GNLU

Global Networked Labour University (GNLU)
free/open, worker to worker, student to student, farmer to farmer and hacker to hacker cooperative learning

Introduction

Global Networked Labour University is a free, open access, easy to use remote education system, built as part of a broader transnational community organizing project called Global Networked Labour Union. GNLU is a cooperative self-learning tool serving the empowerment of people who are forced to accept precarious working conditions or otherwise are unemployed, on the one hand, and those low skilled self-employed and freelancers on the other. The project’s aim is to build functional ties and relationships between the growing flexible workforce in the Global North and Global South with new forms of productive and empowered communities and individuals in urban and rural areas.

Our main target is bring the expertise, knowledge and skills of labour and community organizers, union educators and trainers, and social justice activists, and the similar capabilities of cooperatives, co-workers, peer producers, makers, hackers, do-it-yourself communities, urban commoners, etc. in a match-making pool. We believe that such networking would empower both sides, increasing the potential for emancipation from social subordination. GNLU project will combine a variety of remote /online and grounded educative activity forms; like webinars, study-circles, self-training, mutual exchange and co-strategy sessions.

To start from a realistic base, and gradually walk towards this vision, GNLU project seeks to build a broader collaboration with others, in a framework of cooperative solidarity. Currently we are cooperating, in one way or another, with the following initiatives ; Peter Waterman of Global Labour Charter Project, Anna Harris of Transformative Circles, Michel Bauwens of P2P Foundation, Enric Duran of Fair.coop and CoopFunding.net, Franks Kashner of Says-Us, Bob Haugen and Lynn Foster of NRP Value Networks, and intiatives like LabourLeaks.org, May First/People Link, Global Square. Our intention is to integrate our work and collaborate around such efforts to build a broader cooperative solidarity that works for all. Online courses will be exclusively relying on FLOSS (Free / Libre, and Open Source Software) online platforms, such as Big Blue Button and WordPress. Course materials will be recorded and made accessible, online and free for everyone.
GOVERNANCE FOR THE PEDAGOGY OF THE EMANCIPATION

Building a commons pool of emancipatory knowledge and developing a wiki bibliography, will take the form of an open curriculum in the mid-term aiming to develop analytical, intellectual and artistic expertise, as well as focusing on sharing and learning practical skills.The core principle is to serve better understanding and strengthen the capacity for change that is built for all from bottom up.

Initially the curriculum has two sections:

1. Understanding the World: collecting what knowledge we have to make sense of our situations in the world. Some more abstract and theoretical modules might require a more formal teaching structure, while others might be re-designed, in order to fit in the horizontal and co-learning pedagogic philosophy of Freire that inspires this project.

2. Changing the World: This section focuses on acquiring the skills to make real social change with courses of different duration.

The platform will provide links to free online courses and tutorials prepared by others and provided on the Internet. Free knowledge projects, solidarity networks, as well as any kind of useful material made available by other cooperative communities will be given access.

Join the team, self-organize activities, offer courses, support our projects, spread the word!