This project focused on the psychological wellness of the “migrant children” in big cities. These children migrated to big cities with their parents, who are more commonly known as “migrant workers”. Migrant children are not only excluded from the public education system but also challenged by frequent changes in households, neighbourhoods and schools. These challenges are likely to cause psychological deficits and trigger negative emotions. To tackle this issue, Xiaomeng’s awarded design, “Using participatory design of school spaces to promote migrant children’s psychological health”, explores how the public welfare organisations can contribute resources to schools for migrant children to improve their psychological wellness. It proposes a variety of low-cost participatory design approaches for different types of spaces, from furniture to installations to landscaping, and through participation in the creation of various types of spaces, students, teachers, parents and volunteers can work together to improve the quality of the space and also create some emotional connection and comfort.
