Teaching Social Responsibility: "Water for India"

In January 2009, Hartford Art School Professor Natacha Poggio and a team of six art and design students traveled to Abheypur, India to implement the “Water for India” sanitation campaign as partners to the work of the “Engineers Without Borders” Student Chapter at the University of Hartford.“Water for India” aims to convey the importance of cleanliness, sharing, and respect for water resources through a painted mural at the girls’ primary school, coloring books with sanitation tips, and t-shirts featuring the logo.What began as an assignment in the Spring of 2008 for a class called “Issues in Design” grew into an ongoing effort after receiving feedback from Abheypur’s villagers. Since the start of the project, the students worked collaboratively on this wide-reaching project with other disciplines, team members and cultures and in 2009 the "Water for India" campaign placed third in the AIGA (Re)design Awards.The students and Professor Poggio have continued using design as a way to educate and empower people. The social consciousness and awareness of those involved grew through the process of research and learning to design for a more universal audience. The mission was extended in the next session of “Issues in Design” where the students worked on a new wellness campaign designing “kangas” (traditional cotton garments that Sub-Saharan women wear) for local communities in the Lake Victoria region of Kenya.Professor Poggio continues to teach “Issues in Design” along with a special topics class called “Design Global Change” (DGC) which evolved into an organization which focuses on global design projects.Where else do you think opportunities exist to use design to teach social responsibility?