How might we use co-creation and graphic facilitation to engage and transform citizens into active agents of change?

Driven by the desire to create a more inclusive administration where citizens - and particularly young people - are part of the envisioning process, we designed, with Iulia Ciammaricone and Fausta Ciammaricone , an interactive event to imagine the future of Montesilvano, our city: “Città all’ascolto" ("Listening City").

In this article I would like to share the methodology we have used, reflections and learnings on how the experiment went, and open up the conversation to other practitioners.

Disclaimer: the event was part of a political campaign, but this article is not intended to be political.

The process

1. 🧍🏽Understand Your Target Audience

Before planning any event, we gathered to discuss our target audience, the impact we wanted to achieve, and the message we wanted to deliver. As a human-centered designer and visual storyteller, this is crucial to designing an approach that resonates with the audience and effectively reaches the desired outcome.

In our case, we aimed to engage the young population of Montesilvano and demonstrate innovative approaches to create a bidirectional conversation between citizens and the administration.

2. 🗣️ Design Your Communications Strategy to Reach the Audience

With our goal in mind, we created a communications strategy to reach our target audience and promote the event. We identified popular hotspots in the city frequented by young people and spread posters there. Additionally, we utilized Instagram channels and created Instagram reels to share event details, including its purpose, location, agenda, and a call to action.

3. ⚙ Define the Methodology

Designing a workshop requires framing the right questions to trigger participants' imagination constructively. People often default to criticism; we wanted to steer them towards imaginative and forward-thinking discussions. We agreed on the following questions to understand and align on the current situation and imagine future scenarios:

• What do you like about Montesilvano?

• What would you like to change?

• How do you envision the city in 10 years (2024 - 2034)?

Our goal was to create a shared vision of the city, where key topics were discussed.

Visualization and creativity played significant roles in designing two prompts:

• Cards with the main topic: Services, tourism, eco-sustainability, cultural events, mobility, urban planning, technology, and digitalization—used to answer the different questions;
• Visual Layout of the City: A base for the creation of a shared picture.

4. 🌟 Design the Experience and the Space

Before defining the agenda and dynamics of the workshop, we selected a venue convenient for the target audience. I am personally passionate about public spaces and plazas that are accessible to everyone and familiar to most people. These places usually offer ample space for personalization and customization, and they ensure that external people can be reached and involved in the process.

We created different stations where we placed the triggering questions with the cards, and designed a dynamic environment where citizens where incentivized to move around and interact with the visual prompts.

Finally, we aimed to create a family-friendly space where children were encouraged to play, allowing parents to freely participate in the session. This inclusivity not only increased participation but also fostered a community spirit.

5. 🗓️ Run the Event

When the day arrived, we were nervous and unsure of what to expect in terms of participation: Will people come? Would young people be intrigued by the innovative proposal?

The agenda was as follows:

• Welcoming, introduction and goal of the session
• Group creation
• Understanding of the current situation: What do you like about Montesilvano, and what would you like to change?
• Synthesis and sharing

• Distribution of cards/ topics and creation of a future vision per group
• Group sharing and vision creation

While all the groups were sharing their contributions, I was involved in visualizing their ideas. This culminated in creating a big collage - a shared vision - built on top of the city layout.

The picture was then shared with the citizens who participated.

Reflections and learning

🙂 What worked well

• The use of visualization created engagement and curiosity among the participants and the people wandering around the park;
• The process flow allowed participants to build on top of each other's ideas;
• The use of cards/topics was strategic in ensuring all key topics were covered and ideas were generated on different themes;
• The activities distributed around the space allowed for an interactive session where even passersby could stop and contribute.
• Our event showcased an innovative approach to inclusive communication with the administration, ensuring all voices were heard and empowering citizens as agents of change.

😔 What did not work

• The main audience was seniors, and we failed to involve the young citizens of the city. This may be due to the political nature of the event and a shared feeling of distrust and disinterest among this target group;
• Some people were shy and preferred to stay seated rather than interact with the activities.

🤔 What could be improved

• Spend more time explaining the methodology and how all the steps are interconnected;
• Add activities or icebreaker to exercise people's imagination, without a specific objective, before asking them to envision the city in the next 10 years;
• Provide guidance to ensure discussions on future city visions prioritize values and cultural aspects alongside specific solutions.

🎉 As you've reached the end of this article, we're eager to hear your thoughts!

Do you have any suggestions or ideas for improving community engagement and participatory governance?

For a quick visual summary of the event's outcomes, check out our Instagram reel.

Our journey doesn't end here. We're committed to continuing our innovative approaches to local governance and fostering community engagement around public policies.

Do you want to be part of this journey? Share your experience in the comments below and help us improve our approach. Together, we can make a difference.