PLAY As Activism: Collective Actions for Social Justice in the Anthropocene

Collective actions within educational systems can address complex drawbacks of social injustices related to epistemic, environmental and racial fields, especially in the context of global challenges exacerbated by the Anthropocene, a term proposed by scientists to describe a new geological era characterized by the profound influence of human activities. Education plays a critical role in shaping how societies confront the crises of our time. This presentation highlights the work of the “Researchers in Intercultural Actions” (R.I.A), an academic group fostering international collaborations to tackle educational inequities through intercultural practices and pedagogical collectiveness. R.I.A has been engaged in fostering tools to overcome challenges such as bullying, disconnected curricula, lack of collaboration and insufficient infrastructure. Besides promoting collective actions among educators and students, RIA’s central approach is to reflect upon possibilities of reframing education as collaborative and intercultural practices that envisage critical analysis and transformative actions. R.I.A’s initiatives are grounded in Vygotsky’s theory of play, positioning it as a form of activism for social justice and transformation. One example is the response to the 2024 water catastrophe in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. R.I.A organized activities on the importance and dangers of rain at Brooklyn New School (BNS) in New York, USA, during an event called Ecorama, which featured interactive circuits focused on art, science, sustainability, and play, engaging teachers, students, families, and the community, representing the potencial of collectiveness.This presentation aims to discuss the power of collaboration among Brazilian researchers, as well as teachers and students from BNS embedded in play activities developed within intercultural pedagogical actions regarding water-related issues resulting from environmental imbalance. As for the relation between environment and society, this study places education as a key site for confronting ecological crises, highlighting its contributions to planetary drawbacks and, theoretically, preparing communities for social and environmental future challenges.