Skip to content

Who it is

About the organisation The academy’s origin, beliefs and purpose.
Why this work exists The conditions the work is built to change.
How the work is funded The sources that pay for the work, and what the model aims to become.
What it runs

The DreamSpace Lifecycle Three stages, one thread and four support modes.
Venture pathway The Lifecycle for changemakers who take the venture route.
Labs & research Capabilities and communities of practice that run in many places.
Ventures & incubation How a tested solution becomes a venture.
How it checks

Theory of change How the work is meant to produce the result.
Impact & the global goals The Sustainable Development Goals the work carries.
Measurement How the model finds out whether it works.
Start here Theory of change Four streams of work, the layer where the best-evidenced mechanisms sit, and a grade on every claim. Read more

Who DreamSpace Academy is, why the work exists and how it is meant to change things.
Every page on this site
What it teaches

Programmes and domains What the academy teaches, then the domains and levels of maker education.
Innovation & enterprise The enterprise strand inside maker education, from the first stage.
How maker education works

Maker education approach How maker education connects knowledge, making, reflection and action.
Facilitation How teaching is sequenced, and what a facilitator does.
The Maker Journey The four stages used in maker education, from exploration to community contribution.
Assessment Completed work, explanation and reflection, judged against one standard.
Start here More than maker education Maker education is one part of what the academy teaches. It also runs business and entrepreneurship, digital security and teacher training. Read more

Maker education is one part of what DreamSpace Academy teaches. Most pages here describe maker education.
Every page on this site
The product

The model A community makerspace built to be replicated.

Who provides what
Programmes without a MakerSpace
What a MakerSpace does not do

Replication How one working makerspace becomes many.

The Starter Unit
The shared project bank
Expected risks
In short Who provides what The local partner provides the space and pays for the unit. DreamSpace Academy provides the design, the standard and a licence to run its programmes. Read more

A replicable makerspace that local partners set up as a social franchise, with a licence to run the academy’s programmes.
Every page on this site
Read

Articles Short explanations, and reviews of the terms the work is built on.
Questions Answers for parents, learners, schools, donors and partners.
Look up

Glossary Every term used in a specific sense, and what it excludes.
References The published works and statistics behind the system.
Records

Activities Every recorded activity, dated, one page each.
The record Activities since 2018 Every activity DreamSpace Academy has recorded, dated, with one page each. Read more

Questions, activity records, articles, terms and the sources behind them.
Every page on this site

Event, 2025

The Routes We Take

Two days of creative workshops, talks and performances with ten Eastern Province creatives, on art, sustainability and circularity.

When: September 2025
Where: Batticaloa
Format: Festival, two days
With: Good Life X

DreamSpace Academy hosted the Batticaloa edition of The Routes We Take on 12 and 13 September 2025, with Good Life X. It brought together ten creatives from across the Eastern Province.

The programme mixed a showcase of local work with hands-on sessions: lyric writing, photography and visual storytelling, upcycled musical instruments led by Dinoj Mahendranathan, and a demonstration of Palmyra-based products and the craftsmanship behind them. A panel on the cultural climate of the Eastern Province brought together three professors from environmental science, drama and theatre. The media unit screened its documentary on the opening day. The artist Poornima Jayasinghe and the architect Anurangi Mendis facilitated a second workshop, on taking creative work to a wider audience.

Day one alone drew more than 150 participants across six sessions.

Images

The Routes We Take, Batticaloa.

The Routes We Take, Batticaloa.

The Routes We Take, Batticaloa.

The Routes We Take, Batticaloa.

The Routes We Take, Batticaloa.

The Routes We Take, Batticaloa.