Pressing Issues: Printing Futures, Publishing Resistance

A series of online lectures, tutorials, and roundtable conversations discussing the politics of translating, archiving, and publishing.

Publishing is a vital practice for activist movements—it makes stories heard, forges connections across distances, and amplifies political struggles. From newsletters and periodicals that weave networks of solidarity, to archives that document resistance, to books that imagine new worlds, and even to radio stations that transmit and carry voices beyond borders—publishing does more than just circulate knowledge. It moves, it connects, it ignites.

But engaged publishing is not only about bringing political struggles to the public; it is also about questioning how knowledge is produced and shared. Activist publishing turns its critical gaze inward, asking: Which languages are used? Whose voices are heard, and whose remain on the margins? What forms of knowledge are legitimized, and which are erased? It challenges the dominance of the written word, interrogates the material conditions of its own production, and resists the logic of exclusivity and gatekeeping. Publishing, then, is not just about what is said, but about how it is made possible—and for whom.

Yet, despite its rich history, self-organized publishing continues to grapple with the constraints of neoliberal capitalist systems that shape who gets to be heard and which stories endure beyond the immediacy of specific movements.

The Pressing Issues online series explores a variety of approaches to publishing, translation, and archiving as political practices. Open to practitioners within the field as well as researchers and students eager to engage with publishing, the program offers a critical look behind the scenes—examining how it shapes discourse and unpacking the challenges, politics, and hopes embedded in its inherently community-based endeavors.

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From October 2025 to January 2026, six online lectures, one tutorial, and one roundtable conversation take a deep dive into the topic—from researching Iranian feminist periodicals and building Pan-African liberation through archiving, to surviving capitalism as a queer publishing house, and fostering community through reading, publishing, and printing. The series explores the materiality of underground print, discusses the politics of translation beyond words, poses access questions in publishing, and examines the intersection of language and activism from within communities.

The event features a lineup of lecturers including Parasto Backman, Ly Xīnzhèn Zhǎngsūn Brown, Chimurenga platform, Lissa Choukrane, Jazael Olguín Zapata from Cooperativa Cráter Invertido, Loraine Furter, Be Oakley from GenderFail, Marwan Kaabour, aqui Thami from Sister Library, and Kaiya Waerea from Sticky Fingers Publishing. 

Each event will be followed by an open discussion, where you can pose direct questions to the lecturer and other participants from all over the world. All lectures will be available synchronously via Zoom and asynchronously as recordings on Vimeo.

You will also be invited to join the Futuress Slack platform to continue sharing and learning from others. Our Futuress Slack channel includes participants from past and present Futuress learning programs, and is a growing community of designers, researchers, educators, and activists from all corners of the world.

Overview

• Start: October 9, 2025
• End: January 22, 2026
• 6 lectures, 1 tutorial & 1 roundtable
• All events are available
  – synchronously via Zoom, and
  – asynchronously as recordings on Vimeo
• All events start at 6 pm CE(S)T
• Prices available on a sliding scale:
  – Solidarity: CHF 290
  – Standard: CHF 150
  – Student: CHF 70
  – Reduced Student: CHF 35
• Registration is available on a rolling basis, so you can join at any time!

Registration

At Futuress, we are committed to democratizing design education. By registering for this lecture series, you not only enter a transnational community centered around design politics, but you also support the work of commissioning, editing, and publishing original counter-narratives, and help to finance our free online learning program.

The lecture series is accessible through a sliding-scale price structure:

• Solidarity: CHF 290
• Standard: CHF 150
• Student: CHF 70
• Reduced Student: CHF 35

For students with limited finances—particularly those self-identifying as marginalized, BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, chronically ill, or disabled—we offer the Reduced Student price. We trust your honesty and do not require proof of self-identification for enrollment.

For institutions keen on facilitating their students’ and staff’s participation (and other bigger groups), we also provide discounted passes. Please contact learning@futuress.org along with the number of participating students and staff, and we would be happy to tailor an offer to your specific needs.

Speakers Line-Up

Full Program