The traditional start-of-term Activity day is about much more than competition and scoring points. It gives Åsa’s participants the opportunity to develop skills in democracy, teamwork, communication and creative problem-solving. In short: popular education at its very best.

Every Monday throughout the academic year, Popular education is on the timetable. A couple of lesson hours are set aside for various activities, often involving all courses, with a focus on the core aims of popular education.

These aims include:

• strengthening and developing democracy
• enabling people to influence and shape their own lives
• encouraging engagement in societal development
• broadening interest in culture and making cultural participation more accessible to more people.

Popular education takes many different forms. It may involve lectures and themed projects on social, political and societal issues, cultural events, or discussions and team-building exercises in which participants can learn and grow together.

The activity day on 24 August was one of the more light-hearted events under the popular education umbrella. The day offered plenty of laughter, friendly competition and new experiences, while also giving participants an opportunity to get to know one another better.

Working in teams, they put their creativity and collaborative skills to the test through a variety of challenges.

Here is a small selection of photos from some of the day’s activities and challenges:

Text and photos: Henrik Wising