The Critical Institute maintains channels with and continuously opens new spaces for activism, and indeed many of our Fellows are also activists, in and outside their action research. We seek to generate knowledge that informs and is constantly connected to practice. We support academics doing activist and practitioner work in a range of geopolitical spaces and where possible we strive to support small organisations and other stakeholders to affect change in their respective contexts and communities. We do this by listening and freely sharing knowledge, providing platforms for organising and linking with prospective volunteers and resources, supporting with lobbying and advocacy, and promoting small and local projects to a global audience. We connect people to work on valuable projects that make a difference.
Projects we currently support include:
Clarendon Group for the Disabled (CGD), Jamaica: based in May Pen, CGD is a small not-for profit organisation providing critical services to disabled children aged 0-6 years of age, including locating these children in rural areas, opening linkages with other service providers (e.g. health and education) and working closely with parents to provide much needed support as well as capacity building. Through a small but very dedicated team (some of who are mothers of disabled children), CGD works with some of the poorest families in Jamaica. The Critical Institute is supporting CGD through regular sharing of information with the staff, capacity building, and support with proposal writing, fund raising, lobbying and linkages with critical partners. For more information on the Clarendon Group click here
Community Education Projects and Advocacy- Integra Foundation, Malta: working through the Centre for Critical Migration Studies, we have learnt much from Integra’s work in Malta, one of the pioneers in the country in delivering critical education opportunities to asylum seekers and refugees, alongside fighting for the rights of these asylum seekers as well as other marginalised groups. The NGO has been consistent and persistent in its efforts to stop human rights abuses in Malta. The organisation was instrumental in triggering the process of installing a hate crime and hate speech law in the country. In the summer of 2013 Integra took on an active role within a coalition of NGOs that successfully resulted in an interim order issued by the European Court of Human Rights, blocking a forced return that would have violated international law. Integra has its own research institute and continues to generate a solid knowledge base that informs the NGO’s practice. The Critical Institute works hand in hand with Integra in supporting their advocacy work, and towards developing critical pedagogical strategies and practices that respond to contextualized needs. For more information on Integra’s work click here
Breaking Limits, Malta: this small organisation has pioneered effective and fearless advocacy by disabled people for disabled people, impulsing critical changes in recent policy, discourse and even services on disability in the Maltese islands. The Critial Institute has and continues to support this groundbreaking organisation by imparting and sharing knowledge on disability theory and activism, developing effective ways of lobbying and more generally, finding more insidious and effective ways of lobbying politicians and service providers, and to combat oppression of disabled people. We have also supported through writing in mainstream media and the production of short videos. For more information click here