FutureLab Magazine Volume 02|2020

FUTURELAB MAGAZINE

L A W , T E C H N O L O G Y & B U S I N E S S T R E N D S

VOLUME NO. O2 | 2020

MATLHOGONOLO MPONANG

WWW.PEREKOFOUNDATION.ORG

A N H R P R O F E S S I O N A L W I T H M A N Y H A T S

An exclusive interview that takes us into the future of work.

REDESIGNING PUBLICSAFETY.

IS BUY-FROM-MOTSWANA CHICKEN PROJECT A REALITY OR FANTASY?

THE FUTURE OF FOOD IN BOTSWANA IS IN

PROCESSING.

FutureLabMagazine

table of con - tents

03 Exclusive Interview

05 Redesigning Public Safety using Design Thinking

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12

Is buy-from- Motswana chicken project a reality or fantasy?

15 Digital Financial Literacy: the New Normal

17

'The ABCs of Design Thinking': it's a PlayBook

20

The Future of Food in Botswana is in Processing.

12 15

22 Social Eating in the Digital Age

23

Highlights of the Magazine Launch

17 20

FutureLab Magazine

(+267) 71 404 194 | fergusonjunior.rk@gmail.com

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FUTURELAB MAGAZINEVOLUME 02

2020 was already a crazy year before May 25th, but Memorial Day 2020 in the United States was marked first by the filming of a white woman threatening to call the police on a black man, and secondly and more tragically by the killing of George Floyd by white police officers. The weeks that have followed have been replete with protests and a demand for justice. NY

Governor Andrew Cuomo has given an ultimatum to the state’s police and local government to redesign the police service by April 1 2021 or else! According to Dr. Lesley-Ann Noel, Associate Director of Design Thinking for Social Impact at Tulane University, this opens an opportunity for using a participatory design thinking approach to facilitate the redesign.

WHAT IS DESIGN THINKING?

Design thinking is a method that is borrowed from the field of design. This uses the design process to rapidly develop innovative solutions, often to social problems. Design thinking is also a method that focuses on empathy, collaboration and facilitation of conversations, as well as the development of creative solutions. Traditional design thinking is sometimes criticised for not challenging systemic inequity and reinforcing the status quo, however Dr. Noel is one of a new generation of design thinkers who focus on social justice issues and social innovation.

Design thinking is an empathy focused methodology. Clearly the death of George Floyd, and other tragedies involving the police and citizens, particularly African American people, demonstrates a lack of empathy. Using a design thinking approach, it could be possible to deeply understand the fears and concerns of both the community and the police officers, and to design empathetic solutions that would lead to their safety rather than detract from it.

There is a lack of trust between the police and citizens. In the design thinking process, much time is spent on building trust and relationships before co-creating solutions. Therefore some of these approaches and techniques could be employed in building that muchneeded trust.

“A design thinking approach can be used in the challenge of reimagining policing for several reasons such as the focus on empathy, facilitation, collaboration and the optimism that a solution can be found”

WHAT CAN DESIGN THINKING DO?

Dr. Noel has developed a modified critical approach to design thinking, where the entire process starts with reflection on one’s own identity and the identities of others and how these show up in both the design process and the proposed solutions. This approach helps people notice diversity, and to see it as a strength in the design process, while co-creating solutions that are relevant to diverse users. Using this approach she has collaborated with the Crescent City Corps to, through design thinking, co-create possible solutions to improving relations between the NOPD and residents of New Orleans. In that workshop both police and the citizens emphasized how they were able to understand each other better after spending the day co-creating solutions. This type of identity-based approach to design thinking is particularly important / significant to dispel the myth of the expert designer, especially where the design and the community they are collaborating with are from different racial or ethnic backgrounds.

About the Writer: Dr. Lesley-Ann Noel is an Associate Director for Design Thinking for Social Impact and Professor of Practice at Tulane University in the United States. And you can read more from Dr. Noel here.

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LIFESTYLE

F U T U R E L A B M A G A Z I N E ™

A SPECIAL EDITION

A N I N S I G H T I N T O F O O D S Y T E M S O F T H E F U T U R E

FUTURELAB MAGAZINE VOLUME 02

Words byK E N N E T H M I D D L E T O N

Photos Prepared byK E N N E T H M I D D L E T O N

The Future of Food in Botswana is in Processing.

The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent nationallockdowns are stirring serious havoc foreconomies worldwide. By disrupting internationaland regional supply chains; and threatening foodsecurity for countries that have been over relianton other countries for such supplies. Botswana as alandlocked semi-arid country is an example of thisfor its major reliance on food supplies fromneighboring South Africa. In the past few monthsBatswana have been rudely awakened to thepitfalls and disadvantages of this very situation.

However, there is a silver lining to this predicament as there is a shift in gear and focus towards in-country food processing. Whilst South African brands currently enjoy almost all of the processed food markets in it’s neighboring countries.The current COVID-19 pandemic has brought light to the dangers of over reliance.

There is a recognizable push by people in these countries to create locally processed foods. Given that competing on price with the mighty South African brands in the processed food market will be difficult. Batswana for example are becoming more conscious of the fact that they need to support local products. This is evidenced by the birth of several campaigns to encourage Batswana to buy locally produced products.

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FUTURELAB MAGAZINE

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE MAGAZINE LAUNCH

P H O T O S B Y A N T O N A N T S A M U E L

VOLUME 02

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