ISSA

The Austrian educator Ivan Illich, with origin from island of Brač, famously stated that the contemporary educational system has turned into an "advertising agency that makes you believe that you need the society as it is". The internet revolution and new technological advances - from social networks to AI - have catapulted us into an unkown direction, already characterized by further alienation and consumerism. At the same time the world is characterized by climate collapse and neverending wars, violence and far right ideologies. Our response to these challenges was founding a school on a remote island and building an alternative educational center in the midst of the Adriatic Sea. As a model that can inspire and already inspires other similar projects in the region and beyond.

Our attempt starts from the very local level and community building on a Vis, with the proposition that if we are able to do it on a remote island - to build a school and reimagine how education could look like -, then it could also be done elsewhere. By fostering modes of learning and living that extend beyond mere survival or resilience in the "age of extinction", ISSA is determined to create a model of knowledge-production and -sharing that goes beyond traditional notions of education. By mixing traditional knowledge (dry stone walling, collecting rain water, pirate radio...) with modern technologies (solar, internet, shadow libraries...), providing educational and public programs for kids and adults, we are slowly building an alternative center in the midst of the Adriatic Sea.

The school is operated by the NGO and non-profit ISSA which rents the land and stone house longterm for its activities. The co-founders of ISSA (to be found on issa-school.org) and members of NGO jointly decide and manage the organisation and its future activities. Currently, the NGO has one employee who is an expert in natural and sustainable building with focus on dry stone walling. Throughout the whole year, together with all sorts of educational events, various sorts of constructions are being undertaken on the island. One of our social innovations is reviving the spirit of collective "working actions" when we are joined by 100, even 200 people uphill at school constructing and learning together. At the same time ISSA is traveling and doing similar events across Europe.

Instead of founding a school in a city or on the mainland, we made a deliberate choice to implement this social innovation on a remote island. Not just because we love the island. The Mediterreanean region today is warming 20% faster than the global average, stronger storms and droughts, less rain, more tourists, depopulation... - these are all trends present at the island of Vis, and also other Croatian islands or in the rest of the Meditteranean. As such, the island of Vis makes the perfect testing ground for creating a School that is not only offering a new educational model, but at the same time experiments with various tools and solutions ("fog collectors", rain-collection, 3D printing, solar and pirate technology...) for tackling some of our contemporary challenges.

Through its actual material location and physical experience, but also through online presence and dissemination of knowledge and practices of autonomy, ISSA has both a direct and indirect impact, both on the island and beyond. It is connected to the local community and islanders who are also part of it, while we have established cooperation and partnerships with various other organisations, collectives, artists, educators of all sorts, engineers, architects, writers, philosophers, etc. It is an innovation in public perception because it exemplifies the possibility of a different school and social autonomy. It also shows that's it's possible to experiment with building alternative social institutions in the here and now, not escaping, but facing our contemporary crisis and challenges.