Ghadeer Dajani (design and production manager at DDFP), and Raed Hamouri, (project manager at DDFP), talked about the effect of occupation on local design, how it restricts craft and product development, where politics, design and crafts meet, and how design knowledge and skills can be supported within the Palestinian community through knowledge exchange. They questioned how designers can be empowered to more actively engage in society through collective design-thinking courses and social design impact. How can art and design be deployed as powerful tools triggering dialogue within a community? And how can creative practices contribute to a more sustainable society and human-centered economy?

In addition they gave a series of workshops that were open to the general public, and to Education City faculty and alumni. At the workshops, participants imagined new products based on techniques of items that each of them brought to the class. They focussed on their product’s narratives. What are the complexities? Is there a political dimension behind the product, its production and distribution? What does it mean from a social and ecological perspective?

See also:
VCU Arts, Qatar
Qatar Tribune, 18 November 2019