Upcoming
Symposium ◢ October 13–16, 2025
The Symposium #1 Euskal Herria / Basque Country (Hegoalde) constituted a comprehensive institutional journey spanning four days and covering approximately 360 KM across the region. The program was structured around targeted workshops and site visits designed to immerse participants in the operational context of the AMPLIFY! Project.
The itinerary commenced in Bilbao with the #1 WORKSHOP hosted at La Perrera. This initial session was facilitated by Miren Lauzirika of Art for Life, focusing on the core premise of the AMPLIFY! Project: leveraging people’s creativity—defined as a universal capacity that can be developed and trained—as the fundamental raw material for building ideas, generating complicity, and establishing cooperative relationships. Following a lunch break in Laudio, the institutional focus shifted to the #1 VISIT at the Aiaraldea Ekintzen Faktoria. Situated in Laudio, this Cooperative Society was presented as a comprehensive transformative project structured in the Basque language, incorporating crucial lines of work such as normalization of the Basque language, food sovereignty, feminism, cultural creation, community identity, and a transformative social economy. The day’s activities were finalized in Vitoria/Gasteiz with a screening of the film REACH Part 3 at IAK (Izaskun Arrue Kulturgunea). The presentation, titled “AMPLIFY – Echoes of REACH from the Basque Country,” included an open conversation period dedicated to reflecting on the observed experience and discussing the subsequent steps for AMPLIFY within the Basque Country. Accommodation for the first night was provided in Vitoria/Gasteiz.
The second segment of the program centered primarily within Vitoria/Gasteiz, beginning with the #2 WORKSHOP at IAK. This workshop, facilitated by Paula Jimeno and Ana Gazpio from DOT, addressed global and systemic challenges by emphasizing the necessity of understanding the complexity of problems as a prerequisite for designing, prototyping, and materializing comprehensive solutions. The subsequent #2 VISIT was conducted at Hibridalab. This space promotes innovation projects by enabling hybridization and cooperation among various sectors, aiming to diversify and transform the social, cultural, and productive fabric of the community. This was followed by the #3 VISIT to EUNEIZ University. EUNEIZ operates as a new private university integrated into the Basque University System. The visit provided insight into the official university training offered, notably the Music Production and Sound for the Entertainment Industry Degree, which provides a global vision of professional roles in music creation and sound production, adapted to new trends within the creative industry. The evening concluded with movement to Errenteria for dinner and accommodation.
The third sequence commenced in Errenteria with the #3 WORKSHOP, held at Agustinak Zentroa and again facilitated by DOT. Agustinak Zentroa functions as a center dedicated to entrepreneurs and stakeholders within the cultural and creative industries in Oarsoaldea, promoting regional collaboration. The primary visit of this segment, the #4 VISIT, was directed towards Mondragon Unibertsitatea in Aretxabaleta. As a cooperative university belonging to the MONDRAGON Corporation, the institution articulated its commitment to social transformation through its participatory model. Its educational system is structured to involve companies and institutions to ensure social accessibility, the combination of work and study, the development of research and the provision of Continuing Education. The day concluded with dinner and accommodation in Bilbao.
The final part of the symposium featured two distinct site observations before the conclusion in Bilbao. The #5 VISIT was conducted at Astra in Gernika. Astra was characterized as a shared tool, a space self-managed by the surrounding community and driven by a citizen movement including individuals, young people, creators, and social agents. Its operation promotes auto-organization, experimentation, and diverse ways of doing things, seeking to unite new avenues of organization, thought, and creation. The final institutional stop, the #6 VISIT, took place at IED Kunsthal Bilbao. This design school employs an experimental method wherein small groups collaborate directly with professional designers on professional projects for real clients, facilitating a personalized educational experience in a unique setting. The Symposium officially concluded following lunch at IED Kunsthal in Bilbao.
Past Events ◢ R.E.A.C.H. Project
New York Symposium ◢ March 2025
Biarritz Symposium ◢ January 2025
Milano Symposium ◢ June 2024