Illiteracy
- Did you know that 2.5 million people aged 16 and older have difficulty with reading, writing and/or arithmetic. That is 18% of all people in the Netherlands. So about 1 in 6 people.
- In Rotterdam this is 19%.
Source: https://www.lezenenschrijven.nl/wat-doen-wij/oplossing-voor-je-vraagstuk/basisvaardigheden-zicht).
When talking about the so-called low basic skills (reading, writing and digital) this is 1 in 3 in Rotterdam.
(Source: https://youtu.be/y1vExyM39o0)
For people who have difficulty reading and writing, it is an extra challenge to understand bills, apply for benefits and keep up with administration.
This research originated from two intertwined motivations. The first is personal: a desire to contribute meaningfully to the lives of people who struggle with reading and writing, a reality I know intimately through my father. The second is professional and methodological: a deliberate effort to reconnect with material, visual, and experiential forms of making within the context of a Master Design research trajectory.
Research question
” How can participatory design be used to create inclusive, empathy-driven experiences that challenge literacy-based exclusion and empower non-literate individuals as co-creators of knowledge and social change?”
Podcast about this research (UK)*
Short Podcast in Dutch about this research (NL)*
*Generated by AI
I’m a lecturer at the Bachelor of Applied Data Science & Artificial intelligence by day, studying at the Master Design at night, and this is my website. I live in Rijswijk, have a great cat named Guusje, and I love to read and play tennis. (And gettin’ camping with our electrical camper.)
Tanja Ubert
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