Young people co-design new interactive experience

Women of the World, Four and The Space have come together to produce a Digital Interactive Experience that asks users to respond to the question ‘What would a world designed by women and girls look like?’

Digital studio Four have worked with a group of Year 8 students aged 12-13 from Trinity Academy, Leeds on the project, entitled One Way or Another which aims to encourage young people to explore gender equality issues.

In the experience, users are presented with a number of scenarios and asked to answer questions relating to topics including personal safety, attitudes, environment and health.

An example scenario relating to ‘attitudes’ is:

A girl arrives at school and goes straight to her form room. When she sits down, she can hear boys at the back of the room watching a video and making sexist comments. What should she do?

As users progress through the web-based experience answering questions, statistics from YouGov and information from Ofsted surveys are revealed, alongside information about initiatives such as The Everyday Sexism project. The questions and responses are intended to provoke conversations about gender issues and highlight the ways in which society is changing.

Four worked with the students over a 3-month period discussing, designing and exploring issues faced by young women today to pitch and co-design an interactive experience that other young people can play remotely or in a workshop setting.

One Way or Another will premiere as part of the LEEDS 2023 Year of Culture celebrations in The WOW Barn. The young co-designers will demonstrate the experience in person and lead workshops exploring the issues raised with other school students on 12th May. The experience will also be available online, enabling young people and educators from across the world to explore the issues in an interactive and playable way. one-way-or-another.co.uk

WOW will continue to use the Digital Interactive Experience in the autumn as part of their International Day of the Girl celebrations, around 11 October 2023.

Jude Kelly, CEO & Founder of The WOW Foundation said “We're delighted to be launching One Way Or Another as part of The WOW Barn – we know it's going to provoke many conversations about what a gender equal world might look like. It's especially pertinent that it will launch as one of our project's schools' days before going online for everyone to discover. Young people's voices are always at the heart of WOW Festivals, and this innovative project is a brilliant way to spark imagination. The WOW Foundation exists to build, convene and sustain a global movement that believes a gender equal world is desirable, possible and urgently required and One Way or Another is an exciting way to engage people all around the world.”

Kully Thiarai, Creative Director and CEO of LEEDS 2023 said “We’re thrilled that One Way or Another will be launched at The WOW Barn, one of the signature projects in our Year of Culture. The WOW Barn is all about creating a one of a kind space for women, girls and non-binary people to explore gender equality, and dissect some of the issues we face in our society on a daily basis. This Digital Interactive Play Space will add to those conversations and live on as a legacy, once The WOW Barn has finished.”

Fiona Morris, Chief Executive and Creative Director, The Space said: “One Way or Another is a brilliant experience, that encourages and allows us to explore ideas around a gender equal world in an interactive and playable way.”