One Last Apocalypse

What is One Last Apocalypse ?

One Last Apocalypse (OLA) is a community engagement and capacity building project consisting of a series of workshops and meetups that culminate in an event. It focuses on skill building, development and community ownership through engagements, leading to a final event.

It explores the idea of Apocalypse as a conduit for discovery, change and renewal.

By definition an apocalypse is: (Ancient Greek: ἀποκάλυψις apokálypsis, from ἀπό and καλύπτω, literally meaning “an uncovering”) a disclosure of knowledge or revelation. In religious contexts it is usually a disclosure of something hidden, “a vision of heavenly secrets that can make sense of earthly realities”.[1]

What will your community learn?

During the initial phases of OLA (book club & game nights) engaged communities will develop skills in critical literacy and social literacy whilst unpacking ideas around apocalypse through a variety of mediums and genres.

The second phase focuses on the process of creation, putting ideas into motion and delivering the final event.

The different phases will focus on the following areas of learning:

Thinking:

This project creates a space for the exploration of big ideas through facilitated sessions utilising stimuli such as books, movies, graphic novels and games to encourage learning, sharing and critical thought.

Design:

Participants will actively engage with design concepts through play and will be empowered to generate their own designs as a preparation for event design and fabrication.

Making:

Participants will be guided through the making process through a series of workshops and will have the opportunity to use the Edge facilities including digital fabrication tools.

Event Planning:

A key part of the project is to develop participant skills in event planning and management. OLA will be achieved through focused event capacity workshops and a series of event planning meetups supported by a producer.

WHY OLA?

The Edge is a visionary space for ‘creating creatives’, a 21st century library, with a purpose to empower Queenslanders to explore creativity across art, science, technology, and enterprise.

Since 2010 The Edge has been a space to engage in programs and a facility to visit, use and meet like minded people.

Then, between 2011 and 2012 The Edge explored the idea of engaging a community as a whole. They developed a series of creative thinking role playing challenges called the Zombie Climate Apocalypse. This explorative process engaged local communities and gave them permission and agency to have ownership of The Edge space. They were given help to develop the content and events that took place.

‘One Last Apocalypse (OLA)’ is a finalisation of this work. This time The Edge is engaging multiple communities to explore their creativity to develop this project. Community members will be involved in the process of structuring, planning and running the event.

This wiki is where The Edge is sharing all of its learning and the process of creating The One Last Apocalypse program. Other libraries who use this framework will also share their process and learning.

Project History and Background

For a (not so brief) background check out Daniel Flood's initial brief for this project.

Contact AC team for permission to read this Internal planning document.

Outcomes & Reflections

These documents record the experiences and conversations of community participants, and collaborating library staff. Reading them will give you a sense of how this project could grow in your hands, and what additional resources others found wanting as the project proceeded. And some of the really rewarding feedback you might expect.

Delivery at The Edge allowed participants to access a range of tools and techniques in the Fabrication Lab, not widely available in other library spaces.

The Edge Reflections

Delivery at Deception Bay public library tested the project in a small (3 staff) public library, with the facilities and community connections typical for such a space, with intermittent access to workshop facilities at The Edge.

Deception Bay Library reflections

How to engage with this wiki

- Use the templates

- Remix the templates

- Create your own templates

The Templates

Planning your OLA process

Book Club

One Last Apocalypse Game Nights

(Both The Edge and Deception Bay combined the book club and games nights into one program. The Edge called it 'Pop culture book club' and Deception Bay called it 'Larger than life at the library' )
Apocalypse thinking

Doing Outreach

Your community may have some awesome ideas by this point and have a clear direction to go in next. Follow their lead and go with the next stages of the process.
Design Process

Make it

Plan it

Run it

Evaluate it

If you would like to follow a pre-made design, use this design kit called 'Cardboard Kaiju'
Design kit

Outcomes & Reflections

The Edge Reflections

Dbay reflections

Further Resources

Engaging community discussion

Evaluation forms

Professional development

Engagement Plan