Austrian Cartoonist Gerhard Haderer has always had a knack for humorously distilling complex social issues, making them accessible to a broad audience. In doing so, he has often raised awareness of current topics and sparked public debate.

The School of Disobedience is not a school in the conventional sense: There is no curriculum, no performance groups, no seating arrangement, and no headmaster. However, there is a code of conduct and a caretaker, who is essential for setting the system in motion and keeping it running.

So why is it called a school, and how exactly does disobedience play a role here? The School of Disobedience sees itself as a school of thought that is open to everyone and aims to motivate people to think of disobedience in a positive light for a change. Street shoes can even be kept on.

Blind obedience has caused all sorts of trouble throughout world history. The School of Disobedience aims to turn the tables and shape society through constructive disobedience. People from all walks of life are invited to engage in a casual, interested, and humorous exchange through lectures, exhibitions, readings, workshops, publications, and actions in public spaces.

The School of Disobedience aims to connect like-minded individuals, bring together their thoughts, ideas, and impulses, and create opportunities to implement these projects in a playful manner, where they are needed and meaningful. Sometimes this will be done with the friendly support of creative minds from both home and abroad.

The School of Disobedience is an encouragement project that invites individuals to embrace their own, independent thoughts on socially and politically relevant topics and prevailing opinions, and to approach frustrating issues creatively, rather than capitulating to them. Ideally, this will also spark public debate in the process.

This creative breeding ground cannot thrive within the confines of an isolated lecture and should, therefore, be developed through shared interests, communal activities, and plenty of fun, even beyond the underlying theme.

The School of Disobedience is a platform that does not teach disobedience, but cultivates it.