The Burden on Children: The Cost of Insufficient Post-Conflict Services and Pathways Forward
Summary
Key Insights
-
•
Uganda hosts over 1.5 million refugees, 60% of whom are children, representing one of the largest child refugee crises globally.
-
•
The 70/30 land and resource allocation policy, though progressive on paper, creates tensions due to chronic underfunding and perceived inequities between refugees and host communities.
-
•
Redemptive design goes beyond human-centered and regenerative design by aiming to restore people, place, and time to their rightful future.
-
•
Starting research from a community’s desired future—‘from the future to the future’—helps guide sustainable, hopeful design interventions.
-
•
Social dynamics in refugee-host contexts often involve feelings of unfairness, justice, and dignity, complicated by external power systems like NGOs and government agencies controlling resources.
-
•
Historical tribal conflicts brought from places like South Sudan continue to affect cohesion within refugee settlements and must be mapped to inform design.
-
•
Facilitating hope is an active, structured process that includes embracing multiple knowledge systems and critical reflexivity about researcher positionality.
-
•
The A, B, C, D model structures engagement by exploring the past (A), envisioning the future (B), bridging stakeholders (C), and re-initiating conversations (D).
-
•
Engaging donors effectively requires personal dialogue and aligning their futures with those of communities served, often through informal settings like dinners.
-
•
Sustainable systemic change requires horizontal design approaches combined with top-down legislation to stabilize and scale redemptive solutions.
Notable Quotes
"Will you become an advocate for the world’s most vulnerable voices muffled and unheard in complex systems?"
"Uganda is Africa’s largest refugee host nation with over 1.5 million refugees, 60% of whom are children—yet this crisis is often invisible in media."
"Redemptive design means to buy back or restore something or someone to its rightful place."
"You begin research from the end—from the future to the future—asking communities to share their envisioned future first."
"The tensions between host and refugee communities are more than poor service design; they point to chronic systemic issues rooted in resource allocation and social justice."
"Hope is not passive. Hope is very proactive and requires facilitation that helps people dream despite their harsh realities."
"Knowing your positionality and having native speakers and culturally sensitive methods is vital for authentic data gathering."
"We had conversations with donors over dinners and asked about their vision for innovation and future impact—it’s about asking the right questions."
"There’s never really conflicting futures—everyone wants to take care of the most vulnerable children; you just have to find the bridge between visions."
"Our job as innovation managers is to build the playgrounds where people play—designing the built environment to complement policy and sustain future generations."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Tech workers in the UK are five times more depressed than the UK average, with stress killing creativity."
Dr. Karl JeffriesThe Science of Creativity for DesignOps
January 8, 2024
"I never want to walk into a review with my stakeholders at the SVP level and see something for the first time."
Amy MarquezINVEST: Discussion
June 15, 2018
"Visualizing data in a way executives can interpret is key to shifting from I think to I know."
Steve Portigal Chris Chapo Kelly Goto Christian RohrerDiscussion
May 13, 2015
"One designer's security in a dedicated model may be another designer's stagnation."
Alicia MootyDesign Staffing Models
September 30, 2021
"With enough creativity and imagination, you can make anything interesting."
Ana Maria Montero Barrantes Aditi Dhar Michelle Kaplan Nate Osborne Matt LaurenceThe Authentic UX Talent Show
January 8, 2024
"Simply asking stakeholders what success looks like for them in a project is a powerful way to start meaningful conversations."
Lada Gorlenko Sharbani Dhar Sébastien Malo Rob Mitzel Ivana Ng Michal Anne RogondinoTheme 1: Discussion
January 8, 2024
"Research isn’t linear; it’s messy and modular, so your tools have to reflect that fluidity."
Sofia QuinteroThe Product Philosophy Behind EnjoyHQ
March 10, 2021
"You are not the first person to try something like this, and they’re typically not looking forward to the next transformation."
Laura KleinUnique challenges of innovation in enterprises
April 23, 2020
"Combining the what we see in data with the why we get from user research is where true insights live."
Andrew MichaelBuilding a Product Insights Team
March 10, 2022
