In this online lecture, MFA Design for Social Innovation designer-in-residence Sloan Leo will explore the role of the designer in creating the enabling conditions for democracy with Keesha Gaskins-Nathan, Director of Democratic Practice at The Rockefeller Brothers Fund. Register and access the live stream here.

About Ideas in Action:

We are a species and planet in a time of significant upheaval—and in this time of disruption, there is an urgent need to strengthen the resilience of our communities where we live, work and play. The social design field, despite its nascence, provides opportunity to leverage design interventions in places, spaces and processes that create the enabling conditions for the cultural phenomenon we call community. We must ask ourselves: how can social innovation as a design practice connect more deeply with social innovation as it is practiced by movements, institutions and people seeking justice? What tools and frameworks can social innovators learn from social designers and vice versa?

Drawing upon grassroots organizing tactics, community-based, human-centered design, biomimetic innovation and other fields, these dialogues will explore shared values, language, approaches and aspirations between the fields of social design and social justice.

Join Designer-in-Residence Sloan Leo for a series of curated conversations exploring innovations in community building. All events will take place at the School of Visual Arts, Design for Social Innovation Auditorium from 8:30 – 10:00am.

Talk

Ideas in Action: Designing for Democracy – Online