> Part I (Adopt a Client): Global Studios Project Overview <

After a necessary delay, we are ready to kick-off our Adopt a Client program with Global Studios. Candy Chang has provided a personal overview on the project, including the reasons for her involvement and the scope of the “ask” made to Social Symmetry.

While I was getting my Masters degree in urban planning at Columbia University, I had the opportunity to participate in Global Studio, a program where international interdisciplinary students, academics, and professionals come together to collaborate on community-based projects. Informed by the UN Millennium Development Goals, the program promotes forms of education and practice that will benefit under-served communities and facilitate bottom-up, collaborative partnerships. I loved the program so much that I’m now in my third year of involvement and help guide the work as a Project Associate.

While the month-long program has moved to different cities each year in the past, this year we’ll be in Johannesburg, South Africa again to continue various projects we started last year. We’ll be working in Diepsloot, a northern township that is one of the fastest growing and poorest areas in the City. There are around 100,000 residents and half of people are unemployed. After talking with residents, community groups, and local government last year, one of our project groups found a need for better methods of sharing information. This includes communication between residents and government, as well as communication between residents and each other.

Local government officials stressed the importance of information dissemination and acknowledged that many residents were still unaware of city services, including help in starting a business. Sam, one of the local ward officials, said that they currently go door-to-door, identify people without jobs, and then inform them of government resources. Another ward official, Mailla, said that her cell phone message box is always full from residents’ concerns and it’s a challenge to respond to everyone’s needs. With this current system, the officials are overwhelmed with work and lack the capacity to serve the community in an efficient way.

Residents talked about their desire to have a local news system. Brian, a resident, DJ, and leader of a youth organization, wants to start a local radio station to disseminate news and support the plentiful local music talent. A new non-profit group called Diepsloot Community News wants to start a local newspaper and has already sponsored several community events. Informal flyers were seen scattered throughout the community and included information on events, housing issues, and local services.

Last year we conducted a community survey to learn more about how people currently get their information and how they would like to receive information. Based on 225 responses, we found that 88% of people read newspapers, 84% own radios, and that both mediums were wanted as news sources at the local scale. Since then, many ideas have been passed around, including a model of local communication in Nigeria. Community chalkboards are used to post local news, resources and events, and they serve as a cheaper (and more eco-friendly!) alternative to a printed newspaper.

This is where we are as we begin our program this year. Project development will really take more shape once we’re on the ground and discussing interests with community members. It will also depend on the skills and energy of the team, whose backgrounds will mostly be in architecture, urban planning, and journalism. We’re very excited to have Social Symmetry participate in this project and provide their expertise for a great cause. In the end, we hope to develop a better information-sharing system in Diepsloot to facilitate transparency between government and residents, as well as harness the great amount of local knowledge and resources within the community.