“Building Participatory Systems”
Ruth Chawngthu is a Social Design practitioner from Aizawl, currently based in Bangalore. She holds an M.Des in Social Design from Ambedkar University Delhi and a B.A. (Hons.) in Political Science from Kamala Nehru College, University of Delhi.
Growing up as a queer person in Mizoram, Ruth found refuge in alternative rock music, internet culture, creative writing, and zine-making. This early engagement with DIY media and subcultures, combined with her lived experience of social marginalization outside Mizoram, continues to shape her design practice today.
For over seven years, Ruth has worked primarily with grassroots non-profit organisations, specialising in establishing practical systems within the communications and design verticals. Her journey in social work began during her college years in Delhi, where she was involved in queer activism. Alongside a collective of peers, she helped initiate campus-based interventions to raise awareness, using methods such as zine distribution, protests, media outreach, free social events, and dialogue circles. These efforts aimed to question the elitist and exclusionary norms within the mainstream LGBT+ movement and create space for queer students facing intersecting marginalisations.
She has also worked as a Communication Design resource for Har Dil Mein Samvidhan (Constitution in Every Heart), a nationwide campaign aimed at raising constitutional awareness in every district of the country. Additionally, she co-designed Jan Collective, an online community of practice that supports long-term engagement among Citizen Champions across India. Her broader portfolio includes multimedia storytelling, brand design, systems design, and stakeholder engagement with NGOs such as We, The People Abhiyan, QUEST Alliance, and Gubbachi Learning Community.
Ruth’s practice centres on participatory design as a means to co-create systems and processes that reflect on-ground realities. Some of her writings can be found on platforms like Round Table India, Feminism In India, Scroll, and others.