Radical Sunday School: The Loneliness Epidemic, combatting social isolation

Sunday May 4, 2025, Radical Sunday School: The Loneliness Epidemic, combatting social isolation. From 18:00 till 20:00.People from all parts of society struggle with loneliness. Whether surrounded by people or literally isolated at home, loneliness is something most of us can relate to in some way. Some even say there is a loneliness epidemic.
So is there really a loneliness epidemic? Is it worse now than it has been in the past, or than it is elsewhere? What causes us to feel loneliness? Are there societal causes or mental health issues involved? What does it take to truly feel connected to one another?
Let’s explore these questions together and discuss ways to combat social isolation. There will be some space to share personal experiences, we will analyze the issue together and find ways to combat the social isolation we and others experience.

Radical Sunday School
radicalsundayschool [at] riseup [dot] net
https://radar.squat.net/en/amsterdam/radical-sunday-school
https://radicalsundayschool.noblogs.org/

Radical Sunday School: French-English Border Struggle and Solidarity

Sunday April 20, 2025, Radical Sunday School: French-English Border Struggle and Solidarity. From 18:00 till 20:00.Through the years, thousands have waited, often for months, struggling to survive, trying to cross the English channel at Calais, France, to Dover, England, in hope of a better life. They are met with harsh living conditions, police brutality, and state repression… And it’s all because of BORDERS…
What is the situation at the French-English border? How do people live and how do they try to cross the English channel? What kind of policies and political responses are at play that deny people the right of entry? What groups provide aid to those in need? And, what can we ourselves do to help?
Jointly, we will examine and discuss these questions. To set the stage, the facilitator will first talk about the situation at the border. After which, we explore these matters together, from providing aid to border tech to the No Borders movement, and much more.

Radical Sunday School
radicalsundayschool [at] riseup [dot] net
https://radar.squat.net/en/amsterdam/radical-sunday-school
https://radicalsundayschool.noblogs.org/

Radical Sunday School – From Housing Insecurity to Collective Power with the Bond Precaire Woonvormen (BPW)

Sunday April 13, 2025, Radical Sunday School – From Housing Insecurity to Collective Power with the Bond Precaire Woonvormen (BPW). From 18:00 till 20:00.Housing is not a privilege, but a civil right. And yet, more and more people are forced to live insecure, facing temporary housing contracts, poor quality housing and unaffordable rents. This growing group – the precarious tenants – is told that precarious living is normal, but we at the BPW (Bond Precaire Woonvormen) don’t agree with that.

That’s why BPW and RSS are organising the Living Struggle workshop: From stress to collective power. We explore how to stand your ground, build counter-power together, get moving and keep going – without exhausting yourself. What concrete strategies are available to help push back even if you find yourself facing a housing problem on your own? How do we stay connected and grow as a movement when housing insecurity tears down our communities?

This workshop is for anyone who is facing a precarious living situation, willing to support those who do or seeking solidarity. Prior experience in housing activism is not needed. Together, we’ll build a more accessible and powerful movement.

Bond Precaire Woonvormen (BPW) https://bondprecairewoonvormen.nl
BPW Amsterdam https://radar.squat.net/en/amsterdam/bpw-amsterdam

Radical Sunday School
radicalsundayschool [at] riseup [dot] net
https://radar.squat.net/en/amsterdam/radical-sunday-school
https://radicalsundayschool.noblogs.org/

Radical Sunday School’s second birthday party

Sunday April 6, 2025, Radical Sunday School’s second birthday party. From 12:30 till 23:00.

Radical Sunday School is turning two! Since April 2nd 2023, we have been hosting all types of workshops, discussions, and skill shares almost every week for two years, and WE WANT TO CELEBRATE!
Come join us for a whole day programme! Get cozy at Joe’s and join us for lunch, two amazing workshops, dinner, and an open podium – a day and night you cannot forget.
Thank you to everyone who has been with us and who is curious to see what we do!
Drop in and out whenever – for the workshops, for the food, for the open podium, for the company. We are so happy to celebrate our second year with all of you!

Programme:

12:30 lunch
13:30 – 16:00 first session: Theatre of the Oppressed
The ‘Theatre of the Oppressed’ is a method that allows us to express, manifest, and tackle social oppression. During this workshop, we’ll play, and through playing we research, grow and share perspectives on the personal worldly.
We’ll work with the theme of the day, ‘Communal learning’ and research what that could look like by and through playing theater together.
There’s absolutely no theater experience needed, the workshop facilitator will guide you through the workshop.

16:30 – 18:30 second session: Communal Learning: Confronting Hierarchies Together
Even when we say we’re against all forms of oppression, our radical spaces still have hierarchies. Some people talk more. Some experiences count more. Perspectives are disregarded. Voices go unheard.
What does it mean for those voices to go unheard? How do we actually create room for those on the margins? Let’s cut through the academic bullshit and contradictions, and have an honest conversation about how to actually listen and learn – on how to actually center marginalized voices.
We’ll discuss historical, cultural practices together: practices of learning, of community, and of dialogue, that may help us to learn from and with one another. To create a space where power is genuinely shared, not just talked about.

19:00 dinner
20:00 open podium
As part of our celebration we are hosting an Open Podium! Every radical soul is welcome to take the stage, front and center, and express themselves! 🖤 ANYTHING GOES! Music, poetry, spoken word, theatre, comedy, stories, essays, two minute RANTS, drag – you name it! No microphone – not amplified – bring your own equipment – Joe’s Garage is intimate enough! Time limit of 5-7 minutes for each performance to give everyone the chance to take the stage.

Radical Sunday School
radicalsundayschool [at] riseup [dot] net
https://radar.squat.net/en/amsterdam/radical-sunday-school
https://radicalsundayschool.noblogs.org/

Radical Sunday School – Necropolitics: Who lives and dies in a state of exception?

Sunday March 23, 2025, Radical Sunday School – Necropolitics: Who lives and dies in a state of exception? From 18:00 till 20:00.The norm is televised genocide, illegal mining and occupation. This system of marking specific bodies as kill-able and national sovereignty as “the right to kill” is as old as capitalism and colonialism itself.

Defining a state’s freedoms in such terms normalizes mass slaughter in distant lands, but it also props up justifications for places like Guantanamo Bay and organizations like Frontex here in the belly of the beast.

Who among us have limited rights, and what laws justify the hierarchies between different kinds of political identities?

In a Europe where the “working classes” and “stateless” people are quickly sliding into the category historically reserved for “savages” in the Dutch “Golden Age”, such questions help us anticipate who among us will be dragged off without a warrant to preserve “democracy”.

This session will break down musty academic concepts like necropolitics and the state of exception to explain how war in the 21st century has changed to keep pace with capital’s ever-growing need for blood and materials.

No prior knowledge needed.

Radical Sunday School
radicalsundayschool [at] riseup [dot] net
https://radar.squat.net/en/amsterdam/radical-sunday-school
https://radicalsundayschool.noblogs.org/

Radical Sunday School: Who is making America “healthy” again?

Sunday March 16, 2025, Radical Sunday School: Who is making America “healthy” again? From 18:00 till 20:00.Since last November, global media is dominated by discussions on Trump’s second term and what it means for all of us. However, next to MAGA, a new movement emerged: MAHA, meaning Make America Healthy Again, led by Trump’s new minister of health, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. RFK Jr. has been known for his questionable statements on vaccines, but many people, especially women and mothers, have high hopes that he will regulate large pharmaceutical, agricultural, and food companies, in order to make healthier lifestyles more accessible to Americans. The health and food industries are heavily criticised by the Left, too, especially in the US, however, it is RFK Jr., who has the opportunity to tackle the issues caused by these companies during the next four years. Doctors have been warning the public for the past few months about the new health minister’s potential agenda, especially with regards to vaccines, but only time will tell whether he leads the country into a public health crisis, or, for example, focus on improving the quality of food.
This Sunday, we will discuss why MAHA became popular, particularly among women and mothers, and what we can learn from this phenomenon.

Radical Sunday School
radicalsundayschool [at] riseup [dot] net
https://radar.squat.net/en/amsterdam/radical-sunday-school
https://radicalsundayschool.noblogs.org/

Radical Sunday School: Open Session, Theory & Practice

Sunday March 9, 2025, Radical Sunday School: Anarchism 101. From 18:00 till 20:00.Back by popular demand, this week at Radical Sunday School, we’ll be talking Anarchism 101! If you’ve ever had questions about what anarchism is, why people would choose to call themselves anarchists, or anything like that, this is the Sunday to come by! We won’t be reading Kropotkin or debating whether we’ll still use money after the capital R “revolution”; instead, we’ll be sitting down with long-time anarchist activists and people who’ve never heard of “the beautiful idea” to find out what anarchism actually means in practice. We’re going to focus on the experiences we’ve had with the problems of our world and how we’ve tried to fix them. So come with an open mind, a couple of friends, and a bit of hope – it’s time to learn and struggle together!

Radical Sunday School
radicalsundayschool [at] riseup [dot] net
https://radar.squat.net/en/amsterdam/radical-sunday-school
https://radicalsundayschool.noblogs.org/

Radical Sunday School: Open Session, Theory & Practice

Sunday February 23, 2025, Radical Sunday School: Open Session, Theory & Practice. From 18:00 till 20:00.In this year’s second open session of Radical Sunday School, we wanted to reflect on what the activist community’s relationship with “theory” and “practice” is. How can RSS play a better role in supporting our community as we try to make the world better?

We have had sessions in the past that we feel have been a bit too “theoretical”, and so we want to hear from all of you: What does it mean to be “too theoretical”? What’s the right balance between theory and practice when it comes to radical education? What would your ideal RSS class look like?

This session is also an opportunity to get to know the collective, ask what we’re trying to work on, and how you can get involved yourself!

Radical Sunday School
radicalsundayschool [at] riseup [dot] net
https://radar.squat.net/en/amsterdam/radical-sunday-school
https://radicalsundayschool.noblogs.org/