Nairobi reads — Designing for an increased awareness of the power of books and reading for adults in Nairobi

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School of Arts, Design and Architecture | Master's thesis
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P1 OPINNÄYTTEET D 2019 Gottschalk
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Authors

Date

2019

Department

Department of Design
Muotoilun laitos

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Mcode

Degree programme

Collaborative and Industrial Design

Language

en

Pages

142 + 11

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Abstract

The promotion of reading books has been a global concern for many decades. Scientific evidence has identified a strong positive connection between reading books and a person’s development and success in life. While this thesis looks specifically at the case of Nairobi, Kenya, people everywhere in the world could generally benefit from a more dedicated practice of reading. In the present research, the relationships of younger adult Nairobians to reading and books, as well as the reading culture of Nairobi, are studied through a human-centric design perspective. Through a research and design phase, this thesis aims to explore how design practice can identify and implement opportunities for positive reading interventions that have the potential to support younger adults in (re-)discovering meaning, value, and joy in reading books. Another key aim of this thesis is to test design research in a context like Nairobi. Key challenges of this research context are related to reading practices in Nairobi being deeply ingrained in its local culture and history, as well as a prevailing highly informal society. Moreover, the concept of design is relatively underelaborated in public discourse in Nairobi (in contrast, for example, to Finland). The thesis research questions are investigated through primary ethnographic, constructive and disruptive design research on-site in Nairobi, as well as through extensive secondary research. The focus is to understand the experiences, behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs of research participants in regard to books and reading, as well as the reading culture and system that surrounds, influences and has shaped them. By using interviews, focus group sessions, and field observations, combined with several rounds of secondary research, and a systematic and iterative review of the same, this thesis has attempted to provide a good understanding of Nairobi's reading culture (as of 2018), and of people’s personal experiences and perceptions of books and reading there. The primary research insights and findings are summarized in four themes and illustrated with quotes from research participants. The four areas are: a) the status quo of Nairobian reading culture; b) beliefs, perceptions and attitudes towards books and reading; c) key influences on reading perceptions and behaviors; and d) reading behavior and what people read. Mindful of my own position as a foreign researcher, it was found that the reading culture in Nairobi is overall underdeveloped. Younger adult Kenyans in Nairobi report negative associations with books, often due to distressing experiences with books in school and a lack of reading encouragement from home and society. However, the research also found that adult Kenyans do read a lot and on a daily basis, albeit often short-form or social media content accessed via mobile phones. Key factors countering the negative connotations were identified as early positive reading influences, such as from parents or guardians, and reading-positive school curricula (e.g. those taught in private schools). Through secondary research, it was found that reading alone is not enough to ensure personal development. Rather, an awareness of the potential and relevant benefits of reading books, as well as emotional engagement with the reading material, have to accompany the reading experience so that the reader is perceptive to new ideas, which is a prerequisite for learning and growing. The research phase set the foundation for the design phase, where a vision of Nairobi's reading culture for 2030, and five draft strategy maps including stakeholders and action steps, were developed. This led to the elaboration of the thesis' design concept Nairobi reads, which was prototyped and tested. This thesis includes a discussion on the scope of the thesis topic and several research and design process decisions. Further, requirements for a possible long-term approach for the identified challenge are discussed. These requirements include, for example, close collaboration between key reading culture stakeholders and long-term stakeholder commitment and ownership, in order to initiate system change. Additionally, local community initiatives and families can immediately empower themselves by advocating for more positive perceptions towards books and reading. Throughout this thesis work, it has become clear that design practice must collaborate with other fields to solve challenges like the one addressed here. In such collaborations, design practice can offer a range of relevant methods and perspectives, as partly shown in this thesis, to uniquely support the process of change-making and facilitation.

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Supervisor

Lucero, Andrés

Thesis advisor

Impiö, Jussi

Keywords

design-based research, systems thinking, behavior, change, reading, adults, books, culture

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https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:aalto-202001121484

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[master] Taiteiden ja suunnittelun korkeakoulu / ARTS