In June 2025, in the context of CUMULUS Nantes, the third face-to-face workshop of the CUMULUS Working Group DESC (Design Education for Social Change) was held, following those held at CUMULUS Budapest and Monterrey in 2024.
30 professors from universities and design schools around the world participated in the workshop, with the aim of developing a glossary of terms relevant to design education for social change. Participants reviewed an initial list of words and advanced definitions of key concepts, supported by projects that exemplify them as case studies.
The workshop was facilitated by Dr. Francesco Mazzarella (Senior Lecturer in Design for Social Change at the London College of Fashion, UAL), Prof. Jonathan Ventura (co-founder of the Social Design Network and professor at Shenkar University), and Cecilia Casas Romero (Professor and Coordinator of the ESDA DESIS Lab at ESDA), all of them founders of this working group.
CUMULUS Working Group DESC
This working group aims to investigate key aspects and innovative approaches of design education for social change, connecting students with vulnerable people (e.g. prisoners, refugees, homeless people, people with disabilities, cultural minorities, etc.). Her work explores the crucial role design education can play in improving people's lives and contributing to social justice. It focuses primarily on design education for social change, while considering its interrelationships with research and practice. It explores what it means to teach and learn the various aspects of design for social change, what methods and tools can be used to foster the skills and mindset of teachers and students to catalyse social change, and what challenges and opportunities lie ahead for higher design education institutions in activating, implementing, evaluating and sustaining such projects. The working group was created through the joint efforts of the Social Design Network (SDN) and the DESIS Network.
