After Summer School 2026: FridayAfter Summer School 2026: Friday

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
Workshop by Convivium

Food gardens, community kitchens and other local initiatives are ideal places for alternative food systems to emerge, and they are becoming increasingly common in Rotterdam. Yet while there are many innovative initiatives that could support and strengthen one another, how do they find each other? In this hands-on workshop, a follow-up to last year’s class of the same name, we will explore how local initiatives can collaborate to create a regenerative urban food landscape. We test and refine techniques for collaboration and support, and discover how to learn together, share resources and grow. The workshop is hosted by Pia Canales, Justyna Jakubiec, Kevin Lai as part of the of the Convivium project and concludes with a group lunch.

Friday 25 September, 10:00–12:00 | Mensa Mensa | English

Listening
Workshop by Sean Nelissen & Willemijn Lofvers

A state of peace cannot be taken for granted, especially in times of polarisation and crumbling trust in institutions, politics and other people. Achieving peace can be a deeply practical matter — after all, it requires people to think together, even when they disagree. In this workshop, philosopher Sean Nelissen will teach us a conversational format in which questions are taken seriously and conclusions are not predetermined. We can apply the insights gained about listening differently, making joint decisions and getting organised to our work, conversations and other aspects of daily life. Whether you’re an experienced thinker or simply curious: join us in thinking, talking and listening.

Friday 25 September, 10:00 – 12:30 | Volkstuinvereniging SNV | English / Dutch

Peace & Conflict
Interactive lecture by Independent School for the City

The reconstruction of cities following a war or disaster involves more than just replacing buildings and infrastructure. It calls for decisions about identity, collective memory and a vision of how the city should look. Reconstruction is therefore as much a reflection of power, culture and history as it is of physical design. Every rebuilt city tells a story shaped by political choices and social values concerning ethnicity, heritage and community. In this lecture, Wouter Vanstiphout and Simone Rots will share their insights on this topic from the Independent School for the City.

Friday 25 September, 13:00 – 14:30 | Independent School for the City | English

Resistance / Resilience
Conversation by Karin Christof and guests

At C3 Studios, an artists' studio complex in Charlois, you will take part in a discussion about ownership in a city that is increasingly being left to market forces. The space itself will serve as both a starting point and a subject of negotiation. Who controls the complex, and for how long? What would the city look like if collectively managed spaces were more widely accessible? Exchanging knowledge helps to forge alliances and strengthen networks. Alongside Karin Christof and experts Kamiel Verschuren, Roel Griffioen, Jon Wakeman and Karen Watson, you will examine best practices from elsewhere and learn about the current state of affairs in Rotterdam.

Friday 25 September, 14:00 – 16:30 | C3 Studios | English / Dutch

Listening
Interactive lecture by One Planet Port

The port of Rotterdam is one of Europe’s major gateways. But how can it adapt to remain within the ‘nine planetary boundaries’ framework, which is designed to keep the Earth habitable? One Planet Port is an organisation dedicated to this cause. It demonstrates the steps that can be taken to transform and make ports more sustainable. Join the conversation with One Planet Port’s researchers, scientists and policymakers and discover what the planetary boundaries mean in practice. For anyone interested in ports, the planet, sustainability and systemic change.

Friday 25 September, 15:00 – 16:30 | IABR / De Piekfabriek | | English (with Dutch translations)

Imagination
Conversation by Loom

In recent years, a growing number of self-organised, collective or institution-transcending initiatives have emerged that position themselves somewhere between art and architecture. These initiatives offer an alternative to traditional structures and teaching methods. How can these initiatives learn from one another and collaborate on cultural transformation? This lesson starts with the ‘swarm intellect’, or thinking like a flock of birds in flight: a decentralised, self-organising system for movement and change. How can we organise ourselves like a flock of birds? For anyone engaged in, or curious about, alternative forms of learning and collaboration. The programme concludes with a communal meal.

Friday 25 September, 17:00 – 19:00 | TENT | English

Listening
Workshop by Sound Office

In Rotterdam, a pilot programme is running that uses sound cameras to monitor noisy vehicles. The cameras have been installed at Haagseveer, Strevelsweg, Maasboulevard and Laan op Zuid. But what exactly are they recording? During this workshop, Colette Aliman (Sound Office) will guide us through deep listening and specific exercises, introducing us to the concept of quantum listening. Together, we will visit one of the sound cameras in Rotterdam, calling into a radio show to share our quantum listening experiences from that location and reflecting on previous sound recordings that Colette has already collected at these sites. What can these sounds tell us about the city?

Friday 25 September, 17:00 – 19:30 | Time is the new space | English

Resistance / Resilience
Training by Queer Gym

Boxing, known as an aggressive combat sport that pushes the physical and mental limits of both yourself and your opponent, is mainly focused on masculine bodies and energy. At Queer Gym, the first gym in the Netherlands dedicated to the queer community, you’ll build strength and take control of your life. You’ll learn – in addition to the basic movements and improving your fitness, of course – how to set boundaries and decide for yourself whether to push them or not. What norms are associated with a sport like boxing, and how to break through them? Expect movement and challenges at your own pace, interaction with other participants within the boundaries you set for yourself, but above all, coordination, explosive energy and fun!

Friday 25 September, 20:00 – 21:30 | Queer Gym Zuid | 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.

Friday 25 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 or would like to request a free solidarity ticket for financial reasons, you can contact us through a.molenda@nieuweinstituut.nl.