The demographic change is challenging the small mountain villages of the Deutschnonsberg in South Tyrol. Due to depopulaiton and decrease of birth their schools and kindergardens are currently at risk to be closed or combined with other school districts. This poses a danger to the populaiton, since the schools are a central component of village life, enabling gatherings and fostering community. In a participatory design process involving villagers and schools, the project Ein Dutzend Zukünfte as part of la nostra scuola aims to create future visions leading the villages towards a positive future.
Through various workshops with villagers and children, we activated their imagination, collaboratively developed future ideas and created dialogue between the polarizing opinions of different stakeholders. This process and the designed tools can now serve as a basis for decision-making for their future and as inspiration for villages with similar conflicts.