For Milan Design Week, the DiverCity Festival presents a conversation that reimagines the future by drawing on the power of collective memory, cultural practices, and the politics of care. Inspired by the concept of Kabila—a Swahili word meaning tribe, people, community—this talk explores how architecture, design, and care practices can shape spaces rooted in dignity, well-being, and collaboration.
Taking inspiration from the vernacular dwellings of sub-Saharan Africa, where homes are arranged around shared courtyards, we will discuss how these models offer an alternative to the individualistic and densely populated urban layouts typical of Euro-American contexts. These communal spaces foster a form of care that extends beyond the domestic sphere, becoming places of well-being, emotional support, and social connection. The Eritrean coffee ceremony, buna, serves as a powerful metaphor for this approach—a ritual of gathering, listening, and nurturing relationships.
This panel brings together designers, healthcare professionals, and cultural practitioners to ask: How can we build futures that place collective care at the center? How can design and space become tools for healing and social justice? And how can we create environments where well-being and community form the foundations of living?
WITH
Omar Ouedraogo, Architect
Terry Aidoo, Designer
Giulia Ricci, Deputy Editor About and Elledecor.it
Marta Sachy, Director, Fondazione Aurora
Andi Nganso, Physician – Founder, DiverCity Festival
Moderator: Susanna Osumu Tsumwah