Positive Action
at Glasgow School of Art, Scotland 2018-19
Things I did..
Our proposal was developed for Positive Action in Housing, a Glaswegian charity dedicated to assisting Asylum Seekers and Refugees to rebuild their lives. We looked at innovative solutions that complement the assistance of Positive Action and their contribution to the experience of Asylum Seekers and Refugees using the charity.
From all the research we undertook we realized that there is a global and urgent need for a change in mindset within the general population. Way too often, Asylum Seekers and Refugees are seen as constantly needing help, thus being unfairly patronized. It requires a change in perspective from a ‘need’ to an ‘exchange one’, to consider them in their whole figure as humans, and not just refugees.
Case study
“We see healthy, strong people who have escaped [sexual violence], or seen family members shot in front of them, who come to the UK because they see it as a beacon of hope, somewhere they will find protection. Instead, they are oppressed by a system that is ultimately designed to break human beings.” (Robina Qureshi, executive director of Positive Action, 2017)
Asset-based approach
What we found to be a gap in Positive Action’s approach was often found in other charities. While Positive Action and many other organizations work on a ‘deficit model, few work on an ‘asset’ model, where Asylum Seekers and Refugees are seen as having natural assets that can be profitable for their own good.
Our shared challenge was to create places of welcome where people are seen for what they truly are — people with experiences, skills, and stories that would be of benefit to our society as a whole. Going from a ‘deficit model to an ‘asset’ model, using people’s assets and resources as the basis for development.
Pay-it-forward
‘Pay it forward’ involves the beneficiary of a good deed repaying it to another instead of to the original benefactor. Within this scheme, old-timers (those who have been through the asylum process before), share their knowledge with newcomers, creating a chain of favors and fostering feelings of agency within its participants.
“In an ideal world, [Pay It Forward] has the ability to transform the relationship between the charities to create parity, equality. We have lots of people who bring us sweets, etc, because they are so grateful. How about they are put in a position where they can do this with real meaning?” (Robina Qureshi, executive director of Positive Action, 2017)
Implementation
Newbie Tour is an alternative to signposting, a more practical and personal way of getting guidance. The idea is that an old-timer takes a newcomer for a tour of the city, transferring his knowledge based on his own lived experience. In time, the newcomer gathers his knowledge and becomes the old-timer.
Our ‘implementation pack’ consists of a poster advertising Newbie Tour, a flyer explaining the details, a form to be completed by both participants, and a kit for both participants, composed of two subway all-day tickets, guidelines for the navigator, and an interactive map for the newbie. Within the process, charities would only need to be in charge of generating a pairing system. Other than that we have designed all the materials they will need to make it happen.
Impact
The approach that we had and that guided the creation of Newbie Tour, could be implemented slowly within Positive Action. We believe the Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) methodology to be the way forward for them, demanding a switch of perspective, to understand that the solutions to Asylum Seekers’ and Refugees’ problems may exist within their own assets and not the charity’s. Newbie Tour has proven itself to provide sufficient motivation to trigger that switch of mindset, by showing them that it is okay to trust them and give them agency and power.
Newbie Tour (and possibly all the other concepts) is open enough to permit further co-designing so that it can grow if needed and be developed further by its actors. It is yet another way of giving agency to the people that are going to use it.
With time, if Newbie Tour is developed along the lines of matching people through skills and passions, a ‘keyring’ model (Keyring, 1990) could be developed, that is to say, a network of users rather than one-by-one relationships.
With both of these developments above, the Lottery Community Fund becomes a likely funder. It is actively looking to fund projects that are people-led and strengths-based, just like Newbie Tour.
Research & Co-design
We conducted abundant desk research, interviews, shadowings, focus groups, and workshops. We developed visual maps, engagement tools, and personas and practiced co-designing continuously.
Our research questions turned around the overall Asylum Seekers and Refugees’ situation in the UK, the mental health help available for them in Glasgow, alternatives to medical or counseling help, and integration strategies. It is a delicate topic, so we often felt overwhelmed by all the discoveries and information. Everything was represented by key illustrative elements and colors. Visually very understandable, it left the possibility to move the different elements around. Its non-polished look and playful side were risky, as it had the potential of being patronizing, but at the same time, if it looked too serious it ran the risk of being unwelcoming. We needed to find a balance for people to want to engage with it.
Along with the visual tool, a voting mechanism was developed, to give the opportunity to make decisions on the spot. The visual tool was modified and improved corresponding to the audience. With Asylum Seekers and Refugees, it ran the risk of being too abstract or not comprehensible because of the language barrier.
Along with our research, we practiced co-design and constantly involved Asylum Seekers and Refugees in our decisions, so that the outcome is truthful to their desires and needs.
Directly influenced by the focus groups, we went from six concepts to one. Following this, a small workshop was set up for Asylum Seekers and Refugees. Inspired by the feedback from the previous focus groups, we developed a small survey with different options to pick from, making the exchange even more interactive and giving the participant choice. The aim was to get rich feedback and a clearer idea of what is actually suitable for Asylum Seekers and Refugees. At that point, it became clear that there is a real need for a project like this one.
On the basis of the collected surveys from the workshop, we developed four personas, reflecting all the differences. Accordingly, we adapted the concept to their needs, thus developing and refining the concept further.