Degrowth Summer School

The PIC is proud to host part of the Summer School on socially sustainable Degrowth organized by the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB) (http://summerschool2014.degrowth.net/).

Amidst calls for restoring growth as a path out of the crisis, the intellectual and political degrowth movement exposes the impossibility to greening economic growth, or making it equitable. In theoretical terms degrowth implies a radical critique to the western notion of growth- and technology-led development as a single overarching path of organizing social and economic life. It implies revisiting the role of monetary and market-based transactions in society and searching for a way to bring back its human, emotional, non-utilitarian or gift-based traits. In practical terms degrowth requires multiple paths, from the reduction of the need for, and use of, non-renewable resources and related extractive infrastructure, to deepening democratic processes in society. Above all, degrowth brings forward the need for a debate on the political project of society, and especially on the need to break away from the technological and psychological lock-ins placed by the growth and capital accumulation imperative. From ICTA-UAB and Research & Degrowth we have been writing and working on degrowth for several years already, advancing it beyond the general theoretically-defined framework, and trying to foresee its implications for various fields and components of society and life.

The Summer School on Degrowth offers a range of perspectives located at the core of the concept, looking at its sources, dimensions and policy implications. For this purpose the school will bring together some of Europe’s leading academics in politics, philosophy, ecological economics, ecology and economics that work in the field of degrowth to teach to the next generation of researchers. On Saturday July 5th participants will spend the day at Can Masdeu for a day-long session full of presentations and debate.

VOICEBATH - 26th - 27th April, Krakow, Poland - To.Pole

To.Pole Association members - Mateusz Flak and Agata Bargiel - organised weekend session of voice work, held according to the method created by Hangfurdo choir from Budapest, Hungary. The aim of method is giving a soundmassage to invited guests and in this case 'sound' means human voices only. 

 

Hangfurdo choir's work is inspired by voice improvisation, yoga sivananda relaxation techniques, as well as humanistic psychology approach and Focusing method of Eugene Gendlin. Importance is given to such values like empathy, acceptation, transparency. Another part is getting into complete awareness of our temporary state, listening to the deep needs of our bodies and reacting to them. Receivers and doers are free to choose their most comfortable ways of producing and receiving sounds that can come out from/reach them. 

 

Participants of our workshop were students and working adults, voice awareness amateurs and professionals, living in Krakow. We practiced listening, harmonisation, improvisation games, giving sounds of different origin and meaning, did work with imagination and reacting to impulses given by partner. All elements we have been working with for two days led to final practice of voicemassage - firstly 

 

practiced in couples, with different focuses (giving attention to body parts, then to verbalised wishes of partner). Later we moved to group voicemassage, when group of people is giving common soundrelaxation to one receiver. We practiced the way of conducting such session and discussed inspired by our feedbacks.

 

All participants felt rise of energy in their bodies and growing peacefullness at the same time. The situation of giving light touch and singing for somebody while being close to them usually seems to happen only in love/family relation, at least in western culture. We experienced and discussed healing effect of such practice - when one person or a group gives soundrelaxation for introduced receiver, in completely aware way, with intention focused on real needs of the guest. It brought us to a conclusion how important and precious it would be for our communities, inhabitants of big city, to use this method in daily life, in order to release stress factor, bringing them closer to their bodies and empower them. Another value is that such practice helps to organise people, bring them closer to each other also and build supporting networks for society. 

Project was realised by To.pole Association in framework of Enough For Everybody For Ever funded by Grundtvig Program.

The Laboratory Body Awareness - To.Pole

To.pole Association initiated a meeting of three somatic approaches to body – inspired by Body Mind Centering, Lowen and vinysana krama yoga. The Laboratory Body Awareness brought out a lot of questions about 3 subjects on which we focused : grounding, enlivenment and the presence. The following methods are a base for both individual work with body and an interesting group approach in any kind of work. They evoke questions wich will not appear in any different context. We focused on how to apply the knowledge in daily life and at work as well. The chosen topics are present in different ways in BMC, yoga and Lowen approaches. The Labolatory was a small experiment on how the layers of particular methods overlap each other. The 12 participants came with diverse backgrounds: physiotherapists fizjoterapia, yoga teachers, academic teachers, trainers, students. That enriched the Labolatory. Each practice part we finished with a speaking part. The project bridges the gaps in informall eduacation of adults in a body awerness field. We asked how to use our individual body experience in working with groups? How to work with groups and in our jobs with body approach? And sometimes we need to accept that body experience brings more questions than answers and only time will tell an answer. Labolatory appeared as an important part of research about this questions. It was created to rise a quality of the conscious life of each participant. The project was realised by To.pole Association in framework Enought for Everybody Forever Project funded by Grundtvig Program.