About Tasoulla Hadjiyanni
“A story is the shortest distance between two people,” they say. I see myself as a storyteller: I create platforms for people to talk about their stories, I collect stories, I find ways to share stories with diverse audiences, and I employ stories to inform theoretical paradigms, policy-making, design practice, and pedagogical approaches. My focus are the stories of community members whose voices are often not heard, such as:
§ Refugees, immigrants, and communities of color.
§ Sexually exploited youth
§ Children with mental health challenges, and
§ Architectural heritage in war and displacement.
The driver behind my interdisciplinary and community-engaged scholarship is my belief that social inequalities are partly spatially constructed and are therefore, malleable. Design matters and can be leveraged for innovation and change to create healthy and connected communities where everyone can thrive, the mission behind my founding Culturally Enriched Communities (CEC).
