In and out of place: correspondence as a means to understand and redesign complexity

New methods are needed to understand, visualise and work around complexities of socially oriented design research and practice. This chapter reflects upon the experiences of researchers undertaking work for a research and innovation staff exchange project and makes use of a lens of critical complexity to determine scenarios that frame the project’s significant moments. The chapter discusses complexities that are related to project work in three scenarios – institution, individual and activity – and reveals how these complexities were experienced and related to in the case of the project Participatory Tools for Human Development with the Youth (PARTY). As an outcome, the chapter presents the people, objectives and methods (POM) framework, a method for identifying and understanding the challenges that complexities can present to designers as they aim to grasp what is to be – in place, out of place and in place with others

Designing Dialogues for Complexities with Marginalised Youth: Processes and Tools

Culture, lifestyles, resources and conditions offered by complex realities create challenges, but also ignite opportunities for a meaningful dialogue between the facilitators and marginalised youth that enable empathy, learning and empowerment. We propose a dialogue model that has helped to identify opportunities to motivate and potentially empower the youth to be/become involved in the service innovation and local dialogue with the stakeholders. Through a case study, we demonstrate how we apply this model while working with indigenous San youth in vocational training or higher education courses in Windhoek, Namibia. By taking into account the complexities, tools adapted and developed for enhancing dialogue are introduced. Reflections are made on both the outcomes and the ways that designers restructure their roles as facilitators to enable peer-to-peer exchanges, ongoing dialogues with the youth, and potentially catalyse a transformative process in unlocking situated knowledge, developing skills and capacities of the youth who are part of the fabric of change

Service design tools to engage marginalised youth in San Communities of Southern Africa

This paper reports the findings as part of a EU funded project which focuses on the participatory development with the Youth in marginalised communities of Southern Africa. It discusses the advantages of the adoption of Service Design methods in providing selfawareness, engagement and active collaboration among participants. Based on the literature review of Social Innovation, Participatory Design and Service Design, a framework is proposed and suggests a different overview of the role of individuals in a contemporary community, with the aim of identifying features that enable and empower the youths as change agents in their communities. A tool book is created as a result of a selection of the most effective tools and techniques developed and used in a series of workshops carried out with local Youth. Through a case study, we illustrate the use of process and tools that enables and creates an ethical, equal and open platform where the basic skills can be transferred, and issues or challenges identified individually and collectively can be transformed into solution-oriented opportunities

Promoting Entrepreneurship amid Youth in Windhoek’s Informal Settlements: A Namibian Case

Considering the high unemployment rate among Namibian youth and a lack of job opportunities, the promotion of entrepreneurship has gained wider attention in the country. A number of initiatives have been started such as entrepreneurship trainings and workshops, business idea competitions, etc. All these aim to inspire young people to think of alternative income sources. As part of a two-year funded community outreach research and development (R&D) project, we have investigated participatory approaches to engage marginalized youth into conceptualizing their own context, imparting skills, and deriving new career paths. This article reports and reflects on one of the interventions we have recently concluded with a group of youth in Havana, an informal settlement in the outskirts of Windhoek. We conducted what we entitled “The Havana Entrepreneur”, a series of interactions inspired upon the model of the American reality game show “The Apprentice”. Over a number of weeks two youth groups were given challenges to tackle by means of competing against one another. After completion of each challenge, groups were rated by a number of judges on skills demonstrated such as marketing, presentation, reflection and creativity among others. We observed an increase in, and improvement of skills revealed along tasks’ completion, besides an openly expressed self-realization and discovery of abilities by participants. Moreover, the youth are currently engaged in the continuation of activities beyond the initial entrepreneurial interactions. Thus we suggest replicating “The Havana Entrepreneur”, including the recording on camera of it by the youth themselves as a new mode to instigating a wider entrepreneurial spirit in informal settlements