Sixteen organizers of leading design weeks around the world will attend the International Design Week Forum, one of four Signature Events taking place in Taiwan in October as part of the World Design Capital (WDC) Taipei 2016. The bilingual two-day forum, organized in conjunction with Taiwan Designers’ Web, will explore how design weeks can best promote the design industry and establish a global network for mutual support and exchange of resources.
The 16 participants come from the Design Junction (United Kingdom), Dutch Design Week (Netherlands), Ventura Lambrate (Italy), Helsinki Design Week (Finland), D’days (France), Design Days Mexico and Mexico Design Week (Mexico), Tokyo Design Week (Japan), Beijing Design Week (China), Business of Design Week (Hong Kong), SingaPlural (Singapore), Chiang Mai Design Week (Thailand), Sydney Design Festival (Australia), Design Days Dubai (United Arab Emirates), and Holon Design Week (Israel). Also in attendance will be Ben Chiu and Timothy Liao, the CEO and Executive Director of Taiwan Designers’ Web and Taiwan Designers’ Week.
“We anticipate that this forum will represent a significant step forward for the design world,” says Ben Chiu, Executive Director of Taiwan Designers’ Web. “While design weeks have great potential to cultivate and promote local design talents, as the participants are well aware, there are also many obstacles to overcome. We hope that this exchange of ideas and experience will help us to find solutions to our common challenges in a global context.”
“The International Design Week Forum will be an opportunity to build a solid foundation for future global collaboration and sharing of resources,” says Pei-ni Beatrice Hsieh, Commissioner of the Department of Cultural Affairs of the Taipei City Government. “Audience members will also gain a deep insight into the international design industry as it stands today and see how it can develop in the future.”
The second day of the forum, which will be open to the public, will be held at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum on Tuesday, October 18, from 1.00-5.00PM. The forum will be divided into three segments: World Design Capital, Global Design Perspectives, and Asian Design Powers. The topics for discussion include how design weeks can incubate and support local design talent, how to overcome the challenges faced by design weeks, and the impact that design weeks can have in city branding. To sign up for the forum, visit: http://www.designersweek.tw/activity/2016/forum/index_en.htm.
Other major events in October include the International Design House Exhibition, which will be held at the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park fromThursday, October 13 until Sunday, October 30; the International Design Policy Conference on the weekend of October 15 and 16 at the Taipei International Convention Center; and the Network of Cities Meeting, an invitation-only event on Wednesday, October 12 and Thursday, October 13.