Collaborative Futures
In this collaborative project, four students build on their range of experiences, having returned from studying abroad in different countries and institutions as part of the Master of European Design programme (MEDes).
Our project, whose full title is Glasgow’s Future Stories: Social Innovation & Participatory Democracy in 2030 represents a multidisciplinary journey rooted in Glasgow. It’s a joint effort between Glasgow’s Centre for Civic Innovation and the Glasgow School of Art.
Exploring the idea of participatory democracy means offering a more collaborative role for citizens, enabling them to interact and work directly with public sector organisations, as well as making their own decisions about how their local communities are governed.
In looking beyond traditional interpretations of decision-making, the project looks at democracy as an everyday experience, focusing on spontaneous neighbourhood interactions and informal networks, and their contribution to larger, centralised power structures. Central to the project’s investigation is the theme of trust – the key means to maintaining equitable relationships between citizens and organisations.
“It’s difficult to have a common voice. People need to feel that they are in dialogue, that they are part of something. Storytelling and Creative ways of engaging can build this trust and connection with the community”
Participant, expert workshop session
By listening to stories told to us about resilience and adaptability in the face of a pandemic, we speculate the future by translating these stories into 2030. By the end of the project, new citizen roles emerge as part of an ecosystem of experience, interacting with designed artefacts and tools to make Glasgow’s future stories embraceable; tangible. Explore the page below to find out more.