Cape Town - Remember this hashtag #WDC2014. Use it, retweet and spread the word that Cape Town, as the World Design Capital 2014, is showcasing innovative designs that will uplift communities throughout the city.
Speaking at the official launch of the World Design Capital 2014 (WDC2014) programme on Thursday, mayor Patricia de Lille said almost 700 submissions had been received from design students, non-governmental organisations and residents during the 10-month proposal period.
The 450 projects that were selected represented a “selection of innovative creations that will uplift communities to have a stake in the future of the modern global city that Cape Town aspires to be”, she said.
Each project has its own hashtag and geolabel, so it can be followed and found long after 2014. Open Streets, an initiative encouraging car-free streets, can be found on #WDC207, for example.
Alayne Reesberg the chief executive of Cape Town Design, said: “We can’t emphasise enough how extraordinary the submissions were.”
They followed four themes: African innovation, global conversation; bridging the divide; today for tomorrow; and beautiful spaces, beautiful things.
One of these projects, Kaya Labs, overcame the digital divide by creating computer labs from containers so that township residents have access to the internet.
Richard Perez, the programme director for the WDC, said each of the city’s 111 wards would have co-design workshops where councillors and officials, community organisations and designers could work together to find creative solutions to their problems.
Many of these would deal with upgrading parks and public spaces. “The idea is to deliver some of the projects in 2014.”
It was also about getting the city council to incorporate design thinking into its organisational structure. This meant that future plans and policies should include aspects of design that would create a more sustainable and inclusive city.
The year-long programme includes five WDC signature events, the city’s ward projects and existing events that will be leveraged for WDC 2014. The programme starts with a bang on the December 31 as the city hosts its biggest New Year’s bash.
Other events include the vegetable garden at the Company’s Garden, an outdoor solar sculpture that will be self-illuminating at night, a multilingual translation application for use on mobile phones and a community-led project to redesign the layout of informal settlements.
Although the official WDC projects have been identified, everyone is encouraged to get involved. All events and exhibitions would be free and open to the public, said WDC2014 media manager Priscilla Urquhart.
Also in the pipeline are design “bootcamps”, at which high school pupils will be encouraged to hone their creative skills, and maybe take up a design-related career.
“There has been huge interest from international media and publications such as Wallpaper, because of our unique approach to resolving pernicious issues,” said Reesberg.
“We’re addressing universal issues for emerging markets.”
The World Design Capital is an initiative of an international NGO, the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design, to promote industrial design.
Cities that in the past have been designated World Design Capital include Torino in Italy, Seoul in South Korea and Helsinki in Finland. Cape Town is the first city in Africa to hold the title.
anel.lewis@inl.co.za
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