After Summer School 2026: WednesdayAfter Summer School 2026: Wednesday

The After Summer School explores the potential of a city-based Curriculum for Change. It comprises a series of classes, talks, workshops, and encounters that showcase and explore a multi-facetted, plural, inclusive and post-disciplinary approach to the city. Classes will take place in various locations across the city, including community centres, gardens, gyms, libraries, streets, public squares, bunkers and islands.

This edition of the After Summer School coincides with Peace Week, an annual nationwide event organised by PAX that promotes social inclusion, active community involvement and dialogue. As with previous editions, the focus is on the qualities that foster peaceful coexistence, such as empathy, curiosity, imagination, listening, resistance and resilience.

Resistance / Resilience
Interactive lecture by Afrikaanderwijk Coöperatie

Re-Position is a collaboration between the Afrikaanderwijk Coöperatie’s Cooperative Consultancy Office and Erasmus University that explores the relationship between the university and the city. During the previous edition of the After Summer School, the collective presented the Rotterdam-Zuid Lecture. This year, with your help, they are launching the Non-Academic Year, an alternative approach to the regular academic year featuring a Rotterdam Knowledge Co-op. This growing collective of urban initiatives is working to organise research and knowledge sharing in a radically egalitarian way. What does the Non-Academic Year entail, what impact will it have on the city, and how can you contribute? The programme concludes with a communal lunch.

Wednesday 23 September, 10:00 – 12:00 | Gemaal op Zuid | Dutch

Resistance/Resilience
Workshop by Janilda Bartolomeu

What does it mean to be both a good ancestor and a good descendant? What time capsule for the future would you like to bury today? Drawing on the Cape Verdean Creole philosophy of time explored in the exhibition Another Island, this workshop will examine the casket, the capsule and other containers as ways of communicating across time. You will release an object, idea, law, story, wisdom or folly from the past, so that you may encounter it differently in the future. Together, we’ll reflect on this conscious act and consider how letting go can bring relief. Bring your own objects or ideas.

Wednesday 23 September, 13:30 – 15:30 | Het Veerhuis | English

Empathy / Curiosity
City walk by Pauluskerk

Homelessness is about more than statistics and newspaper articles. Behind the numbers are real people, each with their own story. A group of people who have experienced homelessness will guide you through the streets of Rotterdam. They’ll share their experiences of becoming homeless, living on the streets and trying to rebuild their lives. This walking tour offers insights into the human side of homelessness, inviting you to view the city and all its residents with greater understanding. The walk concludes at the Pauluskerk with a discussion. All proceeds will support the work of the Pauluskerk.

Wednesday 23 September, 13:00 – 15:30 | starts at the Erasmus Bridge (picknick tables in front of Remastered) | Dutch

Peace & Conflict
Lecture by Rosi Braidotti

Peace is much more than the absence of war, although an end to all wars is certainly one of its requirements. We have stumbled into a kind of war economy characterised by a state of general emergency and a social climate of fear and constant alarm. It is as if war exists not only in the material world, but also in our minds and hearts. A peace economy requires a shift in our mindset: the demilitarisation of our thoughts and feelings. How do we deal with the constant stream of bad news, and where do we find the strength to foster solidarity? Join us in exploring how we can resist polarisation, elitism, racism, sexism and ‘us versus them’ thinking.

Wednesday 23 September, 16:00 – 17:00 | Verhalenhuis Belvédère | English

Peace & Conflict
Storytelling dinner by Verhalenhuis Belvédère

The best stories are shared over a meal at the table. Join us on Thursday evening at Verhalenhuis Belvédère, where you can share your personal stories about peace and resistance, as well as hearing from guests: journalist Nico Haasbroek, film maker Rosh Abelfatah, poets Edwin de Voigt and Manuel Kneepkens and singer Maryana Golovchenko. The focus will be on coming together, listening to one another, exchanging ideas and enjoying a meal together. Guest chef Anahid Darwish (Rotterdam/Syria) will prepare a three-course meal to bring the evening together. This creates space for connection and conversation about what peace and resistance can mean today.

Tickets for this event are available through Verhalenhuis Belvédère.

Wednesday 23 September, 18:00 – 22:00 | Verhalenhuis Belvédère | Dutch

Listening
Podcast by Stine Jensen

In the chaotic times we live in, philosophy often fulfils the role that religion used to play. Without religion, the wisdom of others can provide guidance on how to think and how to live. In the daily podcast Zin van de dag ('insight of the day'), philosopher, writer and podcaster Stine Jensen offers new wisdom, based on a particular insight into life. This special series, prepared for the After Summer School, features two new episodes with special guests Saskia Klaassen and Romy Rockx.

Wednesday 23 September, all day | Online / Nieuwe Instituut | Dutch

The After Summer School is a Rotterdam-based programme of the New Academy where a wide variety of knowledge producers teach their methods. How can we change the city by looking, listening, writing, archiving, collaborating, activating, researching, designing, and walking differently?

If you have any questions regarding the programme, please contact Ania Molenda. If you would like to request a free solidarity ticket for financial reasons, you can contact us through Laura Lakam.