Rebuilding social capital: engaging newly arrived refugees in participatory design
Asam Hamed Abbas Almohamed, Dhaval Vyas, Zhang, Jinglan · QUT ePrints (Queensland University of Technology) · 2017
Conflicts in Iraq and Syria have forced millions of minorities to flee their countries and seek refuge elsewhere. This paper investigates the factors that affect the social capital of newly arrived refugees in Australia and the role of information and communication technology in supporting the rebuilding of their social capital. We present the findings from 3 participatory design workshops involving 14 newly arrived refugees form persecuted minorities in Iraq and Syria. Our findings highlight three main factors that affect social capital for newcomer refugees: cultural adjustment, organizational support, and social activities and support. We discuss our approach that helped refugees voice their concerns and challenges and provide possible venues for design to support the rebuilding of social capital in a refugee context.