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Come join me at the ICSID World Design Congress 2009?

ICSID World Design Congress 2009 - Early Bird
Some time in May I announced that I am helping organize the ICSID World Design Congress 2009 that will run in sunny Singapore from the 23 to 25 November 2009.
I have a small update (or a big one depending on the viewpoint) for you. I would like to let you know that Design Sojourn is an official online media partner with the ICSID World Design Congress 2009!
I’m really excited with this partnership as this ICSID Congress will be a congress like no other. You see, in most congresses you invite a speaker and he will come with a well prepared speech. If you are a regular visitor in the congress circuit, it is likely you will find that the speeches are repeated or are just modifications of similar content.
Here is what makes The ICSID World Design Congress 09 different. With a theme of “What can be the world can be in 2050?”, nine design leaders will, in the time leading up to the congress, run nine workshops to explore original thinking and design trend explorations in areas such as Mobility (Chris Bangle), Sustainable living (Chris Luebkeman), Healthcare (Stefano Marzano), Entertainment (Feng Zhu) and even Urban Farming (Ravi Naidoo).
To round out the design thought leader’s discussions, we will also invite keynote speakers who will bring to the congress existing thinking and activities they are doing to ensure our safe future.
However the highlight of the congress will be that the nine design though leaders will share their original workshop findings with all the congress attendees.
Prof. Carlos Hinrichsen, Icsid President notes:

“Attendees will contribute to this discussion, and should be prepared to be engaged in a thought provoking, and creatively-enriching experience. The congress will be a wonderful occasion for all
those inspired by the power of design to deliver a better world.”

That’s right! The way this congress will be organized, you can get to interact with these design leaders in small plenary groups, share your thoughts and have a chance to influence the future. Really exciting stuff!
Not only this, with an early outreach to the design community through online media partners like Yanko Design, Behance.net, Product Design Hub and Design Sojourn, we hope to start the conversation of Designing 2050 much earlier and with a much larger audience.
If you sign up now for this ICSID Word Congress 2009, you can enjoy an Early Bird Discount that is 25% off the regular price! Better hurry as the Early Bird Discount ends tomorrow 09/09/09!
Still not convinced?
Well, I have a special treat for you, if you enter the coupon code “Design Sojourn” when you sign up, you can get an additional 5% off the Early Bird Discount and if you miss that, 5% off the regular price. It is not much more, but a small something for regular Design Sojourn readers.
I hope to see all of you at the congress as I will be there as well. I would love to catch up with all of you over a few drinks so please let me know if you are coming and we can arrange to meet up and network!
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Official Press Release:

The 50th Anniversary Icsid World Design Congress Sets to
Make a “Design Difference” in the Future

Four keynote speakers and nine symposia leaders will invite participants to map out a design vision for the world of 2050
The 50th Anniversary ICSID Congress will be held in Singapore from 23 to 25 November 2009. The congress, subtitled “Design Difference: Designing our World 2050”, will involve participants helping create and debate potential design solutions to some of the key challenges facing the world of tomorrow. The solutions which are developed will have a life beyond the conference, as they will be shared with other design groups and with stakeholders such as governments around the world.
Already delegates from 25 countries have confirmed their attendance.
The event itself embraces the future by featuring “Design2050 Studios”, inter-active and participative mini-symposia, led by world-renowned creative experts, including Chris Bangle of Chris Bangle Associates, and Stefano Marzano of Philips Design (refer to Appendix I for a full list of Design Leaders). In the months leading to the Congress, each of the Design Leaders will head up a team of four to six individuals from multi-discipline backgrounds to create a Design2050 proposition, by imagining, conceptualising and visualising a desired future. Participants at the Congress will be invited to transform these ideas into practical realities.
The nine confirmed symposia leaders and their studio topics are:
1. Chris Luebkeman, Arup Group: NetZero 2050
2. Bill Mitchell, MIT Media Lab: Reinventing the Automobile 2050
3. Richard Hassell and Wong Munn Sum, WOHA: Architects save the World
4. Ravi Naidoo, Design Indaba: Protofarm 2050
5. Chris Bangle, Chris Bangle Associates: Personal Emotional Mobility 2050
6. Stefano Marzano and Clive van Heerden, Philips Design: Healthcare 2050
7. Feng Zhu, FZD School of Design: Entertainment 2050
8. Toshiko Mori, Robert P. Hubbard Prof, of Architecture at Harvard University: Blindspots of Design 2050
9. David Nelson and Stefan Behling of Foster + Partners: Sustainable Cities 2050
Confirmed keynote speakers for the conference are:
1. Emily Pilloton, founder and executive director of Project H Design, a non-profit organisation that enables product design initiatives for Humanity, Habitats, Health, and Happiness, and author of “Design Revolution: 100 Products that Empower People” (release date Sept. 2009).
2. Ged Davis, Co-President, Global Energy Assessment, advisor to international institutions and companies, director of Low Carbon Accelerator Limited, governor of the International Development Research Centre in Ottawa, and a member of the INDEX Design Awards Jury.
3. Thomas Heatherwick, Honorary Fellow of the RIBA and a Senior Fellow at the Royal College of Art in the UK. Heatherwick has won the Prince Philip Designers Prize, and in 2004 was the youngest practitioner to be appointed as a Royal Designer for Industry.
4. William Halal, Professor Emeritus of Science, Technology & Innovation at George Washington University. Macmillan’s Encyclopedia of the Future ranked Prof. Halal among “The World’s 100 Most Influential Futurists”, a list that includes the likes of H.G. Wells, Sir
Arthur C. Clarke and Daniel Bell.
Panel discussions at the end of each of the three days of deliberations at the congress will be chaired by Paola Antonelli, senior curator of architecture and design at The Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Prof. Carlos Hinrichsen, Icsid President said: “The experience of the keynote speakers and their combined backgrounds in government, industry, and the non-profit sectors, further strengthen the purpose of the Congress – to stimulate a dialogue about the discipline of design and how it has and will continue to shape the future of the world.
Attendees will contribute to this discussion, and should be prepared to be engaged in a thought provoking, and creatively-enriching experience. The congress will be a wonderful occasion for all those inspired by the power of design to deliver a better world.”

Dr Milton Tan, Director of DesignSingapore Council, and Chairman of the International Advisory Panel of the Congress said: “This year’s Icsid World Design Congress will be different. Nine international design leaders will be in Singapore not simply to give speeches but to make visionary design propositions for the year 2050. Anyone concerned about how we should live in the future, and what we can do about it, should feel compelled to be here!”
More information on the Icsid World Design Congress, the Design2050 Studios, speakers and registration is available at: www.icsidcongress09.com.
The deadline for the special discounted “early bird price” is fast approaching. To be eligible one must book prior to the 9th of September.
The Congress will be held during the biennial Singapore Design Festival (20 to 30 November).
For more information, please contact:
Nicky Wang, nicky.wang@sg.grayling.com;
Robin Williams, robin.williams@sg.grayling.com;
Chris Davies. chris.davies@sg.grayling.com
T +65 6325 4606
Grayling
About Icsid
The International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (Icsid) is an international nongovernmental organisation for professional industrial design. Founded in 1957, Icsid facilitates cooperation and interaction among professional associations, promotional societies, educational institutions, government bodies, corporations and institutions with the aim of contributing to the development of the profession of industrial design. Through shared interests, experiences, and resources, Icsid provides an international platform for its members to be heard as a powerful voice.
Icsid also holds consultative status with UNESCO, UNIDO, ISO and WIPO to support and highlight design in international forums. www.icsid.org
About DesignSingapore Council
Design changes and improves lives, inspires creativity and new forms of expression. It also enhances business competitiveness in today’s crowded marketplace. DesignSingapore Council is Singapore’s response to these propositions and opportunities. As a national initiative, the Council aims to place Singapore on the world map for design creativity. It looks to develop a thriving, multi-disciplinary design cluster of industries and activities in Singapore that has relevance and impact globally. The initiative also aims to bring design to business boardrooms, new audiences and new markets.
The DesignSingaporeCouncil was formed in August 2003 as a department within the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts, as the national agency for the promotion and development of Singapore design.
www.designsingapore.org

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