Knowledge Is Power
A series of free lectures in Temple Bar should supply the answers to pretty much everything you ever wanted to know about anything...
Anne Sexton, 15 Apr 2011
Ever wanted to know how the universe works? Confused about diet and fitness? Wished you understood more about how technology and activism intersect? Knowledge Exchange is a collective offering a series of lectures on these and other topics.
Held on Sunday afternoons at The Exchange, a general all-purpose cultural space in Temple Bar, all the lectures are free and open to everyone. Hot Press spoke to three members of the group — Billy Doran, Tom Stewart and Hugh Nowlan — to find out more about it.
“Open knowledge groups are nothing new,” says Billy. “The idea was to give lectures to people that they wouldn’t normally ever get to. If you have access to Wikipedia or any online resource it’s easy to follow your own curriculum, but it’s much harder to navigate a subject without a guide.”
“I remember seeing a large protest on the street,” picks up Tom, “and they had banners saying ‘Free College’. I thought: ‘What a good idea. We should have a free college’. So you do it yourself. If you put a sticker price on it, you’re actually going to know less at the end of the day, because you’ve put a barrier to participation.”
The Knowledge Exchange ethos is that everyone is welcome to get involved, whether by attending or offering to give a talk.
“We held an open meeting so that anyone who wanted to come along and have an input could,” says Billy. “There was a diverse group of people interested in different subjects and the Provisional University and the Free International University, who are also interested in free education, came along. We’re hoping to have another open meeting in the next few weeks – it’ll be on our website.”
If anyone can get involved, how can they ensure that the standard of the classes remains high?
“That’s a good question,” agrees Billy. “In a lot of ways it’s controlled by the crowd – if somebody gives a bad lecture, it’s not well reviewed. The thing is, we want people to have background in an area, to be passionate and knowledgeable about their subject.”
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