3-Month Degree Project at The National College of Art & Design, Dublin.
This project was carried out alongside Sabhín O'Sullivan, where it was a finalist in the Royal Society of Arts Student design awards 2020 in the "Dignity in displacement" category.
The Overview
Ardú is an online platform that provides free courses to mothers in the asylum process and connects them to working Irish professionals. These professionals act as mentors for the women during their course, providing feedback and advice. At the completion of the course, the mentor becomes a point of reference on the mentee’s CV, thereby enhancing their employment opportunities.
“85% of Asylum Seekers are unemployed”
- Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland
The Research
Trying to learn more about the Asylum Seekers system we looked across Europe and not just what was operating in Ireland. Through research, interviews and site visits to Direct Provision centres, we created Ardú.
The Idea
Ardú aims to reduce the number of asylum seekers living in Ireland whose prior education or qualification is considered invalid or simply not recognised due to where it took place.
The Ardú Service
To begin using Ardú the onboarding process tries to understand factors like your current level of spoken English, what previous experience and education you have, and what your goals are with joining Ardú.
The Onboarding
The graphic elements within the onboarding process are intended to be non-intrusive and not related to gender, nationality and ethnicity. This is intended to make each member feel welcome to the Ardú community regardless of their previous circumstances and social factors.
“By depriving people of the right to education, they are creating a system where people are dependent on the welfare state... As a parent, you’re useless. You have no power over parenting.”
- Donnah Vuma, MASI.
Our Partners
The amazing staff at the Irish Red Cross and WeMakeGood helped our development by providing continuous advisement and testing to ensure the end result was suitable for the intended users.
“Myself and my colleagues were greatly impressed by the potential of Ardú. Helping these women build their CVs and providing relevant references would be of considerable benefit. We were impressed by the level of research that went into the development of this project and feels confident that it will address a key issue in a proactive and accessible manner.”
- Kevin O’Leary,
Irish Red Cross.
Irish Red Cross.
The Branding
The logo and the graphic identity represent entering the Irish workforce with confidence, getting the deserved recognition for previous education, and showing positive future opportunities.
