Sudan

Location: Khartoum, Sudan
Date: 2011
Project partners: University of Reading, University of Khartoum, DFID & British Council (under the DelPHE project)
Activities: Advocacy/Learning and Capacity Building/Socio Technical Support

In Sudan there is a large economic divide between social classes, not helped by a complex political background. While there are many built environment professionals dedicated to improving conditions for poorer communities there is little opportunity to do so in a participatory manner. Further to a presentation given by ASF-UK at Reading University, ASF-UK were asked by the University of Reading and the University of Khartoum to conduct a three day workshop, in order to expose Sudanese built environment professionals to some tools and methodologies of participatory design. The workshop was part of the joint Developing Partnerships in Higher Education (DelPHE) project between the two institutions funded by the Department of International Development and British Council. Held at the University of Khartoum in December 2011 the three-day workshop gave local built environment professionals the opportunity to learn about, experiment with, critically analyse and design their own tools of participatory engagement. The main objective was to encourage participants to rethink their role as a built environment professional, moving away from the role of the ‘provider’ towards the position of an ‘enabler’ through a series of participatory practical exercises and experiments.