The Design Xchange Project by Columbia University
Donation protected
Professional Exchanges Abroad for Social Change between Creatives & Nonprofits
This #GivingTuesday, support Design Xchange, a new initiative that is bringing together visual storytellers from around the world to support young change-makers in developing countries by helping them tell their own stories of social change.
We, six students at Columbia University, have founded Design Xchange to help innovative social entrepreneurs in Uganda and Liberia get their voices heard and solutions to scale. Our project is building bonds between designers all over the world by co-creating a collaborative design for social good while giving local and international creatives a joint cultural and professional experience.
Design Xchange will connect volunteer designers with social enterprises in developing countries to build capacity in digital media marketing and visual storytelling. Designers based in New York City will participate in an overseas design experience emphasizing on collaborative workshops and cultural exchanges with the local NGO and in-country designers. By bridging the digital divide, this new network of designers will provide social enterprises the means to effectively promote their mission to their local and international audiences.
Today, we joined GoFundMe to fundraise for our first ever collaborative exchange trip on January 7-18, 2019. We will be supporting 3 Ugandan nonprofits with a unique design team of 3 U.S. based designers and 3 local Ugandan designers. The team would include a graphic designer, a filmmaker and a design thinking specialist each from the U.S. and Uganda. Design Xchange has been selected as a semi-finalist in Columbia University's Dean's Challenge for Public Policy Innovation Ideas and the next phase of the competition will be the beginning of February 2019. We are hoping to pilot our prototype in January to test the idea on the ground to then move on to the next phase of Design Xchange implementation.
This summer, I worked as a visual storyteller at a non-profit in Liberia and saw amazing young change-makers struggling with their online presence to get their voice heard. I met Kamma, an inspiring, innovative entrepreneur, trying to spread his mission of justice to a community that has been torn apart by death and destruction. Although Kamma had the online resources to market his vision, he was unable to reach his audiences without the digital tools and skills required to maneuver through our new chaotic, online world.
In today’s rapid paced, digital world, non-government organizations and smaller development social enterprises cannot hope to succeed with multiple audiences without an interactive and innovative online presence.
Design Xchange will bring together good citizen storytellers from around the world, recruiting the best of them for a month-long, intensive, on-the-ground exchange overseas. Design Xchange is a nonprofit based in New York that will connects nonprofitss abroad with volunteer designers from around the world to help NGOS create film promos, websites, logos and branding materials.
Our headquarter team is reaching out to both professional designers in Africa and the U.S. to form mission teams that will volunteer for a month with the nonprofits. The design team will meet remotely with the nonprofit to discuss their media needs and after a pre-liminary design, the team would travel abroad to film, create and train the nonprofit on the ground with the support and collaboration of their local designers in Africa. Design Xchange’s interactive online platform would allow corporations to fund pieces of the design package, nonprofits to advertise their needs and volunteers to choose their optimal project. Design Xchange is a crash course design package for nonprocitss designed by volunteers financed by corporate social responsibility. We passionately believe that Design Xchange can connect volunteer designers from around the world to social enterprises to make the greatest impact.
Small nonprofits in developing countries have the potential to increase their local and international reach by a simple click of a button with social media advocacy, digital media design and visual storytelling techniques. Grass roots organizations and development practitioners working in the field have the ability to truly tell the story of the marginalized communities and their beneficiaries if they only had the tools to do so.
Unfortunately, public relations firms and consultants charge an obscene amount when it comes to putting together a communications and marketing plan. Nonprofits must use their limited budget towards promoting their social impact projects and overall mission rather than on consultant work.
Design Xchange would recruit visual storytellers, graphic designers, public relations experts and film makers that want to use their design skills to promote development by assisting existing social impact organizations around the world. NGOs and their stakeholders apply to Design Xchange for a partner project and provide their needs regarding logos, design plans, film promos, websites or communications in general. Larger donors and partner organizations can donate certain individual asks of the social enterprise as a gift donation. After completing a pre-assessment and plan, Design Xchange organizes a 2-3-week field visit to the developing country. Members from the headquarters team will be accompanied by a team of 3-4 volunteer designers and creatives that want to be a part of this new individual design experience.
Design Xchange has been selected as a semi-finalist in Columbia University's Dean's Challenge for Public Policy Innovation Ideas. Design Xchange (also known as Design Across Borders) will be piloting their first trip in January before the next competition selection in early February.
Graduate Student Team Members: Julie Tumasz, Thomas DeMaio, Addie Thompson, Shalini Seetharam, Annie Sungeun Ann, Wanyin Yu
Graduate Student Contributors: Emily DiVito, Sasha Lagombra , Kala Deterville, Angie Hyo Jung Kim, Anthony Paul Winszman, Ira Regmi, Wineeta Paul
Columbia University Semi-Finalist Winners: Dean's Challenge
Dean's Public Policy Challenge Semi-Finalist Video Pitch: Design Xchange (Previously known as Design Across Borders)
The Power of Visual Storytelling. Design Across Borders Speechwriting Exercise depicting the importance of visual storytelling in development practice.
This #GivingTuesday, support Design Xchange, a new initiative that is bringing together visual storytellers from around the world to support young change-makers in developing countries by helping them tell their own stories of social change.
We, six students at Columbia University, have founded Design Xchange to help innovative social entrepreneurs in Uganda and Liberia get their voices heard and solutions to scale. Our project is building bonds between designers all over the world by co-creating a collaborative design for social good while giving local and international creatives a joint cultural and professional experience.
Design Xchange will connect volunteer designers with social enterprises in developing countries to build capacity in digital media marketing and visual storytelling. Designers based in New York City will participate in an overseas design experience emphasizing on collaborative workshops and cultural exchanges with the local NGO and in-country designers. By bridging the digital divide, this new network of designers will provide social enterprises the means to effectively promote their mission to their local and international audiences.
Today, we joined GoFundMe to fundraise for our first ever collaborative exchange trip on January 7-18, 2019. We will be supporting 3 Ugandan nonprofits with a unique design team of 3 U.S. based designers and 3 local Ugandan designers. The team would include a graphic designer, a filmmaker and a design thinking specialist each from the U.S. and Uganda. Design Xchange has been selected as a semi-finalist in Columbia University's Dean's Challenge for Public Policy Innovation Ideas and the next phase of the competition will be the beginning of February 2019. We are hoping to pilot our prototype in January to test the idea on the ground to then move on to the next phase of Design Xchange implementation.
This summer, I worked as a visual storyteller at a non-profit in Liberia and saw amazing young change-makers struggling with their online presence to get their voice heard. I met Kamma, an inspiring, innovative entrepreneur, trying to spread his mission of justice to a community that has been torn apart by death and destruction. Although Kamma had the online resources to market his vision, he was unable to reach his audiences without the digital tools and skills required to maneuver through our new chaotic, online world.
In today’s rapid paced, digital world, non-government organizations and smaller development social enterprises cannot hope to succeed with multiple audiences without an interactive and innovative online presence.
Design Xchange will bring together good citizen storytellers from around the world, recruiting the best of them for a month-long, intensive, on-the-ground exchange overseas. Design Xchange is a nonprofit based in New York that will connects nonprofitss abroad with volunteer designers from around the world to help NGOS create film promos, websites, logos and branding materials.
Our headquarter team is reaching out to both professional designers in Africa and the U.S. to form mission teams that will volunteer for a month with the nonprofits. The design team will meet remotely with the nonprofit to discuss their media needs and after a pre-liminary design, the team would travel abroad to film, create and train the nonprofit on the ground with the support and collaboration of their local designers in Africa. Design Xchange’s interactive online platform would allow corporations to fund pieces of the design package, nonprofits to advertise their needs and volunteers to choose their optimal project. Design Xchange is a crash course design package for nonprocitss designed by volunteers financed by corporate social responsibility. We passionately believe that Design Xchange can connect volunteer designers from around the world to social enterprises to make the greatest impact.
Small nonprofits in developing countries have the potential to increase their local and international reach by a simple click of a button with social media advocacy, digital media design and visual storytelling techniques. Grass roots organizations and development practitioners working in the field have the ability to truly tell the story of the marginalized communities and their beneficiaries if they only had the tools to do so.
Unfortunately, public relations firms and consultants charge an obscene amount when it comes to putting together a communications and marketing plan. Nonprofits must use their limited budget towards promoting their social impact projects and overall mission rather than on consultant work.
Design Xchange would recruit visual storytellers, graphic designers, public relations experts and film makers that want to use their design skills to promote development by assisting existing social impact organizations around the world. NGOs and their stakeholders apply to Design Xchange for a partner project and provide their needs regarding logos, design plans, film promos, websites or communications in general. Larger donors and partner organizations can donate certain individual asks of the social enterprise as a gift donation. After completing a pre-assessment and plan, Design Xchange organizes a 2-3-week field visit to the developing country. Members from the headquarters team will be accompanied by a team of 3-4 volunteer designers and creatives that want to be a part of this new individual design experience.
Design Xchange has been selected as a semi-finalist in Columbia University's Dean's Challenge for Public Policy Innovation Ideas. Design Xchange (also known as Design Across Borders) will be piloting their first trip in January before the next competition selection in early February.
Graduate Student Team Members: Julie Tumasz, Thomas DeMaio, Addie Thompson, Shalini Seetharam, Annie Sungeun Ann, Wanyin Yu
Graduate Student Contributors: Emily DiVito, Sasha Lagombra , Kala Deterville, Angie Hyo Jung Kim, Anthony Paul Winszman, Ira Regmi, Wineeta Paul
Columbia University Semi-Finalist Winners: Dean's Challenge
Dean's Public Policy Challenge Semi-Finalist Video Pitch: Design Xchange (Previously known as Design Across Borders)
The Power of Visual Storytelling. Design Across Borders Speechwriting Exercise depicting the importance of visual storytelling in development practice.
Fundraising team: Design Xchange (3)
Design Xchange
Organizer
Raised $250 from 4 donations
New York, NY
Sungeun Annie Ann
Team member
Tom DeMaio
Team member
