At its best education is a tool in the struggle, a way to empower and a force for change. It can awaken our curiosity, help us to understand the world around us and lead us to collectively look for the tools to change it.

Escanda is an up and coming skill sharing collective. We have packed in work on gender, renewable energies, sustainable landuse, communication techologies and global justice and resistance. There seems to be a lot of us out there, thinking globally and acting locally, trying to get the word out in our own communities through a myriad of workshops and educational projects.

This gathering will bring together different kinds of groups to share skills from their experience of non-formal education. We want to finish the week with our bags full of new resources, address books full of new contacts and heads buzzing with new ways of making our points. Our focus is practical, we believe that the best way of taking in a new methodology is to participate in it yourself. We are looking forward to a week of examples of different kinds of methods or even ready constructed workshops on a range of issues around positive social change. So far we are trying to combine drama pedagogy, participatory video, pub quizzes and a whole host of games and exercises with identity politics, climate change, community organisation and non-violent resistance. But surely there will be time to muse about the deeper meanings of popular education and the current debates within.

The gathering will take place in Asturias, Northern Spain, between the rural medieval hamlet of Ronzon where Escanda is physically located, and the nearby village of Pola de Lena. Accomodation will be organized both in Ronzon and in youth hostels in the village. Participation and accommodation will be free, but we will charge a little for food. We will be able to host up to 100 people. We are expecting people from all over Europe, including some inspiring projects from Latin America and the Middle East.

We are now in the process of building the programme. Tell us what kind of a gathering would you like to participate in. What kind of work is your group doing, what could you share, are you interested in running a workshop? Contact us on  poped@riseup.net, or become part of the organising by subscibing to  poped@lists.riseup.net. More information in www.escanda.org