At VIU we believe strongly that education for marginalized and racialized community members should include the following:

• Self directed learning 
• Learning through traveling (domestically and internationally)
• Experiential learning
• Co- creating the learning environment
• Intergenerational learning (education that engaged elders to young children)
• Family based learning (courses for the entire family to participate in together)
• Learning by engaging with people in conversation and listening
• Learning from Black and indigenous knowledge
• Cultural and learning exchange programs steeped in knowledge sharing
• Intersectionality approach to education, that also includes nature 
• Community based education (bringing education to where the people are at)
• VIU is connected to the Ecoversity (Ecoversidades) Global Learning Network, which is a network comprised of over 80 learning spaces in over 35 countries that around the globe.

Verandah International University (VIU) looks at the environment as an educational space, where the instructor’s approach education from a place of co-learning, healing, love and experiential learning. Verandah has two main learning streams; national and international courses that revolve around the themes of Love, Community, Spirituality, Healing, Culture, and Nature. Verandah International University (VIU) is a social enterprise subsidiary of the Black Daddies Club (BDC), that is based in Toronto, Canada. The funding model is that a percentage of income made by VIU, is able to invest back into BDC to support potential programming or related operational activities.

VIU is a community based university that uses a learning badge system instead of traditional accreditation system used in formal Academic spaces, our learning badges system works for the purpose of the self directed education approach by the learners in the space. VIU is located in Toronto, Canada, but is connected to the Ecoversity (Ecoversidades) Global Learning Network, which is a network comprised of over 80 learning spaces in over 35 countries that around the globe. VIU works with this network to explore various learning exchanges, through traveling to these various learning locations globally and nationally

Our learners include:

• Children from 9 months to 13 years old
• Pre-teens 14 years up to 18 years old
• Adults 18 +
• Family (parent, or guardian, and children)

VIU is community space dedicated to self directed learning and self exploration, VIU works under the idea that each person should work to develop the understanding of the world around them but also the person who they are.