Radicalroots/skillshare

The Boston Skillshare is is an annual weekend event in Boston, Massachusetts organized by the volunteer Boston Skillshare Organizing Collective. The Skillshare seeks to create a temporary space for sharing practical skills to live more happy, creative and sustainable lives.

The first skillshare was held in 2001 and traditionally takes place in the spring.

Workshops
Anyone can submit a workshop and workshop blocks are generally an hour and a half.

During the 2007 Skillshare, volunteer instructors demonstrated how to grow mushrooms, ferment cabbage, and win at backgammon. They also give instruction on bike and moped repair, how to grow your own sprouts, build a yurt, juggle, make a street-theater mask, and knit a stuffed animal, among many other workshops.

The Collective
The skillshare events are organized by a rotating collective of local volunteers that works together in a non-hierarchical, consensus-based manner to solicit and schedule workshops, secure space, do publicity and outreach and cook meals.

Points of Unity
We believe everyone can teach and learn something. We promote the idea of participatory learning, which emphasizes collective knowledge, blurring the lines between facilitators and participants.

Education can happen through informal, non-hierarchical learning outside of the monetary economy. In a capitalist society, where learning has become commodified, we can resist by creating opportunities for people to share knowledge and skills with each other.

Skillshare workshops are based on a strong DIY/DIO (do-it-yourself/do-it-ourselves) ethic and focus on practical skills.

Workshops are accessible, free, and open to all.

We reject oppressive systems in the larger society including but not limited to racism, classism, sexism, heterosexism, ageism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, and speciesism.

We seek to create accountable spaces within our collective and the Boston Skillshare event.