Weaving peace in a world of conflict : conversations about participatory design

Abstract

This Conflicts and Participation PDC 2026 Conversation examines how global systems intersect with local experiences in contexts of deepening polarization, nationalism, and digital conflict. The collection of papers positions participatory design not as a tool for eliminating conflict through technical solutions, but as a critical practice for transforming antagonism into agonism, where diverse perspectives can coexist and be productively negotiated. Drawing on agonistic political theory, decolonial design, and feminist epistemologies, the papers address conflict across multiple scales, from settler colonialism and Indigenous knowledge erasure to diaspora polarization and youth marginalization within health justice movements. Each contribution demonstrates how participatory design can serve as a site of resistance, negotiation, and transformation by centering marginalized voices, redistributing epistemic authority, and designing for pluriversal futures. Building on the Design for Peace Ecosystems initiative, the Conversation foregrounds principles of relational accountability, trauma-informed practice, and long-term engagement, refusing quick fixes in favor of sustained processes that honor local knowledge and cultural practices as tools for fostering coexistence and positive peace.