“What do you do?” We’ve been conditioned to respond to this with a single, clear label. Teacher. Engineer. Designer. Writer. Lawyer. These titles give us legitimacy, help us find work, and make our value easy to understand.

Moreover, we often define ourselves by our outputs. I design apps. I create visual identities. I build systems. I sell products. Our deliverables become shorthand for who we are. 

But what happens when we are asked to navigate a world drowning in a polycrisis and in an operating system that disconnects us from ourselves, each other, and the planet? 

Together with Ida Persson of DesignShifts and Jen Horn of Culture First Manila, this gathering explores how shifting from fixed roles to fluid responses can help us move through discomfort and uncertainty towards more connected and hopeful futures. 

Sign up to join here: tinyurl.com/culturefirst-x-designshifts

In this conversation, we ask:
• WHY do we need to rethink our roles and approaches to design in today’s workplaces and worlds?
• HOW might fluid responses help us navigate uncertainty at work and in life?
• WHAT responses do we want to practice more so we can design more connected and hopeful futures for ourselves, our organizations and the world?

Through a reflective session together, we will:
• Examine the roles we currently hold
• Explore how to move from static identities to responsive practice 
• Engage with emerging design archetypes as lenses for action

* The Zoom room will open 15 minutes prior to the session to allow you to settle into the space before we officially begin.
** We intend to conclude the conversation in the space of an hour, but we will leave the room open for 15 minutes after closing in case any questions, thoughts or other calls for connection arise.

Sign up to join here: tinyurl.com/culturefirst-x-designshifts

Featured Speaker

Ida Persson is a designer, systems thinker, and storyteller working at the intersection of social impact and climate justice. Over 15 years, she has worked across cultures and contexts, in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors, leading design and strategy work at IDEO, collaborating with international NGOs and foundations, and partnering with social enterprises across climate, education, healthcare, and social transformation.

At the core of her work is one guiding question: how do we design systems, tools, and narratives that are truly regenerative, equitable, and beyond human-centered? She believes design must move beyond capitalist and performance logic and use its power to create futures built around care, justice, and community.

In 2023, Ida founded DesignShifts, a movement, experimental lab, and learning platform exploring a better future for and through design. Through workshops, tools, and collaborative research, DesignShifts brings together designers and changemakers to prototype the conditions for a more just and regenerative world. Originally from Sweden, Ida has lived and worked across the US, Europe, and beyond, bringing a cross-cultural perspective to everything she does.

Host & Facilitator

Jen Horn (@pagbubuo) is a facilitator, ICF-certified coach, researcher and interdisciplinary creative, who channels her energy into creating experiences, tools and resources, like Ugnayan Cards, to bring us back into connection with ourselves, each other and the natural world.

She designs and delivers leadership, team development and culture-building programs that have connection and creativity at their core. She is the chapter lead of Culture First Manila and Culture First Creative Wellbeing, which are parts of a global community of culture-builders united by a vision of a better world of work. She also pursues her advocacy for more regenerative and just food futures through Hapag Ugnayan and Good Food Community.

She completed her MSc in Sustainable Development from the University of Surrey as a Chevening scholar, and her BA in Psychology from De La Salle University, and integrates that with her certifications in Expressive Arts Facilitation from The Arts and Health Institute, Human-Centered Coaching from Haraya Coaching, and Ecosystem Leadership from Presencing Institute. Learn more about her and her work via jen-horn.com.

Sign up to join here: tinyurl.com/culturefirst-x-designshifts