Social Cohesion Design

Concern
There has been much concern in the last few decades about the social breakdown in Western societies. Abundant social reports indicate that our social fabric is disrupting having all sorts of negative impact of the members of the community to participate in voluntairy work, politics and associations.Technology is seen as having an active role in this. A TV set binds people to their homes less visiting friends. A micro wave facilitates family members to eat at different time intervalls less socialising at the dinner table. Can Technology play an active role in improving aspects of Social Cohesion in our society?

Social Cohesion Design Foundation
The Social Cohesion Design Foundation in Delft, The Netherlands has initiated the Social Cohesion Design course in collaboration with the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering at the Technical University Delft, The Netherlands. By providing design students with a new sequential approach for designer practise: the 3-i methodology, the hope is expressed that a new generation of designers will 'stand-up' and employ a new approach in their assignments for design studio's and design oriented manufacturing companies enhancing aspects of Social Cohesion.

Design institutes as agents of change
Design schools can become design laboratories where new visions are generated, new tools are defined and tested and where new projects are started and supported. If a worldwide movement towards 'Social Change' , calls for the best possible use of all existing resources, design schools, with all their potential in terms of students’ enthusiasm and faculty experience, should be considered a very promising social resource: a potentially powerful promoter of social change.

Multi Institutional Collaboration
To help realise this, the Social Cohesion Design course is set up as 'multi institutional course development project', including an annual Social Cohesion Design evaluation Seminar to start in 2012.
A 4 year period is envisioned to develop the course from 'prototype' to well balanced practical 'step by step' course, while at the same time providing design students with a robust theory-underlying framework.


Till date two pilot projects have been executed at the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering in Delft.
2009-2010 A slum development project.
2010-2011 A coffee distribution project for the Douwe Egberts company.