Include 2022: Unheard Voices

Include is a global conference that focuses on inclusive design and its people-centred, creative approaches. It is hosted by The Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design at the Royal College of Art.

‘Unheard Voices’ speaks to ideas that are not mainstream, especially ones that are actively ignored. As well as distinguished speakers from across the globe, you will hear from those who are less vocalised and visible. For many of us, our inclusive intentions are often broadcast and expressed, but are they actually heard? This conference aims to discuss that, bringing together a community of intent to address exclusion.

Inclusive design does not mean getting louder to be heard. Our speakers and panellists, contributors and participants will speak to how we enable awareness, advocacy and action.

Six sessions will ask urgent questions around ageism, decolonising academia, the reawakening of accessibility especially in the tech space, our relationship to our bodies, considerations around social sustainability and addressing broken models of leadership. These are not voiceless queries. They are expansive and demand our attention. They bring the creative power of inclusive design to the forefront for consideration.

Two further academic submissions of peer-reviewed submissions will explore inclusive design research, theory, applications and futures thinking across domains.

Across these eight sessions, the conference will look at how design-driven approaches can bring social and global change. It will tackle difficult questions and create communities of solutions.

This 11th Include conference will return home to the Royal College of Art (RCA) during the London Design Festival. The series has always attracted delegates from design, education, entrepreneurship, business, social activism, and policy who are engaged in various aspects of human-centred design and inclusive innovation. It is open to everyone.

We are taking an online focus for our 2022 conference, to extend the global reach. We want to create a truly connected and engaging experience. There will be distinct academic elements to the conference as well as strong public sector, business and community engagement.

An underlying theme will be the four innovation axes of Inclusive Design, that have emerged from work at The Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design over the last 30 years. These see exclusion by age, ability, gender and race as a baseline, with other forms of exclusion assembled around them.

Alongside a curated programme, submissions of academic papers, design and business case studies and poster presentations are invited for one or more of the conference tracks.