This year's conference theme is inspired by a quote from the 11th Thesis on Feuerbach:

"The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point is to change it."

Long before "change" became a branded campaign slogan, Theatre of the Oppressed (TO) and Pedagogy of the Oppressed (PO) have been about fundamentally changing the world. Continuously changing and changed through dialogue, action and reflection, TO and PO are theory and practice of change.
How has "change" been co-opted these days?
What are the ways in which acquiescence, denial, mystification or "change" (in scare quotes) has superseded real, substantive change?
What would real change look like?
What is the change we want?

We live in a time of unprecedented, interlocking crises: systemic economic failure, global immiseration, critical resource depletion, catastrophic ecological shifts and the resurgence of extremist ideologies and movements. We are also witnessing a global confluence of movements of indignation, rage, and resistance, as people all over the world reclaim their dignity, respect, humanity, and struggle for justice.

How do we see, interpret, understand, criticize our historical moment, and how do we translate that understanding into practical, material, systemic change?
What are the ways in which you are seeing the world, and changing it?
What needs to change, and how are you changing it?

Please see the bottom of this page for further questions to spark ideas for your conference proposal.

We invite you to submit a proposal for a workshop, dialogue, paper (to be discussed rather than read), debate, performance, or demonstration that you would like to offer at the conference. We welcome proposals that address our theme as well as one (or more) of the following in some clear way:
• Pedagogy of the Oppressed, coined and elaborated by Paulo Freire.
• Theatre of the Oppressed, coined and elaborated by Augusto Boal.
• Other forms of interactive arts and/or education that share PTO's goal of promoting critical thinking and social justice

For example, presentations might include (but will not be limited to):
• Workshops of Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Theatre of the Oppressed, or adaptations of those forms
• Case studies of Pedagogy of the Oppressed and Theatre of the Oppressed work
• Case studies of community organizing or community education projects
• Dialogues between activists, artists, and/or popular educators, etc.
• Case studies, workshops, or discussions of problem-posing education or popular education
• Explorations of issues central to oppression, oppressed peoples, or the politics of defining oppression in the first place
• Investigations of interactive performance, interactive education, and other facilitation techniques as tools for social and political engagement. We define performance broadly!

See the bottom of this page for more information on options for presentation format.

Proposals that model interactive critical engagement and accessibility for multiple audiences will receive preference.