From grass-root change agents and academics to design thinkers preventing radicalization: a learner's journey

Abstract

In recent years more and more youngsters and other vulnerable citizens tend to radicalise either through political (right wing, left wing), religious, or single-issue movements such as animal rights or ecological concerns. The CommUnity consortium set out to prevent this decision to radicalise through arts-based community-building via design thinking approaches. In this paper, how UCLL and IDP developed the design thinking course through design thinking, the Covid-19 adaptations, the bridge between different fields of knowledge and practice, and the innovative approaches in the prevention narrative are highlighted. Finally, the monitoring reports are analysed to define the community-builders design thinking learning trajectory following the phases of newcomer, adapter, leader, and grandmaster.