Designathon
With the Designathon project, we want to promote democratic discussion in a playful and experimental way as a tool to empower citizens. In a form of intense brainstorming, big and small groups create utopias as well as propose concrete solutions and projects to the challenges of today's world.
The association Designathon curates and debates internally and externally a theme over a whole year. Through different events and interventions the theme is made visible to a public audience. And on the culminating yearly 3-day event «Designathon», a design challenge is opened to public, inviting and empowering participants to become activists of positive change in our society.
The Designathon association is a lively and organic structure which strives from the constant sense of initiative of its members, for whom joy and engagement are both the drive and the reward. Together we create the correspondent event Designathon, a 3-day ideation marathon, inspired by the format of hackathons. With a predefined topic leading the event, it invites its participants to investigate the theme curiously and collectively in interdisciplinary teams. Workshops to acquire method skills as well as process mentorings are offered during the event and help participants developing their idea from a concept to a convincing pitch. The design tasks as well as the award given (i.e. Best in Social impact, Best in Business case, Best in future scenario, etc) can encourage and guide participants towards the events intended goals or values. Participants are invited and inspired to break from traditional thinking structures, to generate innovative, fresh, visionary but also critical ideas. Everyone can participate and the jury awards prizes for the best works.
Designathon is an association that I co-initiated with ︎ David Simon in 2015 and am a proud member of. Currently it contains around 15 members and the ︎ first branch in Berlin was recently initiated to develop a new version of the event.
︎ 2018 Aftermovie by ︎ Bilder und Freunde
Pictures below by ︎ Hanna Büker and myself
