“It’s not about you, it’s about people!”

Thank you Liz for reminding me that this project is not designing the future that I want, but designing the future that we– the people – want.

After the PAR session with the citizen, I shared them the feedback form to assess and rate the activity they’ve just done on Padlet.

And I found some interesting insights from the people:

Half of the respondents said this is their first time doing the participatory discussion and the half of it said they often had this kind of discussion before.

And surprisingly, most of the respondents said that Padlet is very useful and the rest said it is useful for them. This reminds me with an opinion from one of the citizens, he said that using padlet putting less pressure for them rather than to “speak” in the public. And it nodded by the others during the online meeting and also in the WhatsApp group.

And yes, they found using tools like Padlet actually works for them. Using creative tools apparently makes them confident to share their aspiration, hence the result is they were able to navigate their memories, hidden narrative and imaginations.

Apparently, participants suggested extending the discussion time for more lively or offline interaction. In addition, there’s a desire for regular, recurring discussions to monitor village development and for more frequent sharing sessions. Hopes were also expressed for the implementation of ideas, and readiness for future participation was affirmed. It was quite a surprise, because after two hours of long discussion, they seemed to enjoy it even longer. I guess during the offline session it will be better to keep the duration open while manage to make the environment more engaging with an extra experience – snacks or ice-breaking.

Everyone preferred offline interaction apparently! This solidified my intention to implement the next intervention directly with the participants offline!

Aside from longer duration of the event, people expected seamless modes of questions such as using multiple-choice questions to save time, and holding the discussion directly in person. The enthusiasm was seemed to be present as the discussion was considered communicative, very constructive, and very useful for residents. It was also noted that such forums encourage discussion within the community. They are also wish that the continuity of the forum will regenerate ot only serve academic purposes but also benefit many people, and might include more discussion tha related to other emerging urban village issues. Which hopefully I will!

In Conclusion

The citizens expressed a strong desire for the forum to continue and to offer more opportunities for direct interaction, as they found it highly valuable for shaping their ideas. Through the discussion, many were surprised to discover that their individual hopes and expectations were shared by others, aspirations that had often gone unspoken. This collective imagination appeared as a powerful and hopeful force that could inspire action. When people from diverse backgrounds and roles come together to share their visions, it encourages a spirit of mutual support—what Indonesians call gotong royong—to pursue a shared dream of a better, more realistic future.

In this context, turning aspirations into reality requires collective sense-making, built on the foundation of self-confidence and the power to recognize one’s own ideas as meaningful sources of hope. Therefore, in the next session I will add a modes to make people discovering their potentials or superpowers.