Education either functions as an instrument which is used to facilitate integration of the younger generation into the logic of the present system and bring about conformity or it becomes the practice of freedom, the means by which men and women deal critically and creatively with reality and discover how to participate in the transformation of their world. — Paulo Freire
LABO vzw is a young and dynamic grassroots organisation, which functions as a social laboratory where people come together to "learn, agitate, move and organise"(*). We are organising workshops and trainings to empower people both individually and collectively. Empowerment strengthens us to address oppressions we face in our daily life.
LABO vzw uses creative and participatory methodologies as popular education and Theatre of the Oppressed. We coach groups and non-profit organisations in different areas of communication (non-violent, strategic and/or intercultural) and take into account personal challenges people face using inner transition tools and contextual approaches.
So far we have been giving trainings to youth workers, social workers and students. More important still is the work we do directly with target communities on the issues they face. Together with them we search ways and strategies to move collectively from oppression to liberation. Our guiding principle here is doing the work in solidarity rather than as charity.
Besides providing training, we also work on projects together with partner organisations on a local, national and international level. We just started a European partnership (Grundtvig) named "Back to Rural" where we will start a process of participatory learning focused on building a sustainable life in rural areas.
LABO vzw is a horizontal organisation where we collaborate with our allies to reinvent the world and to rediscover the radical imagination necessary to do so. Both our trainings and our projects serve our main goal: to empower people and strengthen social movements in order to support their efforts in striving towards social change.
Contact us for more information in English: info@labovzw.be
(*) In Dutch: Leren, Ageren, Bewegen en Organiseren – LABO!
To know and to transform – that is our goal — Augusto Boal
