Seeds of Radical Education at the Coady Institute

"This book contains the narratives of those who have advanced the Sustainable Development Goals daily through their commitment to Education at the Coady International Institute over the past number of decades. This book is chock full of rich and detailed narratives of their teaching and learning encounters in the classroom in Nova Scotia and onsite with participants in the Majority world. In reading this book, I have been allowed to go deep into the world of Coady Institute practice, to witness the intensity of the participatory practice of those who have brought incredible passion and commitment to the Institute."

Leona English, PhD

Professor of Adult Education

St. Francis Xavier University

“These essays demonstrate the authors’ deep commitment to equity, justice and solidarity. Their educational approach is to help give people a sense of their own power to make changes rather than be dependent on large external systems that are beyond people’s control. Their nonviolent approach, that starts with personal change and builds community leadership, is important for the world today in this time of climate crisis, unrest and conflict.”

RajGopal PV, Gandhian social activist and land rights campaigner,

Founder of Ekta Parishad, India and former Coady Chair in Social Justice

“In this inspiring book, the authors, who have been working at the Coady Institute for extended periods of time, share their insights, experiences, and reflections on adult education. Coming from different backgrounds, they nonetheless share a passion for radical education, liberation through education and transformation – individually and collectively. This is highlighted in several, often personal statements and reflections on the nature of critical, action-oriented adult education."

Prof. Dr. Christine Zeuner

Professur für Erwachsenenbildung, Fakultät für Geistes- und Sozialwissenschaften
Helmut Schmidt Universität/ Universität der Bundeswehr Hamburg

“The Coady represented at its start a Canadian people-led, equity-driven contribution to a post-war, decolonizing world. In return, the Coady became over the last 60 years a catalytic site of trans-local learning for community activists and development workers from around the world, sharing and learning each other's examples of people-led, equity-driven contributions. As someone standing witness to this for the last 10 years, this book captures this learning dynamism in action - and the radical potential it has represented. I recommend this book highly for those interested in radical learning, and in the legacy of the Coady. It will certainly have a central place on my shelves in the days ahead."

Jonathan Langdon, PhD, Associate Professor;

Development Studies Coordinator, StFX University

Canada Research Chair in Sustainability

and Social Change Leadership

“I appreciate greatly the publication of this book. It will be a constant reminder for many of us to stay rooted in the transformative education we gained from Coady that has set the stage for the work we are doing that is bringing positive changes in our communities. With mixed emotions of loss, resilience and self-discovery I proudly identify myself as one of the tiny radical seeds sown by the Coady Institute. This tiny seed has grown and is flourishing in Sierra Leone especially at the Centre for Development and Peace Education (CDPeace), an NGO I cofounded. It was established primarily as a human capacity building organization committed to nurture a culture of peace and sustainable development.”

Mary Hawa Turay, Social Entrepreneur,

Gender and Peace Activist

Executive Director, CDPeace, Sierra Leone

Many authors were present

for a celebration and energetic book

launch on 29 July 2019

in Antigonish, NS

View the Video Here