OUR MISSION
SocialDesignSite.com is a non-profit organisation that aims to foster a discourse on social design through our international online platform and the organization of and participation in projects, exhibitions, conferences, lectures, etc.
1. The first purpose of SocialDesignSite is to create awareness on social design: We as individuals have social interactions everyday. We are not alone on a deserted island. We cannot not be social. Therefore we should be aware of the fact that we have the opportunity to choose our actions in everyday life. We have the choice between following the same habits, customs and lanes we did in the past or to change them. Every new day we could do things differently than we have done it before. For us this is social design, how do people organise their social life, how do we design our world?
2. As the topic social design is very elusive we are giving examples. SocialDesignSite is an exhibition for exemplary social design projects from a variety of fields. To give the broad topic some kind of a structure the projects are navigable by a list of pre-set keywords .
3. Our aim is also to interconnect the projects and their owners as well as general public. The objective is to establish a unique interactive platform on social design between all the actors interested on the topic. For that we want to organize real live events, lectures, exhibitions, conferences, or even online initiatives.
4. SocialDesignSite explores itself with all the project owners and interested people participating. We do not tell what social design is we just want to foster a discourse on social design.
We cannot not change the world. Isn’t that odd?
We as people cannot escape acting in relation to other people. Even if we choose to live alone on a deserted island, that is design of our social reality. The social world is created as a result of the dynamics of all our individual actions.
We cannot not be social. We cannot not design. We cannot not change the world.
Design, in this sense, is any circumstance that is a result of action. Therefore it is much more than is included in the traditional meaning of the word: the shaping of products and services. This broad definition also implicates that design can be unconscious. It is there whether we are aware of it or not. It is inescapable. Social design, then, is at the same time a great opportunity and a great responsibility because it relies on the choices we make every day. It is the perception of a man-made reality that consequently can only be changed by man.
The term social design appears regularly in a wide range of contexts across the globe, though it is put to very different uses and given very different meanings. We put forth a broad definition to encompass the many different initiatives and projects related to social design that exist today. People around the world are initiating highly interesting projects that explore the social world and highlight possibilities of social change. SocialDesignSite.com aims to bring them together in the framework of social design.
The intention is to foster a discourse for the subject on a broader level by facilitating the meeting between a wide range of different audiences and professional environments. SocialDesignSite should be the seed that hopefully grows into evaluation, inquiry and discussion of the developing concept of social design.
This is a place to ask questions, provide answers and bring completely new perspectives to the table. We strongly encourage that you interact with the content of the site, as we do not intend to tell you what social design is, rather create a space for open discussion.
![[noplaceprojects*] (GBR)](http://www.socialdesignsite.com/images/partnerprojects/small/20090715131523_1.jpg "[noplaceprojects*] (GBR)")
