Empowering Women in the Algerian Sahara
Lead institution: The University of Westminster
Country: United Kingdom
Project primary contact: Imad Guenane (guenani@westminster.ac.uk ), Director for Teaching Learning and Quality
Project secondary contact: working with an ethnic minority Fashion designer Badra Larbaoui
Project Title: Empowering Women in the Algerian Sahara
The project is: In progress
Project Summary:
The project aims is to expose level 4 students to the concepts of: SDGs and community engagement, Equality, diversity and supporting developing countries. The students were assigned to work in groups and co-create with an Algerian Designer a new and sustainable line 4/5 pieces (clothing, accessories) collection inspired by the North African (Algerian) cultural heritage, Sahara. Students used AI-generated pictures using tools such as BlueWillow, mid-journey, Microsoft Designer, or any artificial intelligence tool to get inspiration and ideas (following the University guidance on the ethical use of AI).
The designer would attend the students' presentations, and the best collections would go on the catwalk in Algeria. The money raised would support a local charity in Algeria supporting and empowering Women's arts in the Algerian Sahara Desert at the end of the year The project was very challenging for level 4 students who were engaged. As the module leader, I was impressed by the motivation, dedication, and quality of work.
To help the student, we have divided the task into two parts: research parts, mostly on cultural and traditional research, generating ideas and understanding the Algerian. Culture, and the second part, the creative outcome, as the groups had to create a capsule collection based on their research and the workshops provided by the designer. Integrating Artificial intelligence, Artificial reality and NFTs and embedding the concepts of sustainability, EDI and community engagement make students understand global citizenship and how they can support others through creativity.
The degree of students’ engagement was very high, and working on a live project engaging with industry experts and charity was also a new experience for level 4 students, adding to the complexity of working in groups from different cultures and backgrounds and using image-generating software, all these under the supervision of the module leader and the designer who gave advice and directions. As much as community engagement can enhance academic performance, it's true that it requires a more significant time commitment on the student's behalf.
Impact: cultural awareness and charity contribution.
Audience: students’ engagement, learning and embedding SDGs and Artificial intelligence.
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