WDC Design Policy Conference in October

The conference, the first of its kind in South Africa, presents an opportunity to discover 'what design can do' and will enable participants to explore the policies required to realise its full potential.

Confirmed speakers

Particular emphasis will be placed on African ingenuity and resourcefulness with speaker and panel discussion topics such as 'South Africa's journey of transformation through design', 'Africa: creatively rich but manufacturing poor' and 'An African Understanding'. Eighteen speakers have thus far confirmed their participation within the conference programme.

These include Dr Giselle Raulik-Murphy from design management consultancy, DUCO, in the UK; Dr Hester du Plessis, head of Humanity Faculty at the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection; Nigerian architect, urbanist and creative researcher, Kunlé Adeyemi and Pradyumna Vyas, director of the National Institute of Design from India.

Delegates will comprise African and global policy makers, business, education, NGOs and the design community.

According to WDC 2014 Programme Director, Nicky Swartz, "The conference is set to be an exciting information exchange platform for developing, launching and maintaining effective design policy to shape the future prosperity and wellbeing of cities and their inhabitants, particularly those in Africa.

"Leading local and international experts on design policy and strategy will highlight the importance of having a design policy at local and national government levels. They will also introduce 'best practice' examples of how design has played a vital role in the development of economies, societies and cultures worldwide."

Development

The International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID) bestows the WDC designation biennially to a city that uses design as a tool for cultural, social and economic development. "For ICSID, the conference is an opportunity to engage participants in the global dialogue about the impact of design on quality of life," stated ICSID president, Dr Brandon Gien. "There is an emergence of city development initiatives that showcase significant examples of transformative design. The upcoming event will provide an opportunity not just to exchange these ideas but also to strengthen existing partnerships and forge new forms of cooperation with cities that want to learn how to harness the merits of design for city development."

For more information, go to www.wdccapetown2014.com.