A joint initiative between Belgium Design Council (E3 Lab) and BIDs Belgium, started over one and half years ago.

A personal story, that is very close to my heart. A story, that is one of the roads, on my professional path, through passion of ‘Designing’. Leading to my greater journey, discovering my contribution to Society. As an active, Mother, Citizen, Social Entrepreneur and Designer. With this project, which relates to ‘Re-Designing Communities’ and ‘Re-Designing Education’.

The time has come, perhaps it’s long overdue, on how we educate our children. How we can take lessons from progressive Education systems around the world, such as the Finnish system. How, we can be inclusive and have a ‘value’ based system, where we can ‘Co-Parent’ our Children, in our Communities. With Schools, Institutions – private and public. Guide them, whilst we learn together along at the way.

Perhaps we start with ‘rethinking’ how think?

Analogue to Digital, Inclusive STEAM workshops, has been thinking and testing with our pilot workshop. With the methods and to bring Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Manufacturing, together as a process. Linking the Creative and Digital worlds together. Also, linking to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s). SDG 3, Good Health and Well-Being; SDG 4, Quality Education; SDG 8, Decent Work and Economic Growth; SDG 10, Reduced Inequalities; SDG 11, Sustainable Cities and Communities; SDG 17, Partnerships for the Goals.

With 20 children participating from Unescoschool Koekelberg and the Special Needs School, Kasterlinden. Participating and learning together, with the Educators, Facilitators and Designers. All co-creating, playing, experiencing and having fun together. Enjoying an immersive, sensory stimulating, fun workshop. Allowing children with with Special Educational Needs (SEN), to come together with non-challenged or ‘neuro-typical’ children, to interact, have fun and play together.

Creativity, the core essence of how we encouraged critical thinking, visualisation and the ‘art’ of story-telling, to come from the Children. Nurturing this process, to allow for imagination to roam free, encouraging and allowing time for the ‘thinking time’. This creative process, allows for a gradual build up to link to the digital aspect of the workshop. The exciting tools, games, 3D printing, entering the 4D Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality. It’s exciting and the children (and Teachers), need and crave it, in this time of the Digital Transformation.

Opportunity through the workshop’s or ‘playshop’s, as it’s more representative in my view, allows for experimentation. Out of the traditional classroom setting, ‘out of the box’. Allowing for the learning and development of the skills required to ‘future proof’ our children. ‘

Re-designing Education with innovative, inclusive projects and processes.

This is only the start of this programme and projects. Wearing both hats for the organisations of BIDs Belgium and Belgium Design Council, initiating this programme and seeing the opportunities, to share and connect further. Working with our wonderful, vibrant eco-system in our Brussels community. Re-creating a sense of community.

Thank you to our Partners, Collaborators and Friends, who supported, facilitated and experienced this pilot workshop. We will continue to create and collaborate in 2018:

Muntpunt, Gluon STEAM Labs, Autism Europe, Unic-3D, BeCentral, Digital Leadership Institute, CIN, BeMakers, Digityser, People to People International, Quidos, Give a Day, Erasmus Hogeschool, Fais le Toi Mme, Transforma bxls, Brussels Together, Miguel Magalhaes, Nik Lippens, Kristel Binnenmans. Noe Dohmen, Werner Spinnoy and many others.

Also, thank you to Brussels Region State Secretary, in co-operation with Muntpunt, for funding this Pilot.

With a special thanks to video Film Maker and Producer, Nico Forero, for capturing the essence of this story, in the video.

I hope you enjoy it and I look forward to more collaborations in 2018!

Author: Rozina Spinnoy

This article also shared on Linkedin:https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/re-designing-education-rozina-spinnoy/

Launching soon: www.analoguetodigital.org

Re-Designing Education

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