Ashley Visagie is a co-founder of Bottomup which promotes critical awareness among high school students. Ashley has a deep concern for youth in South Africa who suffer because of the unjust education system and seeks to contest deficit narratives. He is optimistic that a more fair and just world is possible but also believes that the kind of systemic changes required call for engagements that are not trivial or easily accomplished. Helene Rousseau is a co-founder of Bottomup and strives to facilitate critical education with young people. She has an interest in dialogical learning and the implementation of culturally responsive teaching. She loves curating resources and materials that are relevant to youth that can further develop their knowledge to promote a better world. From Bottomup’s website (bottomup.org.za): “Bottomup is a youth organisation promoting socially-engaged youth leadership. We believe that youth participation in society is necessary for building a healthy democracy and that if we are to build a more egalitarian and sustainable society, then children and youth must play an active role as co-constructors in re-making the world.” Ashely and Helene join us in this Episode. We trace their journey from the founding of Bottomup to where they are now. As the story of bottom up is unveiled we also hear how Ashley and Helene’s views, approaches and methodologies change. Particularly striking are their reflections on “Critical Hope” and they introduce us to the phrase “Children as co-constructors of the world”. The quote read by Helene in the episode is from Paulo Freire’s, A Pedagogy of hope: “The idea that hope alone will transform the world, and action undertaken in that kind of naïveté, is an excellent route to hopelessness, pessimism, and fatalism. But the attempt to do without hope, in the struggle to improve the world, as if that struggle could be reduced to calculated acts alone, or a purely scientific approach, is a frivolous illusion.” The paper Helene references on Critical Hope is “Note to Educators: Hope Required When Growing Roses in Concrete” written by Jeffrey M.R Duncan-Andrade. The music in Episode 3 is composed, arranged and curated by Arkenstone (Rashid Epstein Adams).