Co-designing Food Revolution for Social Change’, a transdisciplinary action research has explored how to bring positive impact, behavior changes on individual and collective well-being in a food system at Zayed University in the UAE since 2016. KULNA Community Garden (‘All of Us’ in Arabic) is a physical sanctuary to grow food and engage students and faculty to learn and interact. KULNA as a social lab has offered hands-on workshops, lectures, and community engaging activities that assist and enhance learning experiences for students and faculty working with all actors in the food system and encourage them to lead the change.
YOUTH / EDUCATION / EMPOWERMENT: We hope to inspire people of diverse skill sets to challenge daily issues and commit their passion towards the betterment of society.
Based on the co-design strategy, the research was heavily relied on the capacities of working with the community of students, faculty, staff and volunteers; focus group, community garden volunteers, student club, and senior student researchers involved, testified to the program’s positive impact through surveys and storytelling. Also, we are proud to hear testimonials such as: “the best part of the KULNA Garden experiences for the students is that they are able to link their learning to real life applications and able to reconnect with their family”.
ME=WE, Cultivating Change is a journey of two Dubai based art and design educators exploring creative and experiential-learning approaches to connect and empower youth in Nepal, post the 2015 earthquake. Collaborating with an international team of like-minded experts and volunteers over a span of three years, the story offers a glimpse of the youth on their changemaker paths to empathise on social issues and contribute to the evolving needs of their communities.
