Academia Libera Mentis - our new substack
A new substack for Academia Libera Mentis
In 2023 an international group of top-academics from Yale, the London School of Economics, Amsterdam, and elsewhere decided to set up a small exclusive new academy – one where students discover how major decisions in organisations and society actually get made, how the sectors in our broken society can be reformed, and how to lead proud communities. These academics saw mainstream universities and societies fail their youth. They took on the huge task of providing better education without knowing beforehand how it could be done. They started where they were and used what they had.
In 2024, Professor Frijters of the London School of Economics and his wife Dr Erika Turkstra bought a castle in the Ardennes from their own savings, gathered a diverse group of thinkers and builders around them, and started growing their academic and student community. Their ultimate aim is to revolutionise academia – to see thousands of small academies replace the soulless, giant degree factories where students are cattle. No pressure! They – we – envisage places where students discover how to see the difference between propaganda and truth, where they learn how the economy and politics truly function, and most of all where they realise how the sectors can be transformed to serve society. Places of hope that challenge students to develop themselves more fully.
How do you actually do something like this? How are students helping to make it happen? And, perhaps most importantly, is the endeavour even succeeding?
We don’t yet know!
This substack tells the story of this radical new academy: the vision we aim for, the challenges of making it happen, our failures and triumphs in working through a myriad of problems, the romance and humour of life at the castle, the portraits of the first students and teachers, the new initiatives happening at the castle and internationally, our new experiments with community building, and much more.
Follow us if you want to read how our community of committed academics and students openly and honestly tackles the key challenges of education today. You’ll read about:
The story of some of our first students: who they are and what motivates them.
How we are learning to talk to each other and treat each other as actual humans with shared hopes and challenges.
How the academics are trying to explain the immense complexity of the economy, politics, finance, health, history, psychology, big business, and dozens of major sectors of society as deeply and comprehensively as possible.
Our experiments in getting students to adopt healthy habits regarding exercise, food, and internet usage. Can it be done, or is humanity doomed to be ‘obese watchers of little screens’?
How to teach statistics and a myriad of key personal skills (writing, presenting, conversing, analysing) in an honest fashion that makes students see how difficult real data is to collect and understand and how fake most data that is reported in the media.
The new initiatives of the many joining the project, bringing spiritual depth, an orchard, a sculpture garden, and much more.
How to avoid the addiction of mobile phones and the internet whilst embracing the best of new technology, such as the promise of AI for personalised education.
How to help our societies via 18th century Salons discussing reform initiatives, running scientific workshops, and setting up new peace initiatives.
How to live as a community in a campus whilst respecting personal space and diversity.
How to cook for each other and treat each other like brothers and sisters.
How to respect nature and the neighbourhood whilst still throwing huge parties now and then.
How to inspire students to devise new health, democratic, and legal structures for their countries.
How to form a new community of academics and get them to work together on a uniquely integrated curriculum.
How our castle cat Voltaire is getting on.