MiD Student Blog
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Humanitarian Design--or Neocolonialism?
In issue 149 of Fast Company magazine (October 2010), Bruce Nussbaum presses us to ask ourselves whether or not "the new humanitarian design coming out of the U.S. and Europe [is] perceived as colonialism." As young American designers eager to realize our vision globally, we might forget to look at our Native American reservations and rural areas where Nussbaum impresses "standards of education, water and health match the very worst overseas". This paragraph made me pause. To think that impoverishment of the kind we see on world newscasts is so near & neglected seems counterintuitive. Is it an issue of glamor? Is there no romance in solving our closest neighbor's problems?
On page 80 of this article Jacob Mathew, cofounder of Idiom Design and Consulting, adds that "designers often think that since they are in a profession based on empathy, it comes automatically, and so they fail to spend time understanding the people and context they work in." Mr. Mathew continues, "This is not limited to an East-West, North-South debate. It happens all too often in emerging markets as well, where our [Indian] urban-educated lenses blind us to what happens on the ground."
Many of the projects we work on in the Masters (and undergraduate) program at UArts directly benefit the Philadelphia community. But perhaps it's time designers reexamined how we as outsiders understand the unique needs, challenges and culture we're trying to improve. The debate surrounding this notion of imperialism is raging. Please comment below and let us know how you feel about the delicate balance.
