VIABLE FUTURES THROUGH DESIGN: COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT EXPERIENCES IN THE CREATIVE INDUSTRIES
Year: 2018

Community engagement projects for social innovation are increasingly happening across the globe and show a trend that involves communities in participatory approaches for the resolution of a variety of social needs. However, little has been discussed about how this type of projects could possibly lead to the production of viable futures as design innovations, and how social and cultural factors influence people's engagement and participation in community based projects. We argue that making viable futures by design requires a bottom up approach where ideas depart from the community itself, where the co production of knowledge takes place through a process that is collaborative, participatory and engaging. From this perspective, in this paper we discuss insights gained through a study tour project in which we explored the various aspects of the concept of engagement as a key component of design innovations in people's everyday activities. The study tour project took place at a Faculty of Creative Industries in Australia and comprised two different design creative explorations: Mutant Piggy student project involving students from Australia, China and Peru; and the InstaBooth research project involving Brisbane's, Australia community. From our experiences we establish the concept of viable futures by design as the enabling of new endeavours that are made possible within particular contexts and within local people's knowledge. Finally, we propose that the making of viable futures by design is an engagement process that requires co production of knowledge and suitable tools to facilitate democratic and true participation; and that this process can prompt social change as a by product of these community engagement experiences. Santrauka Bendruomenes telkimosi projektai, skirti socialinems inovacijoms, vis dazniau vykdomi visame pasaulyje, atskleidzia tendencija bendru sutarimu itraukti bendruomenes, kad jos dalyvautu socialiniu poreikiu ivairoveje. Vis delto nedaug diskutuojama apie tai, kaip sio tipo projektai galetu atverti perspektyvia ateiti kuriant dizaino inovacijas, bei apie tai, kokia itaka zmoniu telkimuisi ir bendruomene itraukiantiems projektams turi socialiniai ir kulturiniai veiksniai. Tvirtiname, kad perspektyviai ateiciai kurti pasitelkiant dizaina reikia metodo ,is apacios i virsu" kurio atveju idejos kyla is pacios bendruomenes, o zinios generuojamos bendradarbiavimo, dalyvavimo ir telkimosi proceso metu. Zvelgiant is sios perspektyvos, straipsnyje aptariame izvalgas, igytas studiju turne projekto metu, kai buvo tyrinejami ivairus telkimosi, kaip pagrindinio dizaino inovaciju komponento zmoniu kasdieneje veikloje, koncepcijos aspektai. Studiju turne projektas vyko Kurybiniu industriju fakulteteAustralijoje, o ji sudare du skirtingi kurybiniai dizaino tyrimai studentu projektas Kiaulyte mutante, kuriame dalyvavo studentai is Australijos, Kinijos ir Peru, bei tyrimu projektas InstaBooth, itraukes Brisbeno (Australija) bendruomene. Remdamiesi musu patirtimis, pateikiame perspektyvios ateities pasitelkiant dizaina koncepcija, sudarancia galimybes imtis nauju veiklu. Perspektyvios ateities pasitelkiant dizaina kurimas tai telkimosi procesas, reikalaujantis bendrai generuojamu ziniu ir tinkamu priemoniu, siekiant palengvinti demokratiska ir nuosirdu dalyvavima bei tai, kad sis procesas gali paskatinti socialinius pokycius kaip siu bendruomenes telkimosi patirciu salutini produkta. Reiksminiai zodziai: bendruomenes dalyvavimas, kurybines industrijos, dizainas, dalyvavimo dizainas, socialine inovacija, perspektyvi ateitis.