Similar to “Artists in Residence” programs provided by artists collectives, we offer live-in stipends to aspiring activists, enabling them to pursue activist studies in Leipzig and become active immediately.
Academic Program
Courses teach both theory and practical skills. There are assignments in written form, as well as hands-on exercises. Resident activists must complete the entire curriculum during or before their stay. Residency requires involvement in one activist project. The project is either one of the long-term goals of the Activersity, or one of your choosing (subject to approval by the board of directors).
Non-resident students may use the on-line material at home free of charge.
Cost
The residency program’s worth in terms of money:
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Tuition (support & evaluation of assignments) | 500 € |
| Extra-Curricular program & Getting started in Leipzig (we point you to different projects in Leipzig, help you getting started and networked, answer all your questions, include you in house events and outings etc.) | 200 € |
| Room (small furbished bedroom, heating, internet, all costs included) | 250 € |
| Board (3x/day vegan/vegetarian meals, household/laundry detergents, community sweets included) | 150 € |
| Total | 1000 € per month |
If you receive the stipend, we will cover these costs.
We are happy to receive donations if you found our training helpful, or if your home organization is able and willing to share part of their funding, or if you happen to earn enough to support the project retroactively.
That said, here is what you might value the program for:
Residency Program
For young adults lacking practical experience
- If you’re tired of waiting for others to get active, that’s over. With our Residency program, you will immediately become active.
- Learn why agency is so invaluable and important, how to choose and stick to goals, and learn to stay focused on them.
- You have some gap time until your university begins? You don’t know what to do in life yet? The planet is going under but your parents wanted you to do an internship to make your CV look fancier? This is better! For you, your CV, your future and the future of the planet. And you will finally have time – full time – without financial stress to work on making the world a better place.
- Knowing the history of social movements is an asset is your career as an activist. You don’t need to re-invent the wheel, you don’t need to learn from your own mistakes. It enables you to recycle effective solutions and to recognize mistakes before they are made.
- Receive certification for your newly acquired knowledge and skills
- Learn how to manage Public Relation — not only that of your organisation, but your personal PR within your organisation
- Learn life-long skills that you will be able to showcase when applying for jobs in the future
- video editing, graphic design, podcasting – using open source software which will make you independent from big corporations
- event management
- fundraising, applying for grants
- organizing and managing campaigns
- group management, online organization tools
- Get to know life and organization in an alternative housing project, participate in house plenaries, project plenaries, learn about self-moderation skills
- We know that self-study can be hard, so you will be supported by two tutors who will help you track your progress with text, presentation and videoing assignments with deadlines. Milestones & goals are set with one of your tutors and monitored in weekly meetings
- Participate in the different projects in the house, if you like, volunteer in our in-house project Pizza lab, a 100% volunteer-run non-profit vegan pizzeria owned by our NGO: improve your social skills and network
- Get to know Leipzig’s huge alternative scene
Certification – Your Diploma
As an NGO, the Activersity issues certificates upon completion of the course. You may indicate us as reference in your future job applications. Your time in the Activersity counts as a reference in your CV, including the skills you learned and the projects you completed.
Resources
The Activersity has the software, the experience, and the tools for most kinds of activism projects. The residents have years of experience. There is a large neighborhood network, and a large alternative scene in Leipzig, both accessible from which to draw support for cool projects.
Accommodation
You will stay in a small room (9-11m2) in the project house Schwarz10. The room is furbished, you need not bring bed sheets, towels, covers.
You will have access to the shared living room, dining room, kitchen, two bathrooms as well as three additional WCs and of course to Pizza Lab.
There is a small courtyard that is very cute in the summer, and lots of action going on in the direct neighborhood, which is populated by over 10 alternative housing projects.
It is expected that you contribute to house chores like cooking, cleaning and shopping via our task auction, and that you participate in the house plenaries, which take place weekly. There are shared dinners almost every day, other meals are free-form.