Inspire K22

At the K22 house, our team has collaborated with residents to enhane their living conditions by developing participatory skillsets. In April our team started to use methods like photovoice and visual mapping in order to aid the empowerment of people living with housing needs to actively engage in their community's progress. The idea is to give tools to these people and allow them to develop materials as independantly as possible.

• Photovoice allowed residents to document their daily experiences through photography, providing valuable insights into their needs and challenges. This approach has been effective in capturing local perspectives and promoting community involvement in context, with the experience of artistic expression contributing by itself..

• Creative visual mapping of the community's close environment further facilitated the creation of shared understandings, as well as the identification of local strenghts and areas for improvement. By attaching interpretations to certain space, participants could develop common priorities identify points of contention.

While the process is promising, practical as well as ethical challenges remain. Participatory processes rely on the equal understanding of participants. In these contexts, the concepts of consent and understanding are difficult to interpret. These target groups also experience accute danger on a regular basis, something the research needed to carefully consider not to place them in harms way, which is difficult to balance while maintatining their autonomy.

Through these approaches, K22 residents hae become active contributors to their community's development, fostering a more responsive living environment.