Our weekly digest is the entry point into our virtual gathering place. We share regular opportunities to engage in learning and co-design with us, as well as deep insights, tips and resources.
Design Changemakers Digest from October 25, 2024
Looking at the current state of the world and the latest headlines may paint a grim picture of our future.
It can feel easier to give in to the oppressive status quo to lift the weight off our shoulders. But the world needs your changemaking spirit.
This week's digest is focused on how to keep on fighting the anti-oppression fight in "third places."
No time to read the whole digest? I'll leave you with one takeaway — join me in the first Design Changemakers 'unconventional' gathering, Resistance & Changemaking Through Design on Wednesday, November 20th.
Sending you light and positive energy,
Equitable Design Educator, Strategist and Consultant
On a mission to liberate people and planet from systems of oppression with and by design. Work with me.
The past 6-12 months have been tough. We've seen...
All on top of our personal challenges.
If we're to persevere in rallying against oppression — in the workplace, in our design projects and in the world at large — we need collective strength.
We can't do it alone or in silos.
But the workplace isn't always the right container for incubating anti-oppressive work, especially with economic pressures and the constraints of capitalism looming over us.
So, where can we gather instead? Third places.
American urban sociologist Ray Oldenburg first defined third places in the early 90s as "settings a person frequents beyond their home (the first place) and work (the second place)." Essentially, it's a communal place familiar to you and its other regulars.
Third places are generally public spots found in the real world — such as neighborhood parks, libraries, bars, coffee shops, places of worship, parks, social clubs and beyond.
They are places where you can:
Over the years, as digitalization, commodification and individualism have taken a greater hold of Western cultures, third places are declining. Some places have shifted online. And some have been shamefully overrun by racism.
I strongly believe that third places can be our container for anti-oppressive dreaming, play and exploration outside of work.
That's why I decided to reimagine Design Changemakers as a virtual gathering place that serves this purpose. There, you'll find shared spaces to learn, play, gather and build liberatory futures with other changemakers — using design as our tool for positive change. But more on that later in the digest!
What other third places can you explore?
Here are a few communities, conferences and groups that I've found particularly inspiring and that embody liberatory, anti-oppressive principles.
As a Colombian-American immigrant living in Paris for 11 years, I've never really found my finding my anti-oppressive third place in person. So, I've gone online to find them.
I've explored and created a variety, ranging from online communities of practice, a co-design collective, an anti-oppressive "mastermind" group, a group for collective liberation gatherings, and beyond...
My experiences have helped me better understand how to design virtual third places in ways that allow us to challenge oppression without reproducing its patterns.
I've distilled it down into a few design principles (I'm sure there are many more, I welcome yours!). These are inspired by the work we're currently doing in our co-design collective and now serve as the new values for Design Changemakers as a whole.
Among many others, this can include...
If you don't have access to an anti-oppressive third place — or you wish to draw inspiration for your own space — I have a special invitation for you.
As part of the Design Changemakers revamp, I'll be convening open gatherings for changemakers to mobilize into action around shared causes.
These unconventional gatherings will be designed intentionally to shake us out of the "capitalistic" ways of meeting online and bring us closer in harmony with equity and liberation.
The first gathering, Resistance and Changemaking Through Design, will be taking place on Wednesday, November 20th.
In this gathering, we will come together as builders, healers, activists and dreamers to explore how design, resistance and changemaking can move us toward more liberatory futures.
You can participate in one of four ways: as a real-time participant, asynchronous participant, observer or as a co-designer for the gathering.
Get more details and register below.
