6. But
something is
emulatable.
What is it?
And what
can indy
movement
really learn?
From McSmorgasbord:
• All seek a strong (but
variable) link with EU as a
guarantor of markets for
goods
• All share a commitment to
manage maritime
resources (fish, gas, oil)
• All have histories about
negotiating freedom with
bigger powers – or being
”in bed with an elephant”
This is external, geopolitical…
What about internal, cultural?
7. The Nordic Secret:
A European story
of beauty and
freedom
Lene Rachel
Andersen
Tomas Bjorkman
8. What is the Nordic
Secret?
They all had “folk-
education”
movements, from
late 19th to e20th
centuries…
10. …by means of
cultivating something
called Bildung – the
shaping and
strengthening of
character throughout a
life, within a communty
11. The national “Springs” –
of Denmark, Norway,
Sweden, Finland,
Iceland…
Reformers (like
Grundtvig) & politicians
inspired by German
Romantic philosophers
– Goethe, Schiller,
Humboldt…
…To develop the capacity
of citizens for national
democracy & modernity
12. •meet as equals in their spare time,
•are exposed to new knowledge, culture,
art, and challenges throughout life,
•learn and evolve throughout life,
•self-govern under great personal
freedom, combined with a high social
awareness and sense of responsibility,
and
•work towards compromises of great
legitimacy.
In ”folk schools” defined by a spirit of “bildung”, people…
13. The connection with Bildung is that she attended Highlander Folk School, whose
founder Myles Horton had visited Denmark's folk schools, and determined to start
them in the US. Rosa Parks attended Highlander Folk School. And as cited by this
black history page:
Highlander was one of the few places in the South where integrated meetings
could take place, and served as a site of leadership training for southern civil
rights activists. Rosa Parks attended a 1955 workshop at Highlander four months
before refusing to give up her bus seat, an act which ignited the Montgomery bus
boycott.
Lead by Septima Clark, Esau Jenkins and Bernice Robinson, Highlander developed
a citizenship program in the mid-1950s that taught African Americans their rights
as citizens while promoting basic literacy skills. Reflecting on his experiences with
the Citizenship Schools and the emergence of new leaders from “noncharismatic
people” who attended the training, Horton concluded that “educational work
during social movement periods provides the best opportunity for multiplying
democratic leadership”.
What does Rosa Parks have to do with the Nordic Secret?
She went to a folk school in Tennessee…
14. While Nordics were
doing “bildung” (and
nation-building…)
…Scotland
was largely
the
workshop
(and
barracks) of
the British
Empire
Tom Nairn: Scotland missed out on the great European
nationalist “Springs”, and only now catching up… (though
industry + labour movement = workers education?)
15. Modern legacy of folk-
education and bildung
for Nordic societies?
- Ethos of life-long
learning (see
Denmark’s flexicurity –
assumes an agile,
capable, confident
workforces) (Olaf
Palme’s ‘study-circle
democracy’)
- Strong sense of active citizenship
- Psychologically well-founded -
play-based kindergarten & creative
schooling, parental leave, shorter
work week. (Thus the high
happiness/trust indexes?)
16. BILDUNG 3.0 – for our
current transition to
age of automation/
AI, zero-
carbon/climate
change, emerging
economics,
demographics/
longevity, planetary
migration…
As the times get more complex
on the outside – How much
more complex do we have to
be on the inside? What ”image
of character” do we need?
17. So what does this
have to do with
gaining Scottish
independence?
18. 1. The indy movement is already doing “Bildung 2.0”…
a) A proper indy “public sphere” to discuss nation-
developing ideas…
19. 1. The indy movement is already doing “Bildung 2.0”…
b) Some institutions to start generating them…
20. 1. The indy movement is already doing “Bildung 2.0”…
c) a social movement that lets character flourish
Commentariat:
”Who are these
people? Where
have they come
from?”
Indy movement has been
educating, sustaining,
“building” people all this
time… online, offline…
21.
22. So what does this
have to do with
gaining Scottish
independence?
23. 2. But are the ”legislators” tapping into the “Scottish
Spring?” How can they use this bildung/building to get
to indy?
LONG GAME:
- Soft Power strategy abroad
– act “as if” a nation-state,
with full range of powers,
complex assets
- Steady confidence-building
to a new level – a pride in
Scottish modernity
- Generational turnover
24. 2. But are the ”legislators” tapping into the “Scottish
Spring?” How can they use this bildung/building to get
to indy?
TOO LONG?
QUICK DASH?
- Brexit is a continuing car-
crash, ScotGov pragmatism
exhausted
- Tension between using
mandate now – losing it at
the next Holyrood election
- If it breaks to indyref2
through crisis… Do we have
the resources, the plan?
25. The ultimate Bildung lesson
for indy movement:
How do you be the Scotland
you wish to see?
What’s the tone - friendly,
welcoming, conversational…
Or angry, fear-inducing,
shaming…
patkane.global
