Shame, stigma, and the spandex people: reimagining and codesigning dignified access to sports, recreation, and leisure with people with lived and living experience of poverty

Re-imagining Access to Sports, Recreation, and Leisure is a three-year cross-sectoral project to help further the provincial government's goal of providing inclusive opportunities for sport, recreation and leisure activities for low-income New Brunswickers.

Join this session to learn about how the project's design team - composed of people with lived experience of poverty - led a significant change of focus from efforts to increase access to the existing system in which they are currently "othered", to shifting the system itself to cultivate a sense of belonging and dignified access.

This case study will also present a reflection on the first two years of the project, including insights, lessons learned, and ongoing challenges.

Participant Takeaways:

• The System Shifters and the evolving framework of co-designing for dignified access
• The role of cross-sectoral partnerships in exploring complex problems (and the perceived need for a one-size fits all solution)
• The pros and cons of single-stakeholder vs multi-stakeholder design teams when creating space to centre lived expertise, and lessons learned on expanding the circle of participation
• The plan vs reality of supporting community-led innovation, how we navigate power dynamics, and how we are striving to keep momentum without becoming an additional burden to bear

Themes:

Design in society, Hopeful creativity, Equity & inclusion, Codesign, Complexity, Innovation