Introduction and Background
Ömer Hünkar Ilik (62) migrated from Turkey to the Netherlands at the age of 19. His integration journey began within a Turkish community support system that exemplifies the strength of communal networks. He now dedicates his work to migrant seniors in disadvantaged positions, particularly in areas of poverty, health, and digital exclusion.
He was introduced through Ingrid Hoogstraten of ‘De mens centraal’, highlighting the importance of intermediaries in network expansion, a phenomenon documented in Granovetter’s “strength of weak ties” theory (Granovetter, 1973).
Redefining Roles: From Recipient to Contributor
Ömer challenges prevalent assumptions about migrant seniors being “hard to reach.” He asserts they are active and eager to learn, albeit through alternative forms of engagement. This aligns with Manzini’s (2015) notion of diffuse design, where non-professionals engage in creative problem-solving.
His new initiative, ‘Tea Time, Learning at the Neighbors’, trains local volunteer “digi-trainers” to educate low-literate housewives in their living rooms. Within three months, 10 trainers taught 374 women across 55 households. The model shifts traditional expert roles to those embedded in the community — a move toward transdisciplinary collaboration and mutual learning (Pohl & Hirsch Hadorn, 2007).
This community-embedded strategy also echoes Sanders & Stappers’ (2008) argument that co-creation with users (as opposed to designing for them) enriches innovation and ownership.
Cultural Context and Design
Ömer emphasizes the collectivist cultural roots of his target group. Rather than viewing this as a barrier, he leverages it as a design asset, resonating with Lucy Kimbell’s concept of ‘design as situated practice’ (Kimbell, 2011). In contrast to Western individualism, the group-oriented model enhances motivation, trust, and knowledge-sharing.
His work exemplifies how cultural empathy (Buchanan, 2001) can be translated into tangible design interventions, such as a board game combining education with social play — demonstrating how playful learning environments can support digital inclusion.
Educational Contribution and Inspiration Session
As part of the Transdisciplinary Lesson Series, Ömer led an inspiration session for students, illustrating changing expertise roles. He doesn’t fit the conventional expert mold but embodies a practice-based, lived-experience perspective. This highlights the value of pluralistic knowledge systems in design research (French & Teals (2016).
By inviting students to rethink expertise not as authority, but as facilitation, relationality, and embedded presence, his session pushed them to expand their network beyond academia, seeking engagement with community knowledge holders.
Key Takeaways
- Build networks through intermediaries and lived experience. Even informal contacts (e.g., Ingrid Hoogstraten) are gateways to impactful partnerships (Granovetter, 1973).
- Redefine expertise. Look beyond institutional knowledge and recognize the value of lived, embedded, and distributed forms of knowing (Pohl & Hirsch Hadorn, 2007).
- Co-design with communities, not for them. Use participatory methods to co-create solutions (Sanders & Stappers, 2008).
- Use cultural strengths as design tools. Culture is not a constraint but a resource (Kimbell, 2011).
- Recognize the power of place-based learning. ‘Tea Time’ shows that design interventions in domestic, familiar settings can have higher uptake and relevance.
References
- Granovetter, M., The Strength of Weak Ties. American Journal of Sociology, (1973).
- Manzini, E., Design, When Everybody Designs: An Introduction to Design for Social Innovation. MIT Press, (2015).
- Pohl, C., & Hirsch Hadorn, G., Principles for Designing Transdisciplinary Research. Oekom Verlag, (2007).
- Sanders, E. B.-N., & Stappers, P. J., Co-creation and the New Landscapes of Design, CoDesign, (2008).
- Kimbell, L., Rethinking Design Thinking: Part I. Design and Culture, (2011).
- Buchanan, R., Design Research and the New Learning. Design Issues, (2001).
- Akama, Y., Practising Empathy: A Method to Bridge the Designer–User Divide, Interactions, (2015).
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