Beyond Participation involved film screenings, an international conference and a conversation series, all of which explored architecture, the community and paradigms of participation. The international conference featured  innovators, provocateurs and activists from Ireland, the US, Africa and the UK, and produced a stimulating marathon of ideas that were further explored in intimate conversations entitled: How to Practice? How to Build? and How to Fund? participatory design projects in Ireland.

Beyond Participation was curated by Nathalie Weadick and Rebecca Blake from the IAF and Tara Kennedy. (Tara is supported by the Arts Council Artist in the Community Scheme Bursary Award 2015: Collaborative Arts and Architecture managed by Create, the national development agency for collaborative arts in Ireland).

The choice of speakers were selected for their reinvention and propensity in questioning the norm. Provocateurs on the day included Alastair Parvin (UK), the brain behind WikiHouse, an open-sourced platform that promises to rethink architecture and the role of the designer. Irena Bauman (UK) who is on a mission to make cities more lovable and to make architects happy and Adam Saltzman, from Mass Design Group (US).

Dominic Stevens and Claire McManus (Irl) revealed new strategies for housing in Ireland. Relational Urbanism, a London based architecture studio, who are embarking on a new community led design initiative in Ballyfermot. Grainne Hassett (Irl), returning from her exhibition in the Barbican, talked about her responsive and impactful architecture with migrant settlers on the front line in the Calais Jungle.

Collectively the audience was introduced to incredible stories that present a diverse range of themes from open source design, ethnicity, technology, to harnessing local skills and covered projects from housing, health, education and public space.