Jeanne van Heeswijk and Afrikaanderwijk Cooperative, Mobile of Interdependency (Acts of Balance) - credits: Janssen&Adriaans

Embassy of Inclusive Society

In light of increasing fragmentation, polarisation and demographic changes, notions around inclusivity feel more urgent and contested than ever. While inclusivity is widely discussed today in different contexts, it remains complex, sensitive and at times abstract. At the Embassy of Inclusive Society we embrace this complexity and at times the discomfort it brings.

Too often, inclusivity is approached as a problem to solve or a list that could be ticked off. However, this attitude tends to stay on the surface, ignoring the bigger questions that lie beneath. It leads, for example, to ‘diversity on occasion’, or ‘window dressing’ but does not challenge the deep systemic issues of exclusion we face in society and the blind spots that are embedded in us all.

An inclusive society is one in which multiple voices are heard, access to power is shared, and we relate and care for each other. Plurality is essential to meet each other in our differences. On a systemic level, inclusivity also means thinking of our society as an ecosystem of relationships and dependencies. Our actions here influence others far away from us, geographically but also temporally.

What happens when we engage with inclusivity as a process? Not offering quick-fixes to problems encountered by specific communities or groups, but choosing to work for inclusion as an ongoing collective effort, moving at different speeds and across different spaces. How can we work for an inclusive society through reflecting on our own (personal and societal) position as a process of learning and unlearning?

In the Embassy, we choose to approach inclusivity as a continuous journey of learning and unlearning. In this process, we collectively explore how to challenge our own thinking patterns, imagining and designing alternative systems for a future society based on social cohesion. We work to create meeting spaces where we learn to relate to each other, can be vulnerable and make mistakes, while understanding that the work is never complete. To navigate the complex landscape of inclusivity, design offers us a compass, a map, walking shoes and most importantly back-mirrors to seek our blind spots. 

If design for inclusion moves away from the problem-solution approach, can it act as an enabler for us to experience the hyper-diverse societies we live in? Through design, can we become more prepared to live with the presence of differences and unexpected situations? 

This year, the Embassy provides an inclusive space for exchange. Different design propositions help us imagine how multiplicity and plurality can counter representation and othering. Workshops and dialogues offer practical tools for collective learning. And by sharing design methodologies, such as design anthropology and embedded design, we can move away from quick fixes and work towards durational, local and relational collective actions.

Join the Embassy of Inclusive Society and engage in structures to relate and belong. 

This narrative has been written by Creative Lead Shay Raviv, with the support of many voices, in particular Joanne Houmes, Sanne Karssenberg, Sophie Knight, Paulien Melis, Malique Mohamud, Setareh Noorani, Esteban Gomez Rosseli, Julie Trienekens, Penyue Yang. Image: Jeanne van Heeswijk and Afrikaanderwijk Cooperative, Mobile of Interdependency (Acts of Balance), 2014, ©Janssen&Adriaans.

Vázquez, R. (2021). Vistas of Modernity: Decolonial aesthesis and the end of the contemporary. Mondriaan Fund.
Sendra, P., Sennett, R., & Hollis, L. (2022). Designing disorder: Experiments and disruptions in the city. Verso.

Also have a look at what we did in...

Shay Raviv is a social designer, design researcher and project developer. She graduated from Design Academy Eindhoven in 2015 and afterwards worked at Studio Irene Fortuyn and STBY, among others. Raviv sees culture, design and creativity, as a means to bridge social gaps. She uses design research as a method to analyse systems or issues from different angles and to offer new perspectives on social issues.

Together with Pim van der Mijl, she founded De Voorkamer in 2015, an inclusive meeting place in the heart of the multicultural neighbourhood in Utrecht, Lombok. It is a place where different cultures meet. By actively using design power, Van der Mijl and Raviv want to bridge the gap between different groups in society.

Programme

Embassy of Inclusive Society
Projects
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Haptic room studies #1: procelain membrane wall and #3 conversation piece

4 Oct 2022

How to tell a Herstory

4 Oct 2022

Beelddepot

4 Oct 2022

The niteshop: embassy of the superdiverse city

12 Oct 2022

Precious Burden

7 Oct 2022

Encounter Portal_Eindhoven (HALL16)

19 Oct 2022

De voorkamer- where cultures meet

4 Oct 2022

Design anthropology in the context of social issues

4 Oct 2022

Past events

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WDE Spotlight: Gabriel Fontana

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WDE Spotlight: Bureau Ruimtekoers

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The value is in the quest

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Be curious about others

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2022 Retrospective: Embassy of Inclusive Society

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Curator Tour: Question your thinking patterns in the Embassy of Inclusive Society

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WDE Spotlight: The OtherAbilities

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The Embassy of Inclusive Society in the Van Abbemuseum

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Ready to (un)learn?

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Inclusiveness as a continuous process of learning and unlearning

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Andere Tonen: in conversation with De Reuringdienst

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WDE Spotlight: Studio Corvers

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Shay Raviv new curator of Embassy of Inclusive Society

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Watch the WDE Talk: How do we design a society where everyone feels seen and represented?

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Andere Tonen: a conversation with Are We Europe

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Watch back: A home for all young people

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Andere Tonen: in conversation with Multitude Creative Agency

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Retrospective 2021: Embassy of Inclusive Society

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How can everyone in our society participate without limitations?

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WDE Spotlight: Angel-Rose Oedit Doebé

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Curator Tour: We take you through the Embassy of Inclusive Society

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Hairsalon Embassy of Inclusive Society: A new haircut and a spontaneous encounter

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No bad hair day at DDW

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Embassy of Inclusive Society at DDW

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New perspectives for inclusive shopping

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Look in the (hairdressing) mirror at the Embassy of Inclusive Society

Dutch Design Week
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This is what the Embassies will present at Dutch Design Week

WDE Talk
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Watch the WDE Talk: How do we design a safe and inclusive society?

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