Levelling the playing field

Marie Williams, a PhD student at IGP and CEO of Dream Networks, presents on her co-design approach of Levelling the playing field to further enable inclusive play for all the urban host community of Kitengela, Kenya.

Emergencies of forced displacement are prevalent across the globe, as of 2019, 40% of the 79 million people forced out of their homes were children. However, research often ignores the plight of urban refugee children who have limited access to resources and rights within the built environment.

Through the process of storytelling and digital mapping, Marie presented the material and spatial characteristics which promote the naturally occurring play culture – while also foregrounding the issues that prevent both refugee Congolese children and host Kenyan children from accessing play in an inclusive, equitable manner. This work has been developed through the process of co-design, in collaboration with local researchers and over 200 participants in 2020.

Some key points of discussion that emerged from the lecture were; the role of objects in providing inclusive and diverse play opportunities for both refugee and host Kenyan children. How children with disabilities access play in the context of rapidly developing, urban spaces. As well as, how child-centred co-design can enable children to actively participate in the design of their play spaces with the agency. We are looking forward to seeing what designs will be produced by the children through Maries innovative co-design research approach.

The event was part of The Bartlett Inclusive Spaces series