Co-design: gen-zeta, genalpha e trasformazione sociale. Design della comunicazione, un progetto di sistema per promuovere l’equità di genere nelle STEM.

The contribution explores the ethico-political dimension of communication design, highlighting the key role of future generations of designers as agents of social change. The reflection stems from the experience carried out by the dcxcg group – Communication Design for Gender Cultures – of the Department of Design at the Politecnico di Milano as part of a broader project: Mind the STEM Gap, by Fondazione Bracco co-funded by Regione Lombardia. The group’s contribution materialized in the design of a model to involve and activate high school students – using discipline-specific methods and tools – in creating communication artifacts aimed at raising their peers’ awareness of the gender gap in STEM, as well as in the co-design of virtual exhibition formats. The distinctive feature of the project consists in the activation of students through two intertwined and mutually reinforcing levels of awareness, aimed at generating virtuous cycles of reciprocity. The students, in their dual role as designers and addressee, acted simultaneously as beneficiaries and promoters of a cultural change, triggering a transformative process with the potential to extend beyond the educational context and take root in everyday life. This dual dimension fostered a mechanism of experiential learning and empowerment, strengthening the participants’ sense of agency and amplifying the project’s impact.