SolarPunk Education

Education in a Solarpunk world would be wonderfully accessible and meet everyone’s needs at every point in their life. Or would it be filled with bias and have people complaining about an education system that does not meet people’s needs? Considering Solarpunk as a way to imagine and transition towards a future that we would like to be a part of, I couldn’t resist the lure of Solarpunk applied to my own profession. Working in education and being involved with a number of committees and projects with a purpose to improve education I know that education is influenced by and used by communities and experience has taught me to look for existing solutions prior to trying to create all of the answers myself. I started with the Solarpunk community and what I found was both inspiring and lacking because sometimes it is easier to describe what we don’t want and within that context some of the existing articles I have read about education in a Solarpunk world include both idealistic goals and anti-goals.

The vision for Education on the website SolarpunkCommunity.com(1) starts with, “As human beings, we are always learning and growing. Whether it’s life skills, job training, interpersonal relationships, conflict resolution, or something else entirely, we believe ongoing education is critical”. This life-long learning approach which is embedded in the policies of many countries and is consistently engaged with by educators globally is certainly a significant component of what we need to improve for Education in a Solarpunk world. The vision goes on to talk about democratic education and unschooling in a manner that focuses education back towards youth and children including commentary on childcare. Appreciating that the vision presented comes from a particular viewpoint I also believe that it is lacking a wider perspective. Individuals such as Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) have been writing about and establishing schools based on a philosophy of freedom for over 100 years and there are a number of other schools based on similar frameworks. While occasionally appearing radical these education methods and techniques have often proven themselves in a manner that has been able to be incorporated into operations of the state run schools in many countries around the world. The change may be too-slow for many however the changes are occurring in some countries quicker than elsewhere while still embracing their local cultural identity.

The Reddit user, Tomwwabo (2), provided a response to the question, “Just wondering what you people would think of education in a solarpunk society”. Their response contained key comments that demonstrate a commitment to local governance, local culture and adaptation of globally available resources to meet local requirements. They state, “I would think especially in rural areas every town is going to have a maker-/hacker-space/creative workshop/repair cafe where people could find work, learn and teach or generally a social gathering space”. In amongst links to resources they also state “I think also people would have far more NanoDegrees instead of yearlong education, to reduce learning outdated stuff” and education, “could be creative commons and opensource, financed via a worldwide network”. The thinking outlined within their post contains a broad range of resources and trends that are occurring today including micro-credentials and a greater focus on being able to readily share education resources. Additionally self-directed learning and fast tracked learning that is assisted by artificial intelligence to identify relevant learning resources and industry expertise are already impacting the value of traditional qualifications that have previously been used to commence a person’s career.

Miss Olivia Louise (3), from the Land of Masks and Jewels, has proposed that education in a Solarpunk world would include a variety of apprenticeships as a part of schooling with students gaining experience in different industries. This is not a new idea because for many industries this was the only form of training prior to the introduction of formal school structures. Currently our global education institutions, schools, technical colleges and universities are constantly attempting to form closer bonds with industry and use a variety of titles such as work experience, job placement, traineeship, apprenticeship and internship as ways to describe formalised engagement with workplace learning that is supported and enhanced through the curriculum offered by that education institution. The idea has strength in its long term successes which were typically focused on one industry and has strong positioning within current education structures so therefore expanding this in a manner that is consistent and enables local and personal adaptations does not appear to require significant change within our education systems. The component where we are going to have to significantly improve is having structured processes within education organisations and ensuring roles exist in all businesses for appropriate people who will be responsible to guide, coach and mentor the students within that workplace.

In an essay from Commando Jugendstil (4), (a small collective of Italian solarpunk creators), they imagined “well-funded public libraries organizing study groups for children and adults to improve educational outcomes, language classes to increase the inclusion of new arrivals and broaden the horizons of other residents, book clubs and writing or fibercraft groups to help people make friends and strengthen their social networks”. While it could be argued that the early community colleges grew out of ideas similar to this because in the early stages of the industrial revolution evening classes for adults began where parents of the early cohorts of compulsory educated children, organised their own adult study groups to improve their own education. There are also current examples that operate in a similar manner, reflecting the image presented by the Commando Jugendstil collective. Originating in Spain, these learning communities incorporate libraries and access to further knowledge and resources and they have a strong connection with their local communities. Having grown from a combined youth work and education model, these learning communities welcome new arrivals, strengthen social networks and broaden the horizons of all residents. Other current examples of life-long learning in well resourced hubs are the men’s sheds, volunteer bush fire brigades and other volunteer emergency services in Australia that provide a place for learning and applying skills while also providing opportunities to avoid loneliness and depression through camaraderie and community contribution.

While limited in comparison to other commentary about what a Solarpunk world could be like, the current contributions about education in a Solarpunk world includes some key points:

What is lacking in the existing discourse is any reference to maintaining quality, ensuring global relevance in local distribution and how education outcomes can be locally delivered and globally recognised.


In his essay, On the Political Dimensions of Solarpunk, Andrew Dana Hudson(5) highlights that Solarpunk is deeply political and he states that "Politics is the practice of determining the arrangements through which we distribute resources and otherwise relate to each other. In other words, who makes the stuff, who gets the stuff, and how we are expected to treat both people and stuff”. He goes on to say “Through local free association and global networks, I see solarpunk as the seeds of an open source movement, the primordial form of global network society. This means anyone can join by claiming allegiance, anyone can contribute by offering up a contribution”.

Seeking answers for what we want for ourselves or society is not always easy and with the opportunity to contribute more than temporary solutions I am claiming allegiance to Solarpunk. To reimagine education in a Solarpunk world is not difficult because starting with the Solarpunk community what I found was inspiring because those who have already contributed may not have realised the history of their ideas or how far along they already are. What I found lacking I am able to contribute possible solutions because I am aware of many existing contributions towards the future of education that will assist in addressing what I have found lacking from the existing discourse.

This article does not go as far as setting out a goal and describing how we will get there. It is a vision that is not yet in focus. Borrowing from the Solarpunk Manifesto, there is no singular right way, yet it is a vision of a future that embodies the best of what humanity can achieve. I am hopeful that my fellow Solarpunk educators will also engage in achieving a social evolution that embraces life-long, globally accessible, locally implemented, personally valued, system of learning and education.

1. https://solarpunkcommunity.com/vision/education/ 

2. https://www.reddit.com/r/solarpunk/comments/f1o4xv/democratic_education/ 

3. https://missolivialouise.tumblr.com/post/94661871210/education-in-a-solarpunk-world 

4. https://reckoning.press/solarpunk-cities-notes-for-a-manifesto/ 

5. https://medium.com/solarpunks/on-the-political-dimensions-of-solarpunk-c5a7b4bf8df 

6. Self-directed Education

7. Non-formal Education https://www.nonformaleducation.org/ 

8. Solarpunk manifesto http://www.re-des.org/a-solarpunk-manifesto