In today’s world, where social cohesion is becoming increasingly important, active citizens have the opportunity to understand how to overcome divisions and build trust between people of different ages, cultures, and social statuses.
The team at the NGO “Space for Positive Change” is actively involved in social projects, so they added to their “treasure trove” of new knowledge at the training session “Design Thinking. Projects for Community Cohesion.”
This training is aimed at developing design thinking skills in the context of creating initiatives that bring communities together. It is based on the idea that design thinking helps not only to solve problems, but also to create innovative solutions that are sensitive to people’s needs.
First of all, we learned to communicate without prejudice. This means not only listening to others, but also being open to different points of view, understanding the emotions and needs of the other person, and avoiding stereotypes and conflicts. This skill is the basis for creating any unifying projects, because true unity begins with openness and respect.
We also familiarized ourselves with the basic stages and tools of design thinking — from empathy to prototyping. We learned to identify the real needs of our community through observation, interviews, and analysis, because a good project is one that is created together with people.
A very important emphasis was placed on a creative approach to finding solutions. We mastered techniques for generating ideas that go beyond standard scenarios. This creates an atmosphere where there are no “right” or “wrong” answers, only opportunities for development.
During the practical sessions, all participants were divided into groups and worked on their own projects, which could become real initiatives in their communities. It was quite interesting to consider how to establish partnerships and attract resources to implement their ideas. We received practical advice on how to communicate with local authorities, businesses, non-governmental organizations, and other potential partners.
Special attention was paid to the aspect of sustainability—how to ensure that the project continues to live and develop after the training is completed. This includes planning, monitoring, and engaging the community in active participation so that the initiative does not fade away over time. The training resulted in an understanding of a specific action plan and a project that can be implemented. Thus, the training was not just theoretical, but practical and aimed at real change in society.
We would like to thank IREX and the US State Department for this opportunity to gain valuable knowledge.
