Research project
Participatory tools for human development with the youth
- Start date: 1 February 2015
- End date: 31 January 2019
- Funder: EU - European Union
- Co-investigators: Dr Tang Tang, Paul Wilson
Description
The challenges faced by the marginalized youth in developing countries, such as unemployment, are not simple or easily solved. This is influenced by a number of factors including levels of education, gender, self-esteem, geographic location, physical ability and transport. Employment and educational opportunities are two factors which impact on the future success of young individuals. PARTY aims to endorse human development and assist in reducing youth unemployment by increasing the involvement and inclusion of young people in service development in South Africa and Namibia by using participatory and explorative service design tools. The project focuses on San youth and young adults (13–24 years of age), especially living in poor or otherwise marginal conditions who either are or face the risk of becoming marginalized. The project advances service design approach in the field of developmental research and at the same time develops innovative, participatory methodology and tools for developmental cooperation
PARTY is an international and inter-sectoral project coordinated by University of Lapland. Academic participants represent Human-centered and transformation design (University of Leeds, UK), Art and Design, especially Service Design (University of Lapland, Finland) and Informatics and Design (Cape Peninsula University of Technology, South Africa and Polytechnic of Namibia, Namibia). Non-academic partners represent variety of sectors: indigenous people’s rights and development issues (SASI, South Africa), and social innovation (PACO Design Collaborative, Italy).