Connecting curious minds - all around the world
Online - 12th May - 1pm CET
CIID Connect is a monthly online event series bringing people together around ideas and conversations that shape the future of design for positive impact. Each session features designers, researchers, educators, technologists, artists and change-makers sharing their work, experiences and provocations.
This month our speakers will be sharing their thoughts and projects that have impacted a huge number of people all around the world.
Ciarán Duffy is an Irish designer based in Berlin, working at the intersection of global health, humanitarian response, and civic technology. Through Sonder Collective, he partners with international health foundations, EU research consortia, and humanitarian organisations to design products and services that hold up in complex, resource-constrained contexts. Drawing on his experience in UX and service design, he helps teams translate messy real-world problems into considered, implementable solutions. His practice is grounded in inclusive processes and careful listening, built on the conviction that the best design outcomes come from working alongside communities, not just on their behalf.
Shu Yang Lin has worked in the field of designing for deliberative democracy, which focuses on decision-making through dialogues and conversations versus discrete votes. Shu designed the open consultation process vTaiwan, and co-founded PDIS, the government innovation lab established inside Taiwan's cabinet alongside Digital Minister Audrey Tang. And now she is building an opensource CivicOS in CrownShy, a company named after the natural phenomenon of crown shyness where tree crowns grow near each other without touching. Shu will talk about digital democracy and how to reimagine public participation by using technology to broaden inclusion while preserving meaningful deliberation. AI and digital tools should augment, not replace, human judgment, highlighting a delicate balance between scaling participation and maintaining citizens’ agency and commitment in decision-making. There are emerging tensions in this field: questions of data ownership for participants, the need to build participatory capacity within public institutions, and growing debate around AI facilitators or agents acting on behalf of citizens. Does outsourcing participation risk democracy itself?
Rooted in curiosity, experimentation and life-long learning, CIID Connect is a space for dialogue and exchange. These events are open to all - students, professionals, alumni, educators and anyone curious to join an ongoing global conversation shaped by diverse voices and perspectives.
The talks take place in the first hour, followed by 30 minutes for anyone who would like to stay longer to ask questions and have informal conversations.
Register for this and future CIID Connects via Eventbrite to join us online!
We look forward to seeing you there.
More dates for 2026
June 16
July 14
August 25
September 15
October 13
November 5 - 8 Impact Minds
December 15
We're rotating the times to enable people from different parts of the world to attend so be sure to check which dates on Eventbrite fit your timezone best!
