| dc.description.abstract | Purik is a framework for supporting youth, from disadvantaged areas of Colombia, to make the transition to higher education. It is leveraged in education and the UN's human development approach as a way to foster human development. The project is structured around the transition phase between high school and higher education, and five criteria that tackle the main hindrances in the youth's educational process. The concept itself consists of four stages that pretend to beat the problem by changing mental models, developing skills, supporting the transition, and, following up in the after-process. Purik tells the story of the “Purik travelers” (students) who embark on a journey towards their dreams, accompanied by the “Purik tour guides” (facilitators) who support them during this trip. It is a project about being able to dream bigger and getting ready to follow those dreams.
This project understands human development as the antithesis of poverty. It takes as its basis the United Nations human development approach which focuses on improving people's lives, providing opportunities and the freedom to make their own choices to live a life they value. Purik is directly related to 6 of the 17 UN goals without ignoring the remaining ones that are indirectly addressed due to their interconnected nature.
The research and development of the project are guided by the human-centered design approach. Methods such as immersion, interviews, and workshops made it possible to establish empathic relationships with the different actors. This approach facilitated an interdisciplinary and collaborative work, in which the role of the designer was key for leading the process and agglutinating different views towards a shared goal.
The research process starts with a trip to the Mallama municipality, located in the Colombian Pacific region, which has one of the highest multidimensional-poverty rates in Colombia. This municipality is largely rural, and faces issues such as the lack of economic resources, poor education, geographical isolation, poor internet access, presence of violent groups, and illegal activities, just to name some. As poverty is what is called a “wicked problem”, the research makes use of a systemic approach by implementing methods such as mapping, ZIP analysis, Icerb model, and journey maps to unveil the diverse dynamics occurring within the Mallama municipality.
Both the research and literature showed that education could create a significant impact to eradicate poverty, but the conditions of the municipality were stopping this process right after finishing high school. Even more critical, the culture itself was being shaped by the pressure of poverty, limiting the youth's ability to dream and making it more susceptible to poverty. These findings eventually led to the creation of Purik. | en_US |
