Programming the Impossible

This past week our programming committee met for the first time and it was a joyous occasion to reflect on how far we’ve come in such a short time. A number of great programs have been submitted. Expect to see them appear on the calendar in the near future.

Lily Ames produced a segment on the Academy for CBC Radio. In the piece Emily describes achieving the impossible as involving a lot of small steps.

Douglas Rushkoff latest book is called “Program Or Be Programmed” and addresses the tragedy of our age that so few are actually engaged at the level of producer in spite of the fact that the tools to do so are in abundance. Few are able to program, even when our entire world seems to be programmable.

We want the Academy to be programmed. We want to have greater agency in our society and our lives. Hence the rationale behind the Hacking Reality program.

When Rick Salutin spoke at the Academy he reflected on the impact that adding a couple of screens (with live tweeting and internet surfing) had on a traditional setup with the speaker sitting on a stage.

At the Academy our goal is to experiment with new models of education, communication, and organization, but this does not mean doing so in an unstructured or unorganized manner. Quite the opposite. We seek to explore the ways that structure, organization, and programming can evolve in these exciting times that we live in.