Each editorial is a collection of different articles, carefully selected to emphasize a certain issue, topic or theme. More about editorials or explore the selected articles of this editorial.

Introduction

OPEN CALL

This issue of Beyond Social discusses different strategies of change in relation to current social issues. You are cordially invited to, from a designer perspective, compare your own practice with current innovations and theories in the field of social design and to address the questions of change: what then are our thoughts on how to bring about change?

As a social practitioner, we hope to make meaningful changes to the people and the environment for whom we are designing. There are different perspectives on how to initiate this change. According to Pascal Gielen (2011), some of these changes focus more on working with the power structures and trying to make a difference within the boundaries of the 'System World'. Others try to make a stance against the current power structures (Gielen, 2011).

How do we ensure that the commons truly benefits from the changes we bring about, as opposed to the institutions? How do we cope with repressive liberalism, which is embodied in things like “Corporate Social Responsibility” and “Sustainability”? In other words, do we try to challenge system standards from the inside, do we pose an alternative system or do we take a radical position against the current system?

Feel free to contribute by adding an article on Beyond Social and/or send an email to info@beyond-social.org