Dear readers,

The next DXCC Seminar (28th October in Bogota) raises this very basic question: can we have collaborative solutions in highly challenging places? That is, in places where social and environmental problems may be tragically tangible, basic infrastructure may not exist and public institutions may be absent. Places where people may be in danger for their health and their safety and where everybody, day by day, has to invent how to live. Or at least, survive.

In this framework, one of the three threads of discussion in which the seminar is articulated tackles this more specific theme:  “The sharing of spaces and services has often been recognized as a way to improve quality of life. To be travelled, this path requires that the people involved have the chance to recognize and follow it. This is very difficult for those living in extreme poverty because urgent everyday needs undermine the perspective to self-reliance. Beside this, efforts to collaborate may continue to struggle against situations that tend to lead back to overcome urgent individual matters; some poverty traps such as teenage pregnancy, child labor, malnutrition and disease, increase the chances to fall back into poverty and hamper overcoming it” .

Therefore, in this thread of discussion, the initial question becomes: can transformative social innovation help in breaking the poverty traps?  In the paper "Can collaborative wellbeing break the poverty traps?" we propose some initial notes as triggers of the conversation on this still very large but, at the same time, more specific and focused question.

To read the whole paper, click here.

Ezio Manzini (DESIS President) and Edgard Quijano (Coordinator of DESIS DISCALab Caribe)

More on DESIS Network:

DESIS Assembly - 29th October, in Bogota
After the DxCC Seminar, in Bogota, the DESIS Network members will be able to join a meeting to discuss the on-going projects of all DESIS Labs around the world. The Assembly will be held on the 29th October, at Universidad de Los Andes, and will cover the following topics: current DESIS activities, new Lab affiliations and editorial initiatives. Two special points, the Coordination plans for 2020 and the DESIS 2020 Manifesto will also be discussed. Carla Cipolla, International DESIS Coordinator, will be hosting the meeting at Bogota; there will also be a link allowing those who can’t be at the Assembly in person to virtually participate in the discussions.

Service:
DESIS Assembly, 29th October 2019
Universidad de Los Andes / Cra. 1ª No. 18A – 10 / Bogota, Colombia
Room SD_702 / From 8AM to 2PM
The room has capacity for 40 people
Link to connect via Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/557443101
 
NEWS! DESIS’ new book will be released on 29th October in Bogota
We are very pleased to announce the release of the book “Design for Social Innovation and Cities (DxSIC)”, edited by Ezio Manzini and Carla Cipolla… (continue reading)

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In the development of design for social innovation projects, we got the habit to take sustainability for granted because it is part of our DNA as researchers. After an initial... (continue reading)