Collaborative Social Challenge Project

Chapter 1 of Paulo Freire's The Pedagogy of the Oppressed offers a detailed analogy of the oppressed and difficulties navigating oppressors in the quest for liberation. Although Freire's writing is often complex to comprehend, broadly speaking, this chapter examines the position of the oppressed in comparison to the oppressors, showcasing how, often, their relationship is quite ambiguous. This is because, in Freire's view, the oppressed internalise the consciousness of their oppressor, emulating their way of life. His argument is summed up well in this quote:   'One of the gravest obstacles to the achievement of liberation is that oppressive reality absorbs those within it and thereby acts to submerge human beings consciousness.' Building upon this analysis, Freire proceeds to examine the many ways in which the oppressed can achieve liberation. For example, he underpins the importance of action. For the oppressed to participate in the fight for liberation, they hav...

This blog post will introduce my initial understanding of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the distinct link they present between the concepts of Beautiful Trouble and Culture Jamming. Admittedly, before this week, I'd never even come across the SDGs. However, I've soon learnt the term refers towards a collection of 17 broad objectives, proposed by the UN, which propose a call towards universal action, peace and prosperity. Essentially, for the UN, the collection of goals as a whole serve as a blueprint towards sustainable futures on Earth. (Figure 1) The SDGs were introduced in 2015, as well as a 15 year plan to be reached as part of the UNs 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This fact struck more than any I've discovered this week. As it is, the world is far from achieving the optimistic, utopian ideals proposed by the UN.  Figure 1: The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.  However, despite this reality check, I've began to learn th...