The speakers for this theme:

Jeroen van Erp (Fabrique): ‘Bubble Games, a project to counter polarization’

Creating understanding for each other’s situation through VR/AR.

The project is a collaboration of a consortium consisting of: Fabrique, TU Delft, Fontys and the municipality of Eindhoven and is sponsored by ASML, among others. It is about: whether and how we can use technology (VR/AR) to help opposing groups in society gain more understanding for each other. To counter polarization.

Tabo Goudswaard (Embassy of Safety): ‘Surprising safety: new behaviour to make society safer’
At the Embassy of Safety, we believe that there are many opportunities to create a safer society. To achieve this, we continuously collaborate and work on the significant safety challenges of our time. Think of youth ending up in drug dealing or the increasing risks in the digital domain; for example, the abuse of personal data and the increasingly victimized companies by cybercriminals. The collaborations between security organizations and (sometimes unexpected) other parties ensure innovation in this domain: Surprising safety.

Spurred on by the creativity of designers, unsuspected groups suddenly want to contribute to a safer society. By sharing knowledge, experience, and networks, together we investigate the underlying mechanisms of issues and try to provide them with new perspectives for action. For example, can we reduce harmful and immoral online behaviour by tackling the dehumanisation and anonymity of the Internet? Can we raise awareness of the risks of sharing personal data by confronting users with the consequences? Can security professionals go off the books responsibly to contribute to the safety of citizens? Does a sense of collectivity in a neighbourhood make local residents want to cooperate with security organisations?

We bring design and policy together; designers, visionaries and thinkers join forces to shape the future at Dutch Design Week (DDW). Together, we look for ways to make our society as safe as possible online and offline and increase people’s resilience.

Geke van Dijk (STBY): ‘No Minor Thing’
What can designers do to help combat the sexual exploitation of children? That is the question posed by What Design Can Do in collaboration with the Dutch Public Prosecutions Service (OM), the Ministry of Justice & Security in The Netherlands and the UK. STBY conducted research on the topic and created comprehensive briefs as a starting point for an invitation-only design challenge.

Child sexual exploitation happens everywhere, but it largely happens under the radar. The victims are some of society’s most vulnerable. The perpetrators are often connected in nebulous webs of anonymity that make them particularly hard to track. The internet has added a new level of complexity. This challenge needs the valuable insights of designers who can transform abstract ideas into tangible concepts. In the No Minor Thing Challenge, selected design teams and academies received an opportunity to come up with new ways of addressing this issue. Throughout the entire process, participants have been introduced to experts and ‘problem-owners’ who can help put ideas into practice.

Ben Kokkeler (Avans): Smart public safety, systems change and socio-cultural entrepreneurship
Avans University of Applied Sciences is developing a programmatic center of gravity for Safe and Resilient Urban Environment (VVSO) in collaboration with Fontys University of Applied Sciences and about twenty organizations in the social and security domain. The program ‘Safe and Resilient Urban Environment (VVSO)’ contributes to solutions for new safety issues - through practical research.

To facilitate and guide the design and organization of new organizational forms, the program creates action perspectives for citizens, professionals and organizations. This should result in responsible use and application of data and technology to help people organize their own security and resilience.

Data and technology give a different dimension to already known security issues and also create new security issues. New forms of crime are emerging, such as online extortion of professionals or stalking of citizens. The current economic system with increasing inequality, weakening of the employee position, monopolistic commercial online platforms and marketing of public goods also contribute to vulnerability. This creates new groups of vulnerable people.

The pacesetters of ‘Safe and Resilient Urban Environment’ are a network of lecturers on critical imagination, digital (citizen) journalism, new marketing, big data and data science, robotization, and various fields of social security and subversion.

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