Global Classroom: Food Security Design Jam

The Food Security Design Jam was the first collaboration between the Vancouver Design Nerds, University of Toronto Scarborough, and Stellenbosch University. It was an experimental first prototype of the virtual Global Classroom student engagement model.

This collaborative, single-session workshop explored cross-cultural insights about food security during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Students engaged with activist speakers from South Africa and Canada, using MURAL, a digital whiteboard app, to map and synthesize insights. Design thinking was applied as a methodology for exploring and unpacking complex issues (rather than “solving problems”), and students were empowered to engage, share, and learn across context and difference.

The success of this experimental collaboration has led to the development of several subsequent Global Classroom for Democracy Innovation (GCDI) events, each spanning multiple weeks. The Global Classroom series brings together students from around the world in a collaborative online format for cross cultural engagement and learning.

Then students at Stellenbosch University, the Cape Town Design Nerds’ directors and several steering committee members were involved in all aspects of this first Global Classroom - as organisers, facilitators, and participants!

Learn more about this event through the Vancouver Design Nerds’ analysis of the Design Jam on Participedia.net.

If you would like to learn more about our work, partner with us in our future projects, or collaborate with us to develop one of your own, please don’t hesitate to contact us!