- by Cindy Ranchon
- June 28, 2022
A human-centered approach to develop empathy
Migraflix and the United Nations, with the support of Google Brazil & Sebrae SP launched a program to foster the creation of projects focused on improving the integration of immigrants & refugees in Brazil. Co-Creation Lab was called to design the program and facilitate 2 main phases: a design thinking sprint to generate bold disruptive ideas and a prototyping workshop to design MVPs (Minimum Viable Products).
Leveraging citizens to craft the future
The first phase of the Design Thinking workshop started with a guided discussion between refugees and local citizens about the job to be done. Refugees and immigrants were invited to share their experiences and feelings when landing in their new land to allow local citizens to build empathy, comprehend the needs of this population and formulate the problems at stake in order to adress them.
Along with local entrepreneurs and developers, the participants of this “Creathon” developed, tested and refined solutions for refugees to access to new platforms and tools, accessible and adapted their delicate situation, to help them find a job, a place of asylum on arrival, a way to issue new identification documents and recognize diplomas and certifications from undigitized countries in crisis.
Generating impact
At the end of the Design Thinking journey, the Creathon enabled to 3 of the groups to get support from SEBRAE, the Brazilian agency for small & medium enterprises, to turn their ideas into social businesses :
- #HomeForHope, offering temporary homes to immigrants on arrival
- #XSeed, helping qualified refugees find a job related to their skills
- #ShareCare, making it easy to share experiences and tips for the new Brazilians
