A glittering array of leading figures from the world of design has been confirmed as speakers and symposia-leaders for the 50th Anniversary Icsid Congress, being held in Singapore this November.
Organisers of the 26th International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (Icsid) World Design Congress announced the addition of three key-note speakers and three further symposia leaders for the event in addition to the six already confirmed. The congress, sub-titled "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. Already delegates from 25 countries have confirmed their attendance.
Keynote Speakers for the Conference
Emily Pilloton, founder and executive director of Project H Design, a nonprofit 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).
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.
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.
"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," said Prof. Carlos Hinrichsen, Icsid President. "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."
The 50th anniversary Icsid Congress will be like no other, as it will consist of a series of interactive mini-symposia, involving delegates in a creative process to map out plans for a better-designed world of 2050. The event will give those attending an opportunity to work with leading designers to address a series of key questions for the future of the humanity - such as the environment people will live and work in, the healthcare systems they will rely on, the transport systems which will required even how the earth's population in 2050 might be fed. The solutions which are developed will have a life beyond the conference, as they will be shared with other design groups, and stakeholders such as governments, around the world.