How can we as designers equip a group of young people to articulate their thoughts, ideas and wishes using a participatory approach? Together with fifteen teenagers, we explored this question, in order to hand over the insights and lessons learned manifested in an action plan to the municipality of Emmen. During a total of six workshops and one final event, we have investigated authentic insights about our target group through peer interviews, affinity and stakeholder mapping, prototyping, cognitive maps and other methods. Simultaneously, we evaluated the process through reflecting on what went well, what not and why, and recording the learnings in our «10 commandments», which show how collaboration with young people aged 14–15 years could be approached on a methodological level. The insights about the target group and lessons learned are manifested in an action plan which was handed-over to the municipality of Emmen to foster the trans-generational dialogue and inspire further participatory projects.
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