Shaping Fairer Futures Together in Scotland

Scotland’s Global Donut Day 2024 was a special one. Envisioned and brought to life by Rebecca Lee and I (Vinishree). We called the event ‘Shaping Fairer Futures Together in Scotland’. I would say, our event was different.

Why different? 

It WAS NOT - talks, speakers, keynotes, workshops, panel discussions – on either shop talks or themes far removed from reality or larger than life. None of that.

It WAS - a shared space, holding honest and vulnerable conversations between people from different walks of life, varied passions and visions, sharing and talking about what hurts us, troubles us, and makes us uncomfortable. The event was accentuated by performances, poems and storytelling - sharing personal views and historical anecdotes.

 

The planning of this event was crucial and took time, patience, and care. Rebecca and I drew on our skills and experience as service designers, incorporating all our leanings from our work in climate justice and disability justice.

Rebecca Lee is the founder of the Universal Recognition Movement and works in the areas of disability justice, design justice, and citizenship design. And I’m a service designer, working in the space of social impact, climate justice, and circular economy. What I want to remind you is that we both are designers and approach the Doughnut Economics framework from a service design lens. As design practitioners, it enables us to spot the daily challenges as well as zoom out and visualise the systemic issues. Our brains are wired to find the gaps and connect the dots. And that is what we did throughout this event - from planning and funding to venue selection, from physical access to digital promotion - we considered people and their needs. I must say, we did go above and beyond in making this event truly accessible, involving, and welcoming all. 

Who participated? 

The event was widely represented, joined by approximately 70 people - from academics, professionals in design and accessibility, charities and organisations working at the grassroots level, and the disabled community. Everyone shared their perspectives on what a fairer future means to each of us in Scotland. Here’s a more specific list of who attended:

• Design and digital accessibility experts, tech professionals, UX Glasgow organisers
• Students and Lecturers from Glasgow School of Arts, who were either teaching or studying M.Des in Design Innovation, MSc International Management and Design Innovation, and a few other courses.
• Many industry experts, funders, networks and SMEs working in the arts, creative industry, and social justice
• Folks with diverse lived expertise of Disability or exclusion (blind, neurodivergent, wheelchair users, speech impairment)
• Disabled performers and artists who brought their talent, creativity, and voices

What we did? 

For the first few hours, we had discussions in groups. There were three probing questions framed to help everyone speak about their expectations, hopes, and wishes for building a fairer future.

Some of our expectations included

• The power and role of community - need for exchange of knowledge and cultures, supporting each other in the community
• Listening and experiencing different and new perspectives, finding inspiration by meeting people, germination of ideas and hope by coming together
• Learn about accessibility and inclusion, how to include it in our projects
• How to make change happen, what do we need to make a change, what are the barriers like lack of money, space, channels and opportunities, choices we need to make
• Be less isolated, get support and companionship, getting recognised

Some of our hopes included

• Changes in the education system
• Questioning how policy is informed
• Rights of individuals, their voices and perspectives
• World events that impact social values and shift in priorities

Some thoughtful future newspaper headlines that we came up with include:

FREE lifelong education for all

The government finally gets it

Job guarantees for all

Five years of space to make change

Collective creative space celebrates the anniversary of providing space for people to come together to connect and collaborate

Groundbreaking: People can be autonomous

See me, I'm real

Treat me as a person and not a thing

Reflective practice: Anger as a creative act

All policy must be informed by empathy

Putting power as a capital in the hands of all

Artist is paid to create

Right to expression

Donations done in kind

Artist dies of exposure

Where does the money go?

Safe passage

Some of our wishes included

• Foster collaborations that work towards common goals, ensuring kindness
• The future is now - need for action, laser-sharp vision
• Removing barriers, making things more transparent, breaking top-down system monopoly
• Levelling up confidence, accepting differences, and valuing individual views

Some of the superpowers we came up with to make things happen:

Time. Dignity. Reflexivity. Generosity. Imagination & creativity.

Remove the red tape, build transparency, and fairer decision-making

Giving everyone a seat at the table

People come together by protesting in a good way

Being more empathetic and be non-biassed or judgmental

Overcome the fear of speaking about things that matter

Using your voice and believe that your voice is important for the world

Put yourself in other people’s shoes and relive their experiences

Collaborate don't compete. Sharing the load.

Creativity is the future. Multi-disciplinary ways of working.

Fair distribution of resources.

Accessibility to justice when things fail - transformative justice

Everyone has access to enjoy the world equitably for leisure and wellbeing.

After a thematic analysis, the emerging themes reflected intersectionality, underrepresented voices, an unacknowledged sense of hopelessness and discontent, a lack of top-down action, and the need to break the glass ceiling. It also sparked conversations on the more urgent role of imagination, creativity, and design, the power of community, and most importantly collaborations that can take us further.

During the evening, we had performances and poems by artists, spotlighting stories of disability, loss, and resilience, filling the space with heartwarming music. Rebecca also shared her personal stories and life events that led her to find the passion and inspiration for her work and founding the Universal Recognition Movement. I (Vinishree), also shared an uncomplicated version of Doughnut Economics, explaining through simple examples.

Finishing this fabulous day were headline performances from charting producer Sanjeev Mann and acclaimed Clarsach player Grace Stewart-Skinner. Their work centring Disability rights and highlands family fishing histories respectively.

What came out of the event?

Burning themes, new collaborations, confidence, and self-belief.

It was a successful meetup. It has initiated some post-event collaborations between people who attended the event. It was also a source of learning for students and audiences regarding accessibility in design, tech, and social innovation, and many emerging themes for future making using the Doughnut Economics framework.

The image below describes how this event focused on the social foundation, people and their needs, and what does fairer future might include in Scotland. 

These conversations can be fruitless when no action is taken, no one is hearing, and get forgotten. Many organisations, professionals, and students have already shown interest in building upon the work we did for Global Donut Day 2024. I would like to invite people who are keen to get engaged and might have resources, time, funding, or ideas, to join the rest of us.

Caring for people and the planet is too vast. As the organiser of Doughnut Economics Scotland Network, I would rather say, let’s care for people around us, our surroundings, and our immediate environment.

Written by: Vinishree Solanki (Organiser of Doughnut Economics Scotland Network)