Design Solutions for Migrants, Refugees and Displaced Populations Panel
To celebrate the launching of our new MA in Design for Social Impact and on the occasion of World Refugee Day, PCA is co-hosting a panel discussion with PUBLIC Journal on design solutions for the European refugee crisis. We will be presenting and exploring a range of projects and best practices that are emerging to help with these very real shelter needs.
PUBLIC Journal is focused on and committed to the expansion of the Public Interest Design (PID) movement. PCA is partnering with PUBLIC to participate in its mission to explain, inspire and educate the public about contemporary PID projects around the world. PUBLIC Journal focuses its attention on subjects we share concerns about, such as solutions to homelessness, access to drinkable water, availability and intelligent use of public spaces, as well as good public policy that enhances the quality of life for all citizens.
Our joint panel discussion, taking place June 20, will feature projects and designers who are positively addressing issues of housing, community cohesion and self-identity within a complex multinational world. It will be a night of inspiration, cultural and design exchange, a call to action based on what has been done and an invitation to imagine what new possibilities there are to design solutions for underserved, displaced populations.
To attend the panel, please register in advance. For those who can’t attend the panel discussion, we’ll be organizing an online broadcasting of the discussion on our Facebook page.
We stand #WithRefugees !
Panelists
Andrea Panizzo (London, UK)
Co-Founding Director in EVA Studio
“Middle East refugee community and architecture solutions”
After graduating with a Master of Architecture at the Politecnico di Milano in 2005, he worked six years for renowned firms, such as Bennetts Associates and Fuksas Architects. He entered the Haitian humanitarian design sector in 2011 working with organizations such as Global Communities, Finn Church Aid + IDB, J/P HRO, American Red Cross and USAID. He is well versed in designing and managing projects for international organizations in the Caribbean and South America. He also has extensive experience in running humanitarian projects with a focus on community-based participatory design.
Thami Schweichler (Sao Paulo, Brazil)
Co-founder of Makers Unite
“Incorporating refugees into host communities through design collaboration”
Working on projects of co-creativity and social venturing since 2012, Thami
Schweichler is a social entrepreneur focused on design for social innovation.
After obtaining a Master’s degree at ENSCI – Les Ateliers in Paris, Thami
participated in the development of Koneksie, a social enterprise aiming to improve road safety and provide entrepreneurship opportunities for motorcycle taxi drivers in Kenya. At the end of 2015, Thami co-founded Makers Unite, a social enterprise producing sustainable accessories to provide employment opportunities for newcomers with a refugee background in The Netherlands.
Thami is also a board member of Re-Vest Life; a foundation which promotes the integration of newcomers in society through artistic projects and
public interventions.
Goliath Dyèvre (Paris, France)
“How designers can succeed in socially focused project work”
Goliath Dyèvre graduated from ENSCI design school in 2009. His work has been exhibited at the Vitra Design Museum, the Power Station of Art in Shanghai, and at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. His work explores the relationship between the objects and the space in which they are inscribed. He questions the bond that unites us to the matter put into shape by its use and the contemporary stakes behind them. The perception of functionality, aesthetic and social concerns are his research tools.
Maya Konforti (Calais, France)
Secretary of l’Auberge des Migrants
“Creating refugee food sourcing and distribution solutions”
Maya Konforti has been deeply involved in the migration issues in Northern France for over 3 years. She is the secretary of l’Auberge des Migrants, the largest non-profit local NGO in the Calais region. She and her organization has provided humanitarian and legal aid to as many as 10 000 refugees at one time. In what was known as the Jungle of Calais, she was fondly nicknamed ‘the mother of the jungle’.
Maya was also responsible for creating in 2016 a strong network of volunteer citizens throughout France to help refugees.
Goli Moussavi & Aileen Salin (Paris, France)
Coordinators of Le Carillon
“Social connection: the ultimate refuge and path toward reintegration”
Le Carillon is a network of friendly shopkeepers and business owners who offer essential services to anyone who might be in need. Le Carillon aims to create social links and friendships so that nobody feels lonely, whether they are homeless or not. The different services can provide basic needs such as food or water but the main goal is to create lasting relationships.
After completing her Master’s in Innovation and Management at the Sorbonne, Goli joined the non-profit sector in project management. Today, she is in charge of new projects for Le Carillon, including most recently, a street vegetation project together with residents and homeless people.
Aileen studied European Political Science and International Relations. In September 2016, after one year in Dublin, she decided to return to France to join Le Carillon and develop and animate this network of solidarity in the center of Paris.