Giving Voice to Nature: Participatory Design with Non-Human Stakeholders for Sustainable Development

Abstract

In this workshop, we aim to explore, discuss, and debate ways to engage and connect beyond the traditional human stakeholder in Participatory Design and to co-design with animals, plants, micro-organisms, and their ecosystems. We intend to collaboratively investigate how we can possibly expand participation to these more-than-human stakeholders which we have ignored so far and whose involvement in the design process is unexplored in relation to what is now needed in sustainable development. Acknowledging the limits of current PD theories, methods, and experiences in co-designing with more-than-human stakeholders, we invite participants to contribute with ideas, methods, case studies, and stories of 'giving voice' to nature in PD: something we believe is key to rethink the field in light of the environmental crisis we are facing today.