<nettime> ISSA - Island School of Social Autonomy

[Geert Lovink via Nettime-tmp <nettime-tmp@mail.ljudmila.org>]

www.issa-school.org

Renowned philosophers, artists, dreamers and doers from around the world are banding together to launch a groundbreaking new school on one of Croatia's farthest inhabited islands.

Island of Vis, Croatia - A new school is emerging on the top of a hill overlooking the stunning Adriatic Sea. Founded by a group of visionary thinkers, artists, actors, builders and philosophers, the school aims to inspire and educate in response to the urgent need for transformative solutions to the crises of our time.

With the climate crisis worsening by the day, education systems failing to address the needs of young people, while addiction to social media and overspread violence fueling fear and division, this new school aims to slow down, experiment with building different ways of thinking, living and co-living, promising to create a sort of "concrete utopia" in times of extinction.

In ancient times, around 2,400 years ago, Vis was home to the first polis in this part of the Mediterranean, known as Issa. In the 20th century the island gained notoriety for the cave where Tito was hiding and operating the resistance movement in WWII that played a key role in defeating Hitler. Today, Vis is famous for its stunning beaches, crystal-clear waters and its recent appearance in the hit movie Mamma Mia 2. This could change soon. 

The line-up of co-founders of ISSA (Island School of Social Autonomy) includes philosophers Srećko Horvat and Franco "Bifo" Berardi, the actors Goran Bogdan, Pamela Anderson and Gael García Bernal, artists !Mediengruppe Bitnik, Hito Steyerl and Bobby Gillespie from Primal Scream, writers, painters, sociologists and builders - including Predrag Kolaković, Saša Savanović, Dora Held, Marko Pogačar, Valerio Baćak, Jelena Ostojić - who started from the reconstruction of an 120 years old stone house on the top of a hill of island of Vis. 

By building the Island School of Social Autonomy (ISSA) on Vis, the co-founders aim to tap into the islands's unique history and geography, while creating a cutting-edge education institution that will serve as model for the kind of transformative education that is desperately needed in these turbulent times - with different approaches to learning, community building and social change. 

One of the initiators of ISSA, philosopher Srećko Horvat who has been living and working on the island of Vis during the last years, says: 

"ISSA, in many ways, is like a modern-day 'Fitzcarraldo', where the seemingly impossible task of building a school from scratch on the top of a hill is undertaken with passion and perseverance, driven by the belief that education, self-education and social experimentation is the key to a sustainable future. The immense physical labour involved in this project is no less than what was required in Herzog's film, but instead of hauling a steamship over the mountain, we are laying the foundation for both theory and praxis of a school from the future."

The Island School of Social Autonomy (ISSA) will be more than just a school for learning; it will be a living laboratory for experimentation and creation. In addition to philosophical and artistic explorations, ISSA will undertake concrete projects such as a pirate radio station, forest and permaculture gardens, rebuilding of old stone walls and building structures that can be used to host artists and dreamers-in-residence. Through these projects, ISSA will not only serve as a platform for intellectual and cultural exchange but also as a space for concrete action towards a more sustainable and autonomous future.

The Italian philosopher Franco "Bifo" Berardi, one of the main protagonists of the Italian autonomist movement from the 1970s and author of some 20 books, explains the main intentions of ISSA:

 “Our intention is to create a place where we can ponder on the inevitable - the disintegration of civilization that is underway, the extinction of the human kind that is the horizon of our time - in order to give way to the unpredictable, to the search of a way out from the hell, or to the creation of a pleasurable space inside the hell.”

One of the co-founders of ISSA and leading contemporary artist group working with new technologies !Mediengruppe Bitnik, add: 

"ISSA’s unique location on a remote hill on a remote island in the middle of the Mediterranean creates a distance to reflect on and recalibrate our relationships with technologies and infrastructures. ISSA is a special, utopian space for radical artistic experimentation. We are looking forward to inviting artists, hackers & passionate dilletantes to join us in carrying stones, developing the school’s low-tech infrastructure while thinking about novel and better versions of the Internets.”

In the trailer video for ISSA, the actors Pamela Anderson and Goran Bogdan who both joined the project from the very start, read a forgotten text by the famous Croatian poet Tin Ujević who visited the island of Vis almost a century ago: 

“I found myself in the deep heart of the deep sea. It was the fairies themselves who brought me here, on an unkown date when the globe fell asleep and no one could see me. I am in the empire of adventures, in the miracle of events. I finally experienced what the world has forgotten. And I became the owner of a mystery.“

The school activities already started and will take place throughout summer - mainly through physical labour and working actions - with the official and public launch being planned for early September 2023. 

Visit ISSA: www.issa-school.org

Contact: issa@issa-school.org

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