Global Children’s Designathon
Do children and adults perceive climate change the same way? Do children understand the severity of climate change or the way it might impact their future? What would children do if they were entrusted with saving the planet? These are the questions that Global Children’s Designathon (GCD) answers.
The Global Children's Designathon is a day committed to celebrating what the world's future might look like if children are given the power to create it.
Karkhana Samuha —in partnership with Designathon Works— annually hosts Global Children’s Designathon as a platform for children to create, build, and present their own solutions to our globe’s environmental problems.
Each year GCD has a theme such as Deforestation, Water, Food and Climate Action, based on which children design their prototypes. The theme of GCD 2022 was ‘Our Planet, Our Future’ which captured a wonderfully diverse cultural product and experience from around the globe. GCD 2022 in Kathmandu was a day workshop session where the participants gained an understanding of design thinking cycle, brainstorming techniques, prototyping, and iteration processes, in eight hours.
This year, our approach to Designathon was through questions. We asked children about ecosystems near them, if they wanted to reimagine what and how we consume, or re-educate others, or restore the ecosystem. After that, mentors from Karkhana Samuha assisted them in bringing their ideas to life.
A recurring theme we saw this year was waste management; a “simpler” problem that is common to all Kathmandu residents. Children presented programmable trash cans, waste catchers for rivers, and pollution-free incinerators. While some took to work on problems they were facing locally, others chose to think on a global scale. They presented us with eutrophication removers for ocean waste and designed smart cities.
used by students
