During this year's Qatar Icograda Design Week, which had cross cultural collaboration, or "Mousharaka" as a theme; a few interviews were held on issues that concern all those interested in design education in the middle east. I took a few excerpts that I found most crucial to the argument. The 4 interviewees are:
Ibrahim Jaidah, a Qatar native who studied in the United States and is now the Managing Director of the leading architectural design consultancy in Qatar.
Mark Kingwell, a professor of philosophy at the University of Toronto and a contributing editor for Harper's Magazine.
Claudia Meyer-Newman a designer, creative director, fine art photographer, and educator who lives and works in Seattle, USA.
Nic Vanderschantz a lecturer in Computer Graphic Design in the Computer Science Department at the University of Waikato in Hamilton, New Zealand whose research focuses on children's on-screen reading.
As an educator, what are your thoughts or expectation for Education City and in particular the Virginia Commonwealth University Satellite in Qatar as a predominantly American faculty educating Qatari students? What impact does it have on indigenous culture, and what are the responsibilities of the design faculty at VCU to the local culture?
"I was interested to see how many US universities are expanding into the region, especially having already seen something similar in China. In that case the results have been obviously positive, at least for the middle-class Shanghainese I know who got degrees, and learned English..." Dr. Kingwell continues, "I do wonder about the culture issue - what is the balance between a standard US college curriculum and the local population's interest..."
CM-N: "...I am hopeful that education and practice is a catalyst for change based on knowledge and experience. I think, the more we (educators and students) practice cross-cultural collaboration, without losing our identity and voice, the world can become a better place to live.
The theme for the Design Week in Qatar is Mousharaka, which in Arabic means collaboration. What does collaboration mean to you in a cross-cultural context? What images of successful or unsuccessful collaboration come to mind? What experiences have you had with cross-cultural collaboration? "Collaboration in cross cultural context is successful", Mr. Jaidah says, "when people from different backgrounds are able to work together to find a solution, keeping in mind the culture they are serving, but achieving the most innovative results. A perfect image, which also reflects my experience is [the] Al Sharq hotel. Experts from many different backgrounds and cultures worked to together to achieve a unique result. The award winning Al Sharq hotel reflects local culture in its design."
"It's fascinating to think about the possible benefits of collaboration in, say, coordinated research or crowd-sourcing. My talk, about the city as a collaborative work of art, brings together some of these themes. How is it we manage to create a functional city, day after day? That in itself is a form of cross-cultural collaboration,"says Dr. Kingwell.
What challenges face a designer working in a cross-cultural context? Does collaboration build local knowledge or simply facilitate Westernisation? "The biggest challenge for a designer working in a cross cultural context is," Mr. Jaidah explains, when a member of the design team doesn't have knowledge of the local culture then, "ideas that don't belong are imposed ... collaboration does build local knowledge, and through cross-cultural collaboration we not only learn to appreciate other cultures but also our own."
Dr. Kingwell responds that his work is less about specific cultural difference and more focused on the "the core issue of communication - finding 'third language' opportunities between existing groups ... For example, "I approach [an] artwork, with the hope of understanding it. The work and I occupy separate horizons of meaning. But instead of a model whereby I simply fold the work into my existing understanding [...] the idea is that together we create a new, third language (neither mine nor the work's) in which understanding is possible. [...] Third languages are by definition hybridised and unstable. This model has clear relevance for situations of intercultural exchange, where differences in context may seem to prevent understanding or encourage domination of one partner by the other..." Dr. Kingwell also mentions that in the context of cross cultural collaboration "the specter of 'Westernisation' exists" but that often "what people demonise as Westernisation is really just modernisation."
CM-N: As educators, our role in cross-cultural collaboration is to facilitate. Collaboration is an organic process based on human behavior and cultural background. This is a balancing act. It requires the facilitator to stand back and [allow] the authentic ‘experience' to unfold. Regardless, of working internationally or within your own community, designers need to investigate the cultural background of their audience. Understanding history, politics, religion, economy, and viewpoint, provides the foundation of how unique and diverse our audience can be. This is our responsibility in design practice.
NV: I think cross-cultural collaboration is something that many of us have come to take for granted. I feel that we increasingly live in a very cosmopolitan and multi-cultural society and that borders around the world are being broken down. With technology, including transport and telecommunication, we have the opportunity, if we choose to take it, to work with many different societies, cultures, religions, and personalities in our day-to-day professional and personal lives. Excitingly, as researchers we are at an advantage and often find ourselves collaborating across continents, time zones and cultural barriers.
During the Design week the first ever Design Debate Doha will take place. It is an opportunity for the local community to join the international design community in wrestling with important global issues. The resolution for the debate is: Globalisation harmfully subverts culturally unique sensibilities. Is design a globalising force? How so? Do you agree with this resolution?
Mr. Jaidah says "globalisation does [affect] cultures in a negative way especially in the developing worlds, where we still see cultures dissolving and languages forgotten." Although design is a globalising force, he continues, "it can be a positive way to [globalise]." Design allows us to share in the beauty of other cultures and be influenced by them. This leads to "unique designs based on rich cultures".
Dr. Kingwell: "Globalisation is an ongoing process, and one we still don't understand very well. Rather than the harmful subversion mentioned, I see a lot of potential in hybridising cultures..." CM-N: I believe that literacy and critical thinking can provide the foundation for redefining "globalisation." Supporting economic success based on sustaining culture and uniqueness, respect and ethical practice is the essences of the issue. Perhaps, we need to redefine or invent a new word for globalisation.
http://www.icograda.org/feature/current/articles1425.htm
http://www.icograda.org/feature/current/articles1431.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment