IN-PERSON Barcelona. Section A
Abstract
Income disparity in South Africa (SA) is the highest in the world, as indicated by the current Gini index, at 63% (United Nations Development Programme, 2023). There are several reasons that contribute to income inequality in South Africa. Chief among them include long-lasting effects of racial inequality propagated during Apartheid rule (1948 to 1994), as well as current high levels of government corruption and a weakening currency. These and other factors have led to an ever-widening wealth gap, whereby the lack of resources is exacerbated. It is therefore perhaps needless to point out that, as a result, there is likely no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach that would alleviate the situation at large. The repercussions of this is clearly demonstrated in the lack of resources in the areas of early childhood development (ECD) and intervention (ECI). Apart from the lack of material resources (medical equipment, clinics, and so on), qualified practitioners in ECI account for the smallest quotient of public healthcare professionals. Roughly 80% of the medical ECI practitioners work in the private sector, which serves only 20% of the population – those who can afford medical aid. This disparity is made even more stark, considering that, conversely, 80% of rural communities have access to only 20% of ECD health care professionals (South African Health Review 2020 Perusal, HPCSA, 2019). SA has been slow on the uptake of ‘systems design’ as a possible tool to tackle pockets of income (and resource) disparity. In this paper, we demonstrate, by way of a South African student design project, a transdisciplinary systems design model that shows promise in alleviating some of these dire resource restrictions in the area of ECD.
Kyle Rath holds a PhD in Information design, from the University of Pretoria. He is a member of and adjudicator for ISTD (International Society of Typographic Design) and sits on the editorial board of Image & Text design journal. He lectures both undergraduate and postgraduate Information Design students in the School of the Arts, University of Pretoria and is genuinely fascinated by all aspects of design.
Fatima Cassim holds a PhD in Information Design from the University of Pretoria. She was awarded the 2012-2013 Harvard South African Fellowship, during which time she was a visiting student at Harvard’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. As a full-time senior lecturer in Information Design, her responsibilities include undergraduate subject coordination, undergraduate teaching as well as study guidance and supervision for postgraduate design students; she has supervised research papers ranging from branding (design as a commercial enterprise) to design for development (design as a social enterprise). Her research focuses on the culture of design; in particular, she is interested in design activism and playful learning and the impact they may have on critical citizenship. In addition, she is on the board of directors (as the Director of Education) for Open Design, a South African NGO that uses and promotes design to innovate, educate and build resilient communities.
9:30 am - 11:00 am
Monday 15th July, 2024