During and in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis older people presented significantly reduced practice of physical activity and social contact and were exposed to several psychological stress factors that negatively affected physical and mental health. To change this for the better, the Erasmus+ project …

How do we learn and teach amid complex societal change? ESCuela: ESC & Education shares lessons from more than a decade of Systemic Co-Design (SCD) practice in classrooms, communities, and international collaborations. Blending reflection and practice shows how learning transforms when teachers become …

Despite a renewed political and academic interest in the topic, there is still a general lack of knowledge and understanding when it comes to rurality and rural lives. At the same time, the knowledge that we do have is often distorted through a predominantly urban lens. These facts make it difficult …

Introduction: Several barriers, such as lack of time, knowledge and support, hinder clinicians from providing an individually tailored physical activity (PA) prescription and referral to their patients. As a result, “exercise is medicine” (E = M) is not systematically implemented in clinical care today. …

In the face of increasingly complex societal challenges, the field of social design is being called upon to deepen its ability to create long-term, systemic impact. This project, conducted with five experienced social designers and one workshop in our ESConference in 2025, explored how systems thinking, …

Digital services are becoming the default way to access public information, pursue an education, get healthcare, and engage in civic life. Yet for millions of people, these services remain frustrating to use or completely inaccessible. Legal frameworks such as the European Accessibility Act (EAA) and …

How do citizens, designers, policymakers, and local entrepreneurs actually work together in ways that are inclusive, sustainable, and effective? Collaboration in urban innovation is often treated as a matter of method or structure, but what happens when timelines clash, trust falters, or understanding …

This article explores the integration of a co-mentoring scheme within the participatory music practice of Meaningful Music in Healthcare (MiMiC) in Dutch medical hospitals. Building upon prior research that revealed a shared aspiration among MiMiC musicians and nurses to enhance collaborative efforts, …

Citizen science has demonstrated potential to foster local changes in public health, including physical (in)activity. We used community-engaged citizen science to explore how to improve the exercise-friendliness of a Dutch neighborhood, chosen because it scored below average on important health parameters. …

Higher education, as a catalyst for social progress and talent development, holds a unique position to foster mutual learning across sectors, disciplines, life-spheres and communities. By nurturing critical thinking and creativity, education can empower students to drive and take societal and environmental …