Placemaking Nepal's Kick-off event 2022 worked towards building awareness by amplifying the Placemaking Movement where participants will gain ideas about the basics of Placemaking. The discussion focused on identifying the challenges of public spaces by collecting ideas and experiences from participants. Plus they had an opportunity to build relationships and make connections! 

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This was Placemaking Nepal's collective and co-creative effort to reimagine our public spaces together and discuss their role in promoting people’s health, happiness and wellbeing.

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Event Highlights:

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We had a diverse mix of participants (Architects and Urban Planners, Artists and Illustrators, Public Space Activists, Bicycle Promoters, Heritage Conservationists) who shared their insightful and transdisciplinary perspectives.

 

The online event started with an Icebreaker Session where participants introduced themselves and expressed their expectations from the workshop. The 3 hours long event was attended by a total of 20 people - Milan Rai from Vriksha Foundation, Adhish Gurung from Utopia Kathmandu, Kailash Shrestha from Artudio, Prabin Bajracharya from UN Habitat, Binita Magaiya from Baakhan Nyanewaa, Visual Artist and Muralist Kiran Maharjan, Ratna Shrestha from Nepal Cycle Society, Vineeta Shetty of Placemaking India, Tripti Mahasheth from Habitat from Humanities, Anita Tamrakar from INTACH Nepal, among others. 

 

It was followed by a powerful presentation on "Placemaking in Nepal" by Architect, Placemaker, and Urban Rejuvenator Niharika Mathema where participants gained insights about the basics of Placemaking.

 

To the question - "What is your favourite public space in Kathmandu? Share your best memory in that place." promoted by Mathema, most participants' response indicated that the Durbar Squares were their favourite public space because these squares highlight our cultural identity through local practices, history, design and remarkable, 

exquisite architecture. They foster a strong "sense of place" and encourage positive social discourse.

 

The workshops was based on discussions using an online platform Miro. The session was moderated by Architect and Urban planner Suprima Joshi. The discussion focused on identifying the challenges of public spaces by collecting ideas and experiences from the participants. A 3'G' framework designed by Mathema was used - Generate, Group and Go-for to collect ideas.