Local Ideation Session

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In this session, the first part of the “Happy Neighborhoods” activity took place​. Individually, each young person thought about and wrote down on a sheet of paper the elements their ideal neighborhood would have (public spaces, services, transportation, …).

The goal at this stage is to avoid giving too many hints, so as to let them think for themselves about what is most important and relevant (at this stage, one might even observe more individual perspectives - such as “I want a house with a pool”- versus more collective ones - such as “I want there to be a health center”).

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Later, in randomly formed groups of 4 to 5 people, they will share what each person considers essential for the neighborhood to have and reach a consensus as a group regarding their “Happy Neighborhood.”

 

After this discussion, they will create a sketch of this neighborhood and then explain it to the other groups.

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​Questions to Ask Each Group

• What do you consider most important in your neighborhood?

• What do you think would be easiest to achieve?

• What do you think would be hardest to achieve?

• Of everything you listed, what do you think is most lacking in the neighborhoods you know?

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Debriefing:

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• How did this challenge go?

• What strategies did you use when discussing how to build the neighborhood?

• Did you feel that everyone had the opportunity to speak and be heard?

• How did the creative process itself go? Were you able to do what you had planned?

• What was the biggest challenge?

• Did you like the final result?

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​At the end of this session, the young people were given a “Reflection for Home” to help bridge the gap to the first activity of the working sessions that would take place later:

• Of the things you identified as essential for your “Happy Neighborhood,” what do you feel is most lacking and most essential to you? What possible measures could be taken? Do you think this is an urgent need that is unique to you, or is it shared by others?