Last week, we returned to the summer school Service Design for a Social City at University of Antwerp. For the second year in a row, we challenged a multidisciplinary group of international students to tackle a real-life participation challenge in just one week.

This year’s challenge focused on teenage girls in public spaces. 

Together with the students, we visited the Distelhoek playgrounds in Merksem. There, they observed how children, young people, and especially teenage girls currently use the space. Based on these observations, the students developed tools and methods to engage teenage girls in a co-creative process and ensure their voices are reflected in future designs.

A big thank you to all the students for their enthusiasm, creativity, and hard work throughout the week!