Sappi’s Ideas That Matter Designers Think Globally, Make Impact Locally
The Sappi Ideas that Matter grants have been used by designers for over two decades to make a social and environmental impact
This year, Ideas that Matter tracked how projects align with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which Sappi has embraced globally as part of our sustainability initiatives. The winning projects addressed a wide range of SDG categories, including increasing access to quality education; ending poverty; encouraging good health and wellbeing; reducing inequalities; fostering gender equality; enhancing industry, innovation and infrastructure; building sustainable cities and communities; and supporting climate action.
More than 500 design projects and some of the leading social impact designers have received grants over the years. Here are a few highlights from this year.
MASS Design Group: Model maternity spaces
Grant awarded: $49,500
Globally, there are 300,000 maternal and 2.4 million newborn deaths every year, most of which are preventable. MASS Design Group has partnered with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement to develop a human-centered design process to improve maternal-newborn facilities in traditionally underserved populations. MASS Design Group, which received Ideas that Matter grants in 2010 and 2015, won another grant this year to support the dissemination of design principles and tools through an integrated campaign that includes educational outreach to health providers and policymakers, a design toolkit, posters, physical models of facility designs, and a website to improve accessibility and access to this critical information.
Grace Han and Center for Urban Pedagogy: “Here to Stay!” poster and advertising campaign
Grant awarded: $41,690
Many young immigrants come to the US fleeing violence or oppression, sometimes even from their own families. Navigating the immigration system can be especially difficult for these young people. Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) is a form of immigration relief that protects these youth. For this poster and advertising campaign, a nonprofit organization, The Door, collaborated with the Center for Urban Pedagogy and designer Grace Han to create materials with comprehensive information that defines “SIJS,” lists the criteria to qualify for SIJS and eventually a green card, details the process young people need to work through with the support of a lawyer, and explains the long-term benefits of SIJS. The campaign also directs young people to free resources, such as the legal services offered by The Door and other providers.
Natacha Poggio: Yasuní: our rainforest, our life
Grant Awarded: $47,905
Yasuní, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, is a tropical rainforest in Ecuador and one of the world’s most biologically diverse places on Earth. Located at the crossroads of the Andes, the Amazon and the equator, Yasuní is not only an area to be environmentally preserved, but also one that Indigenous communities call home. This integrated multimedia campaign will support La Poderosa Media Project’s ongoing conservation education activities and its vision of transforming communities one story at a time by engaging Waorani children to share their own narratives of environmental stewardship. Elements of the project include a traveling exhibition of posters illustrated by Ecuadorian artists, online content, short documentary videos, postcards, and an informational children’s book illustrating the stories of wildlife in Yasuní and its unique ecosystem created by design students at the University of Houston-Downtown.
