WDE Spotlight: Afdeling Buitengewone Zaken
In WDE Spotlight, we give the floor to designers from the Embassies. This time we speak to social design agency Afdeling Buitengewone Zaken, part of the Embassy of Safety during Dutch Design Week 2023. What is their background? What inspires them? What do they hope to achieve with their work? You can read about it in this Q&A!
Can you tell a little more about Afdeling Buitengewone Zaken?
Afdeling Buitengewone Zaken is a Rotterdam-based social design agency that has been tackling complex social issues, from homelessness to debt, since 2012. We do this both on commission and on our own initiative. We now do so with a 23-member team of social and visual designers.
What would you have liked to have known when you were just starting out as a design agency?
As a designer, you are trained to think in a certain way. It is good to know that this is not the way of thinking and seeing that everyone has. Being aware of your differences gives you a better perspective on what value you can really add.
At WDE, we believe that design thinking is fundamental to finding new solutions for complex social issues. How do you see this?
Design thinking has a strong iterative, imaginative and reflective character. These qualities come in handy when working on complex social issues. Because no one knows what a possible solution might look like or turn out to be, it helps to make a first draft version quickly and to think about it together. Designers give hands and feet to intangible matter. Their imagination enables them to make concrete proposals. Add strong reflection to that and you have a number of ingredients for getting results quickly.
How do you think/hope your work makes an impact?
Every project at Afdeling Buitengewone Zaken starts with an impact strategy. For ourselves, we define that we want to have impact at both street and system level. For example, for our initiative The LOBBY we have direct impact (young people with detention experience can fall back on a network) and indirect impact (the legal framework on aftercare in juvenile detention changes).
Your project The LOBBY is part of the Embassy of Safety during Dutch Design Week 2023. What can you tell us about the project and the phase it is in?
The LOBBY is our own initiative. We felt the urgency to work with a vulnerable target group, namely young people with detention experience. They often fall by the wayside in existing systems and we wanted to do something about that. The LOBBY began as a broad exploratory study into preventing homelessness among young people, supported by Stichting Zwerfjongeren Nederland. The LOBBY grew into a consortium of more than ten chain partners through which we make the transition from ‘inside’ to ‘outside’ within the JJIs (Judicial Youth Institutions) softer. We help young people with detention experience on their way by facilitating a network and bringing contacts from ‘outside’ to ‘inside’ the JJI. Because going outside and reintegrating starts inside.
What are the next steps for De LOBBY?
By 2023, with the support of Citylab010, we have set up eight experiments within JJI De Hartelborgt. For example, we offer the youth a walking consultation and a “goodbye kit” when they go out. The kit includes a network card that gives young people access to a network of support organizations if you need help outside. The next step is to scale up to other JJIs and take ownership of the LOBBY with chain partners.
Why did you choose to participate in the Embassy?
This builds on our answer to the previous question: to create ownership, it is important to bring existing partners into the story and success of the LOBBY. We use the Embassy as a calling card to invite administrators and policy makers to visit and share our ideas with them.
Why did you choose to participate in the Embassy?
This builds on our answer to the previous question: to create ownership, it is important to bring existing partners into the story and success of the LOBBY. We use the Embassy as a calling card to invite administrators and policy makers to visit and share our ideas with them.
Suppose you get to choose one person for THE ultimate collaboration (a scientist, artist, philosopher, biologist, designer, politician, whoever). Who would that be and why?
Daan Roovers! Denker des Vaderlands (Thinker of the Fatherland) 2019 to 2021 and recently a member of the GroenLinks-PvdA party in the Senate. With one of our own initiatives, Every Vote Counts, we strive for accessible elections and a truly inclusive democracy. It would be extraordinary to develop innovative concepts for that.
What tips do you give to social organisations when working with designers on an issue?
Give trust. Designers need trust and space to experiment and create new futures.