Language as Design: Exploring the socio-cultural impact of (co-)creating shared meaning in multi-stakeholder collaboration

Liliya Terzieva and Sarah Schmitz

This workshop focuses on the essence of language (co-)design and its impact on the socio-cultural understanding in multi-stakeholder interactions. In the increasingly globalised and interconnected world, effective multi-stakeholder initiatives require more than just technical solutions—they demand shared conceptual frameworks that acknowledge and integrate varied cultural perspectives, values, and communication styles. It is more and more evident that internal misalignment within multi-disciplinary organisations and teams often stems from differences in language, cultural backgrounds, and academic disciplines, leading to varying interpretations of processes and concepts. To address these challenges, diverse communication tools have already been employed. However, despite the widespread use of these tools, discrepancies in their implementation persist, causing fragmented understanding and the need for aligned practices so that there would not be any hindering of collaboration and potentially compromising diverse intended outcomes.

The research behind the workshop is situated within the constructivist paradigm, which asserts that knowledge is socially constructed through interactions and is context-dependent (Kamal, 2019). From an ontological perspective, reality is seen as a social construct, influenced by the interactions between human actors and non-human entities (tools, technologies) (Cupchik, 2001; Dieronitou, 2014). This aligns with the use of Actor-Network Theory (ANT), which treats both human and non-human actors as integral to the creation of shared understanding. From an epistemological standpoint, the study assumes that knowledge is co-constructed through these interactions, and understanding emerges through the examination of the processes and tools used in collaboration. The workshop examines how intentional language (co-)design processes can create bridges across cultural, disciplinary, and organisational divides. There shall be presented findings and insights generated out of the research, which enable participants to directly experience the power of language (co-)design through a set of gamified experiments. Participants are exposed to how terminology, metaphors, and communicative practices shape collaborative outcomes and how intentionally co-creating linguistic frameworks can transform diverse perspectives and ambiguities into dialogues and meaningful conversations.

KEYWORDS: language (co-)design, multi-stakeholder interaction, socio-cultural understanding, shared understanding

RSD TOPIC(S): Methods & Methodology, Society & Culture, Learning & Education, Sociotechnical Systems.