Methodology

The design idea was centered around addressing the following questions: How can we visually represent something that can't be precisely measured? How can we visualize the research processes that define the work of the Creativity Pioneers? 

In 2023, the Moleskine Foundation, asked Federica Fragapane and Alex Piacentini to visually represent the work of the Creativity Pioneers. One challenging aspect of representing such organizations is the need to effectively capture their intersectional work and find a suitable language to describe the nature and impact of their activities. Most of the time, these organizations operate in intersectional, complex, rich processes with layers of stories that are hard to measure. The idea of using a new visual language arose from the need to overcome a lack of adequate representation and biased methods in capturing the impact of the Creativity Pioneers. Conventional methods such as logical frameworks, theories of change, and impact monitoring and evaluation tools, are not designed to accurately describe and measure the qualitative and deep transformations of the Pioneers’ work in their community, often leading to partial or inadequate representation.  

"The choice of using data visualization as a tool for representing the Creativity Pioneers not only helped in counting and quantifying but also in giving shape to the complexity and non-numeric elements of reality."

The choice of using data visualization as a tool for representing the Creativity Pioneers not only helped in counting and quantifying but also in giving shape to the complexity and non-numeric elements of reality. The process began by gathering information directly from the Creativity Pioneers. A challenge we all faced was finding a balance in classifying their unconventional and hybrid work using a classification system with related categories. To address this, the data collection followed a consultation process collecting the individual feedback and inputs provided by each organization. Each Pioneer actively participated in rewriting and validating their descriptions, as well as suggesting new possible categories. This method enabled us to give shape to each Creativity Pioneer without limiting the narrative.

Once gathered the data, to visually translate the richness and multidisciplinarity of the Creativity Pioneers, it was crucial to draw upon the idea of the ecosystem of Pioneers, a non-hierarchical group of diverse, interrelated living elements. To represent the uniqueness of each organization, the idea was to use unique organic forms, where shapes and colors are the results of the interweaving of information about the sectors in which the organization operates and the social challenges it addresses. 

"Through this ever-evolving, exploratory process, we have created a database that people can navigate to gain a sense of the work of the Creativity Pioneers in a manner that is truer to the nature of what they do."

This tool can be used to better inform how we, as a foundation, the sector, and the stakeholders speak of, measure, and understand the impact of organizations whose work goes beyond mere numbers. 

Data

Challenges Definitions

Quality education and cultural accessibility

Quality education makes for, as some philosophers have shared, a fertile mind which has the ability to connect the seemingly disconnected. Quality education is transformative, inclusive, effective, and equitable equipping learners with knowledge and skills for their self actualisation.  Quality education ensures equal access to qualified teachers, engaging teaching methods, and the necessary resources for the purpose of societal transformation. Quality education prepares individuals for lifelong learning, critical thinking, and meaningful participation in society. Quality education also includes access to culture and cultural spaces as important learning spaces.  

Peacebuilding

Peacebuilding is the art of cultivating a moral imagination to live beyond violence and conflict. It is a process aimed at preventing, managing, and resolving conflicts while fostering sustainable peace in regions or societies affected by violence, instability, or social divisions. It is also about fostering relationships between unlikely people, between former adversaries and between victims and perpetrators.   Peacebuilding endeavors to support justice and accountability, ensure reparative measures, rebuild trust, promote dialogue, and create the foundations for peaceful coexistence in post-conflict or fragile settings. 

Migration

Migration is the process of individuals or groups moving from one place to another, often crossing political or geographic boundaries. This movement can be driven by various factors, including economic opportunities, escape from conflict or persecution, family reunification, environmental changes, or other personal reasons. 

Environmental Sustainability

Environmental sustainability is the responsible use of natural resources and protection of the environment to meet current and future needs without harming the planet. It's the the delicate equilibrium where society meets its needs while preserving ecosystem regenerative capacity and biodiversity. 

Democracy And Social Justice

Democracy is about asking and answering the question ‘how do we do for each other?’ It is a constant call to action and the ability to create change but only if we hold fast to our right, as a people, to more. In its formal sense it is a system of governance where the power to make decisions and formulate policies is vested in the hands of the people through free and fair elections. It allows citizens to participate in the decision-making process, either directly or through elected representatives, and ensures that their voices are heard. Democracy is characterised by the protection of individual and group rights, the rule of law, the fulfilment of human rights for all and accountability of government institutions to the people.

Health and Wellbeing

Health and wellbeing constitute a multidimensional concept that transcends the mere absence of illness, embracing various facets of human existence. It places equal importance on the pursuit of physical, mental, and social health, recognizing their interdependence in shaping an individual's overall state of well-being. 

Active Citizenship

Active citizenship refers to the engaged participation of individuals in their communities and governments. It involves actions like voting, advocating for important issues, volunteering, and engaging in civil discourse. It empowers individuals to have a voice in the decisions that affect their lives and encourages a sense of responsibility toward the common good.  

Reduced Inequalities

It refers to the effort to diminish disparities and inequalities in income, wealth, access to resources, and opportunities within and among countries. Its goal is to ensure equal access to education, healthcare, economic opportunities, and social services for all individuals, regardless of their background or circumstances, promoting social inclusion and a more equitable and sustainable world.

Human rights

Human rights are universally recognized as inalienable and inherent to every individual, regardless of their race, gender, nationality, or status. These rights encompass essential freedoms and protections, including the right to life, economic, social, and cultural rights, and the right to development and self-determination, typically expressed and guaranteed by law.

Youth Employment

Intrinsic to a good life is the ability to self-actualise not only through education but through the ability to do ones chosen work not just to make a living but also for a sense of fulfilment. Youth employment is when young people, typically aged 15-26, who are looking for work, struggle to find work due to factors like global economic factors, limited job opportunities, inadequate education, and skills development access. This is a wounding of their dignity and ability to access other human rights. Unemployment is considered to be a key measure of the health of the economy as it’s a problem that threatens not just the individuals but the entire nation’s economic well-being. This challenge has consequences like economic instability, increased poverty, and social disengagement, affecting overall societal development.

Food Sustainability

Author, Barbara Kingslover, considers food  a “rare moral arena because its quality, it s origins, its cultivation, overconsumption and who can access this limited resource has impact on the sustainability of life itself. Over decades, as populations have grown, more people are consuming and wasting more food  than ever before. Unsustainable food production and consumption patterns are a common thread, running through many of the greatest challenges facing humanity today.  Food sustainability refers to the process of developing and sustaining a system that assures future and present food security and nutrition for all individuals while preserving the integrity of social, environmental, and economic pillars.