Entanglements of Designing Social Innovation in the Asia-Pacific

Rooted in the places, cultures, histories and wisdoms of the diverse Asia-Pacific region, this book gathers heterogeneous practices of designing social innovation that address various social, political and environmental challenges.

In contrast to dominant notions of design from the Global North that evolved through industrialisation and modernist thinking, the examples in this book speak to designing that is embodied, relational, temporal, ontological and entangled deeply with ecologies. This edited volume shares rich and detailed stories from Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Samoa, Thailand and Vanuatu that offer honest and critical reflections from practitioners and scholars on designing social innovation. Contributors explore issues of ethics, politics and positionality in their work. The book highlights the importance of respecting multiple knowledge streams, worldviews and practices situated in a place. This then supports a plurality of designing social innovation. In all, this book offers ways to sharpen focus on entangled pluralities as a central condition for designing. It is a contribution of hope and inspiration that are becoming more urgently needed in the volatile uncertainties of this world.

The book will be of interest to scholars working in social innovation, service design, social design, participatory design, design anthropology and Asian studies.