Co-Create the Framework: Establishing the Foundation
Date: Tuesday, June 24, 2025
Location: City Building Design Lab (CBDL), Calgary
Workshop #1 launched the UDesign Justice Initiative by bringing together community members, students, and professionals to co-create the foundation for a community-led approach to design justice. The session focused on naming the initiative, identifying core values and principles, and establishing long-term priorities.
Key themes included addressing root causes in design education, centering community voices in planning and pedagogy, and building relationships that move beyond tokenism. Participants emphasized the importance of funding models rooted in lived experience, outreach to younger generations, and research that informs practice.
Ideas such as an annual conference, inclusive community hubs, and cross-disciplinary allyships emerged as actionable directions. The group committed to reframing success metrics, practicing active listening, and building spaces for care, equity, and knowledge-sharing.
This session laid the foundation for a new kind of design space that listens deeply, redistributes power, and builds from community-led visioning.
