Don’t play with our future!

Greta Thunberg's #FridaysforFuture movement took the world by storm, inspiring young activists around the world to take to the streets in protest to government apathy on climate change. It demonstrated the impact of young minds when empowered and inspired to effect change.

In the built environment the imagination of children is a relatively untapped resource. Adults’ voices count more. Kids - who aren’t hampered by the assumptions and preconceived ideas of adult world views - are rarely consulted, and yet they will live for longer and be shaped by the spaces, places and cities we are currently designing.

Chaired by Vicky Richardson, this panel discussion will explore the subject of co-design as a methodology to engage children and young adults in the process of design as a means to reach deeper into a community and seek new ways to break down barriers to participation.

We also intend to question accepted wisdom on the subject, asking if the Greta phenomenon enables a lack of leadership in adults and fosters the exclusion of older voices deemed to be too conservative. For a profession currently undergoing a crisis of relevance, is it wise for architects to relinquish their creativity to younger end-users in the name of inclusion?

Panellists include:
Chris Bryant, Alma-nac
Dr Helen Charman FRSA, Director of Learning and National Programmes, V&A
Sophie Draper, Head of Learning, Open City
Tom Karen OBE, a British industrial designer, former managing director and chief designer of Ogle Design, designer of the Raleigh Chopper and the Marble Run
Fiona MacDonald, MATT+FIONA
Angus Morrogh-Ryan, De Matos Ryan