Real social change begins when design is done with communities, not just for them. This workshop introduced participatory design as a powerful method for advancing social equity, emphasizing collaboration with stakeholders and impacted communities throughout the design process. Participants learned how to engage communities as co-designers—from framing problems to developing solutions for climate change—ensuring that lived experiences guided outcomes. Through hands-on activities, case studies, and group exercises, the workshop explored how participatory methods could shift power dynamics, foster trust, and lead to more just and sustainable futures. The session welcomed designers, researchers, activists, and changemakers from all fields.

This reflective workshop served as the culminating session of the conference and focused on outlining the way forward. The conference was envisioned as a starting point for a more collaborative platform, and the session provided participants an opportunity to pause, reflect on the discourse, draw on the insights of the past days, identify key priorities, outline a shared agenda for the next three years, and begin building a collaborative network for action. The session emphasized how academic research, policy engagement, and social mobilization could align to advance social equity in the region.

Design for Social Change is grounded in the belief that design held the power to challenge injustice and reimagine the systems that shaped our lives. This workshop invited participants to explore design not merely as a method for generating solutions, but as a transformative practice capable of addressing structural inequities and advancing social justice. Through interactive exercises, collaborative problem framing, and engagement with real-world examples, participants developed tools for identifying systemic barriers and crafting contextually grounded, empathetic interventions. Emphasizing design as a collective, iterative process, the session encouraged critical reflection, redistribution of power, and the imagining of more equitable futures.

This workshop introduced practical tools for designing community-based solutions to social equity issues in fragile areas. Participants learned to identify root problems, engage communities, and create small pilot interventions using methods like Problem Tree Analysis and Stakeholder Mapping. Real case studies from Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa guided discussions. The focus was on action, advocacy, and building sustainable local impact.

This workshop catered to student presenters at the conference. It aimed to help young people from different regions of Pakistan understand each other’s lives, struggles, challenges, and triumphs. By creating a space for interaction and dialogue, the workshop encouraged the formation of lasting networks and inroads for future collaboration, organizing, and knowledge exchange.

This workshop introduced participants to the world of Artificial Intelligence (AI), focusing on neural networks and different types of AI models transforming industries. Participants explored the fundamentals of neural networks, understood differences between key AI models, and discovered real-world use cases across fields. Drawing from hands-on experience, the session also covered basic prompt engineering, offering insights into how AI systems respond to inputs. Participants gained a solid foundation and practical tools for engaging with AI in meaningful ways.

Participants explored what a utopian world could look like and how to make it equitable for all. The workshop guided them in identifying a pressing problem in Karachi and crafting a version of the city where that problem had been solved. Using speculative fiction and world-building concepts, participants illustrated their proposed utopia. No prior art experience was required.

This workshop was designed for undergraduate and postgraduate students interested in urban inequalities, infrastructure, and urbanization in Pakistan. It equipped participants with core qualitative research skills—from framing research questions and reviewing literature to designing and conducting fieldwork in urban contexts. By the end, participants gained confidence in independently developing research projects, explored fieldwork methods, and built networks with peers and practitioners tackling urban challenges.

This workshop helped participants bridge the gap between what they knew and how they communicated it. Participants explored the mechanics of powerful storytelling—structure, stakes, specificity—and how to use these tools intentionally to reflect equity and care. The session also addressed the ethics of representation, emphasizing how to talk with rather than about marginalized communities. The small-group format encouraged intimate, grounded discussions and hands-on practice.