Thais Costa
TeamUp Exploration Lab
TeamUp is a program developed by War Child, Save the Children, and UNICEF to support children who have fled their countries and arrived in the Netherlands. Through movement and sports activities, the program helps build resilience by providing structure, emotional stability, and social interaction. Volunteers lead sessions at Asylum Seeker Centers (AZCs) and schools. While the program is effective for children under 15, there is a need to better understand the needs of older youth, particularly those aged 15 to 18, in terms of leisure and psychosocial support (PSS). Butterfly Works has been engaged to lead a participatory design process to identify the needs of these young people and provide recommendations for improving the program.
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My Role
I had the opportunity to support volunteers and trainers from War Child and Save the Children in conducting the Exploration Lab with youth at AZC centers. My main role involved training the trainers, which included facilitating training sessions, developing research tools, guiding facilitation techniques, supporting analysis, and offering advice and recommendations for the program's future improvement.
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Company/ partners
Output
Design research and training of trainers for improving the TeamUp program for youth.
Location
Netherlands
Date
2021
The design challenge
This project adopted a participatory design research approach known as the Exploration Lab to engage young asylum seekers in the Netherlands, ensuring the TeamUp program is more effectively tailored to their needs. The primary goal of the research was to understand, from the youth’s perspective, which activities could enhance their resilience, provide a sense of structure, foster emotional stability, and encourage meaningful social interactions. While movement and sports activities were central to the exploration, the study also considered a broader range of activities that could support these outcomes.
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To guide this process, we formulated the following research questions:
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Which activities do youth currently participate in that contribute to their resilience? Which activities would they like to engage in?
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On a personal level, how do these activities strengthen their well-being and emotional stability?
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On a social level, how do they foster healthy social interactions, a sense of inclusion, and build supportive community ties?
Additionally, the research aimed to uncover how these activities could be adapted to better fit the unique cultural, emotional, and practical needs of young asylum seekers. By exploring their interests, preferences, and challenges, the project sought to identify new opportunities for fostering a more inclusive and empowering environment for youth in transition.
The outcome
​The Exploration Lab involved 74 youth aged 15 to 18 from four AZCs: Dronten, Grave, Oisterwijk, and Maastricht. During the lab, the youth acted as researchers of their own lives, and their experiences were captured through Personas—fictional characters representing different participant profiles. These Personas helped deepen the understanding of the target group, their perspectives, and attitudes, as well as how to effectively engage with them. The Personas were used in a Concept Creation workshop, where youth, experts, TeamUp facilitators, and the project team co-created potential solutions, ranging from activities to program strategy.
​The research highlighted that language barriers hinder communication, while youth seek emotional support during their self-discovery phase. They are focused on preparing for their future, value sports and outdoor activities, and rely on digital activities. They want to contribute to society, prioritize social connections with friends, and are influenced by gender norms. Their preferences and experiences change over time.
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​The project led to actionable insights and recommendations to improve and further develop the TeamUp program for youth.
