We’ve spent a lot of time developing a new kind of learning experience for communities.
We offer short learning sessions in useful topics like first aid, conflict resolution, and building networks in your community. You’ll learn practical skills in a short, lively, fun session (usually about 90 minutes) taught in our pop-up spaces or local venues. You’ll access exceptional resources from leading organisations, all brought to you in a bite-sized session at a convenient time that teaches you the essentials. Each session is a ‘one-off’ – there’s no need to make a lengthy commitment.
You won’t find any lecterns or PowerPoint presentations at The U; instead, there are friendly volunteer Hosts who will help ensure you have a good time and learn useful stuff.
We partner with leading organisations to develop excellent curriculum content in bite-size experiences. The skills are easy to learn, easy to pass on and easy to remember.
After a session at The U, we hope you leave feeling like your time’s been well spent, you’ve learnt something new, and you’ve had a good time. Most importantly, we hope you feel empowered and more connected to your community, ready to put your new skills into action.
The Bigger Picture
For the majority of people living in modern cities, the experience of fixed, stable, tightly knit communities does not feature as part of our day-to-day lives. This is partly because factors such as busy schedules and rapidly changing populations can make it difficult to become familiar with those who live around us.
Opportunities for individuals of different ages, backgrounds and cultures to come together in a friendly environment are a valuable way to build familiarity and understanding within a community, creating connections that are undemanding on a day-to-day basis but which have an unexpected power in situations of tension or adversity. Additionally, the skills that are developed by Guests and Hosts at our sessions are a strong foundation for healthy relationships in the neighbourhood, at work or at home, and are easy to apply within practical contexts such as everyday medical emergencies, low level neighbourhood disputes and networking for new opportunities in your community.