Decolonisation, Liberation & Design: Reimagination as a tool for Collective Healing

"Healing and decolonisation are not quick fixes—they’re processes of remembering, grieving, and repairing relationships with ourselves, our communities, and the land. By resisting assimilation, reclaiming ancestral wisdom, and practicing relational care, we move closer to truth and collective liberation."

What does it mean to decolonise design and research? How can design become an act of liberation, truth-telling, and collective healing rather than extraction or control?

From grief to joy, remembering to resistance — a journey through decolonial practices, collective healing, and the power of design to envision liberated futures.

💛 This is a tender, layered conversation. We invite you to listen gently, pause when needed, and hold yourself with care as you move through these reflections. In this episode of our Healing Series, we speak with Pause and Effect, a decolonial design and research studio working to regenerate ways of being, knowing, and doing.

Featuring

Sabrina Meherally & Sahibzada Mayed

Sabrina Meherally and Sahibzada Mayed, Change Alchemists at Pause and Effect, draw on ancestral wisdom, community care, and decolonial design to nurture liberation. Their work—rooted in remembrance, justice, and imagination—invites us to move beyond extractive design toward relational and transformative futures.

About the author

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