My Dream World project was a tool for Young People to design their own services and visualize their Dream World. The project used service design and artistic methods. My Dream World project aimed at increasing the involvement and inclusion of young people in Namibia and South Africa using innovative service design tools. Service design is a new approach in which the customer’s experience becomes the main focus when developing new services. My Dream World project focused on considering the solutions that prevent exclusion and promote the health and well-being of young people. The aim was both to raise young people’s voices to the heart of the development as well as to co-develop agile and user-oriented design tools for services together with the partners (Ombetja Yehinga Organisation, Namibia and the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, South Africa (Faculty of Design and Informatics), Polytechnic of Namibia, RLabs, Namibia, and the South African San Institute). Participatory tools increase the social equity in poor and remote regions. The project included several exhibitions: My Dream World: Nuorten unelmia muotoilemassa 17.4.-11.5.2014 Arktikum, Rovaniemi, Finland, My Dream World: Constructing a service prototype 10.-23.8.2014 the Attic, Cape Town, South Africa, and Helina Rautavaaran museo 4.-31.3. 2015, Espoo, Finland, and several research papers about the project.

Please read more in Research in Art and Education. Sarantou, M., Kontio, T., & Miettinen, S. (2018). The Hero’s Journey: An art-based method in social design. Research in Arts and Education, 2018(3), 129-149.

Please read more in Ruukku journal. Miettinen, S., Kontio, T. and Huhtamaa, I. 2016. Sosiaalisen muutoksen muotoilua taiteen keinoin – sankarinmatkoja afrikkalaisten nuorten kanssa. Ruukku. Taiteellisen tutkimuksen kausijulkaisu. Vol. 6

My Dream World was an official World Design Capital Project #WDC305