Across cultures, rituals are repeated actions that carry deep meaning. They shape how we connect, care, and belong. In this year’s culturalSYNERGY global cyber charette, students were invited to explore how design can support intercultural connection through shared rituals. These may be personal or communal, such as greeting, gathering, storytelling, or eating.

Working in interdisciplinary and international teams of students from 7 universities in 5 countries, participants reflected on the unique positionality (including privileges and biases) they each bring to the design process and collectively addressed the pitfalls this might engender in their design proposal.

The culturalSYNERGY charette is a yearly global experience that AUD Interior Design students have been engaging in for over six years. It brings together design students from diverse backgrounds studying in universities in various countries. Its goal is to empower design students as global citizens aiming to enact positive change.

This collaboration is led by Prof. Chadi El Tabbah and Dr. Poupak Parvaresh as part of IDES292, Studio IV, Space Planning and Universal Design.

The culturalSYNERGY | design beyond boundaries initiative was co-founded and is co-directed by Heidi Schlegel, NCIDQ IDEC, Associate Director and Associate Professor of the School of Design at Rochester Institute of Technology and Rim Fathallah, PhD, Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto’s John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design and Director of the Daniels Writing Centre.