Workshops
Telling stories: Moving beyond empathy tools to reciprocity
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08:00PM
Design is neither agnostic nor neutral – it reflects a particular worldview. Our often unchallenged cultural standpoint and unquestioned subjectivities create a dominant set of assumptions. As designers we must increasingly reflect upon and recognise the cultural specificity of our disciplines (and by extension the tools and methods recommended as law). As we do so, another question arises: how do we shift our gaze and processes while utilising relational praxis that respects the importance of co-designing the design tools with our clients? That is, how do we ensure that the tools we are using are suited to the users, particularly when their cultural reference points are different to our own? This session is presented as a partnership between Nelly’s Healing Centre and the UTS Design Innovation Research Centre and will draw from Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing and decolonised methodologies and worldviews. It will demonstrate a culturally safe way to value the importance of co-design and development that is required when relating to and working with others. We aim to validate the power of narratives and telling stories, based on an Indigenous framework of tools. As design moves into complex social spaces, we propose that specific tools may become less transferable, while principles of reciprocity and reflexivity become more important.
Europe (CET): 2nd February 2021 8:00 am to 10:00 am
US (EST): 2nd February 2021 2:00 am to 4:00 am
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Giti is a social scientist with expertise in psychology, sociology and anthropology across academic, not-for-profit and private sectors. She brings these disciplinary lenses into social and service design, with a focus on how grassroots community-led initiatives can shift structural and systemic issues. Giti’s work is informed by critical theory and a focus on subaltern perspectives.
Her experience spans across issues and contexts including LGBTQIA+ advocacy, early childhood intervention, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and education and caste-based affirmative action. She is currently working with the UTS: Design Innovation Research Centre on projects that address complex social problems, using participatory and inclusive design and workshop-based facilitation.
Lucy holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from UNSW College of Fine Arts and a Masters of Design from UTS. Lucy is a graphics and visual communications designer with a varied background that includes experience working in retail customer service and visual merchandising and the NSW public service. Her work at DOC spans consultancy on local government safety strategy, co-design facilitation with government agencies and other organisations, and managing DOC branding and communications. Lucy brings a wide range of design research skills to her work at DOC including stakeholder mapping, visual communication and branding skills.
Helen Eason is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Nelly’s Healing Centre. With lived experience of all the institutions and agencies that continue to falter in their services to Aboriginal people, Helen’s vision, strength and commitment to her mob’s healing is as real as she is. A proud Gomeroi and Biripi woman, Helen has five children and two grandchildren. Her family is a driving force for her visionary work in the creation of Nelly’s Healing Centre. Helen continues to conquer adversity and multiple obstacles to ensure that healing can and will be achieved for our mob.
Professor Juanita Sherwood is the Vice President of Nelly’s Healing Centre. She is a highly respected champion of cultural change and social justice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. A proud Wiradjuri woman, Professor Sherwood is currently the Pro Vice-Chancellor Indigenous Engagement at Charles Sturt University, following time at the University of Sydney as both Associate Dean Indigenous for the Faculty of Medicine and Health, and Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous Strategy and Services).
She has been a driving force behind building cultural competence across Australia, and was the founding Director of the National Centre for Cultural Competence (NCCC), which is housed on the University’s main campus in Camperdown. Juanita pioneered the NCCC’s Cultural Competence Leadership Program for University staff from all backgrounds – one of her proudest achievements.
Professor Sherwood maintains close connections to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, consulting regularly with Elders to guide her decision making and ensure her change agenda meets critical community needs. She is also an accomplished Indigenous health and education scholar.