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From ‘Thinging’ to ‘Musyawarahing’ and beyond: Adapting PD to diverse cultural contexts and democratic ideals

Published: 18 June 2020 Publication History

Abstract

With Participatory Design (PD) increasingly applied across a range of cultural contexts, there is a growing need to better understand the relationship between PD and the many distinct traditional approaches to decision-making PD encounters and the democratic ideals underpinning them. Currently, the PD discourse is strongly tied to Scandinavian democratic history and ideals. Most prominently, contemporary PD literature has drawn links between design and the etymology of the word ‘Thing’ – a democratic gathering in ancient Northern European societies. While this concept provides a useful lens for planning and analysing PD projects conducted in Scandinavia, other conceptualizations of design might be more useful and appropriate for PD taking place elsewhere. By conducting an initial exploration of traditional approaches to democratic decision-making practiced in parts of the Asia-Pacific, this paper offers a small step towards appreciating the diversity of democratic ideals PD may meet, how PD may adapt to these, and what can be learned from them. The paper, specifically, explores the traditions of musyawarah-mufakat practiced in Indonesia, and to a more limited extend talanoa, berkaul and hui practiced in Fiji, Sumatra, and Aotearoa respectively.

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PDC '20: Proceedings of the 16th Participatory Design Conference 2020 - Participation(s) Otherwise - Volume 2
June 2020
212 pages
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Published: 18 June 2020

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