Every day we face hundreds of complex problems, also called wicked problems. These problems cannot be solved easily and unilaterally, but rather have to be addressed in a collaborative and participative manner. However, participating is not simple, it comes with its own challenges and complexities. As designers, it is in our role to support and encourage participation, functioning as social bridges and putting the tools of design at the service of communities. Together with Fernanda we have worked in different socially-oriented projects that face complex problems such as education, health and immigration. Thus, we have realized there are three key requirements to participation: it must be managed, contextualized and critical. This talk will address these three concepts by means concrete cases and real situations, in order to convey the relevance of inclusive participation.