Susanne Stauch

social.transformation.system.design.research

Designing Exit Strategies – weißensee kunsthochschule berlin

I am very delighted about the invitation by Prof. Jörg Petruschat to teach a design theory class of my own choice, so I am diving right into the purpose we have dedicated for our organisation Supernova Institute. Instead of being overwhelmed or paralysed by the complexity of the current global crisis, we are joining the quest for future-oriented solutions that take into account the well-being of all living species on our beautiful planet (humans, animals, plants).

This course is inviting the students to critically reflect the appropriateness and cost of the mindset, lifestyle and consumptional habits of the global north (aka. capitalism), and to learn about regenerative projects and attempts of living a more simple, reduced, local life focused around well-being and community. We will take off with scanning through relevant literature and theories, look at design methods and how to embed them meaningfully into the design process, using this to go through a couple of iterative design sprints to come up with first ideas and suggestions for future-oriented concepts of living consciously and intentionally interconnected.

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Talk at DGTF Conference, Halle Burg Giebichenstein

At this year’s conference of the German Foundation for Design Theory and Research I was invited to speak about the projects I conducted with the University of Arts Berlin in Nairobi, Kenya. In my talk I presented theses and conclusions I draw from the experience of the collaborative work we did there to address a more contemporary, just and realistic approach towards international development and how design could actually contribute towards this change.

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Field Research in Nairobi, Kenya

Starting in October, I will work much closer with the NGO Nyendo, who is supporting the Love School and 13 other privately run schools in the slums of Kangemi and Kawangware (CIFEFA network). I traveled to Kenya in late September/October to connect different initiatives with the CIFEFA schools: the Wajukuu Art Project in Lunga Lunga, the Kounkuey Design Initiative in Kibera and the FabLab GEARBOX in Nairobi.

Our vision is to establish an educational exchange program between designers, German pupils (grade 11) and the initiatives in Nairobi, which transfers both polytechnical know-how as well as tools to run self sustained food production. This work is part of my PhD research and will be developed throughout the next years. Together with the participants we came up with a name for our endeavor: INUKA SASA (rise now). 

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Project Lead for Nyendo.Lernen NGO

Starting in October I will take over the project management for the work with the CIFEFA schools in Kangemi and Kawangware, Nairobi, Kenya. The cooperation will be run through Supernova Institute as one of our coop’s pilot projects, trying to build networks both in Nairobi and within Africa connecting people from similar projects. Our first attempt is to implement urban gardening structures in a big co-creation workshop in early 2018, that have beed designed by participants of the Regenerate! project during my professorship Berlin University of Arts. I am super happy to join the team and hopefully will be able to create resourceful synergies!

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