Participation in German design symposium

Participation in German design symposium

28.09.2010

"Who has ideas on how Dutch and German designers, industry and government could collaborate?" With this question Ed Annink, intendant The Hague Design and Government 2010, started with the contribution of Design Den Haag to the symposium 'Mehrwert, designing society'. Taking place on 27 September at the Cultural heritage site Zollverein in Essen, Germany.

200 Dutch and German designers and representatives from industry and government were brought together by the Initiative Deutscher Designverbände (iDD), the umbrella association of German design organisations, to listen to and talk about the added value of design (mehrwert). How does this added value actually manifest itself? Which methods and work processes reveal the added value of design? Foundation Design Den Haag contributed to the programme in various ways, giving the symposium a 'touch of Dutch'.

The symposium was openend by Susanne Lengyel, president of the iDD, Harry Starren, president of DutchDFA, minister Harry Voigtsberger of Nordrhein Westfalen, and Werner Lippert, manager clustermanagement culture and creative economy in Nordrhein Westfalen. Ed Annink, intendant The Hague Design and Government 2010, gave a short introduction on the project The Hague Design and Government and explained the collaboration between designers and local, regional, national and international governments.

Speakers during the rest of the morning were:
Jan Teunen, professor business administration and international business advisor; on strategies for the (business) development of designers.
Stephan Bohle, strategist; on the responsability of designers in this time of mass consumption, crises and exhaustion of natural resources. 
Michael Hardt, design consultant; on how designers can make a positive contribution to the changes that are occuring in society on social and economical level. 
Timo de Rijk, curator Norm=Form and professor design cultures at the VU Amsterdam; on standardisation and design.

After the lectures, a lunch and a tour through the exhibition Norm=Form in Halle 5, the audience participated in four workshops, guided by the speakers and short, inspiring presentations took place in the Pecha Kucha format (20 slides per 20 seconds, total 6.40 min. per presentation).

At the end of the day an after-talk took place, organised by Design Den Haag. About 15 ideas from Dutchmen and Germans had been send in via sms. The confrontation between Dutch and German designers and German and Dutch design turned out to be an interesting topic; the differences as well as the similarities. The owners of the ideas were invited to explain their ideas and enter a conversation with Max Bruinsma, editor in chief Items magazine and Klaus-Peter Bredschneider from Pure magazine. Around 30 Germans and Dutchmen (designers, business managers, strategists) entered in conversation. The topics varied from virtual and actual working spaces for Germans and Dutchmen, to a cooperation for public transport, to the introduction of the brandname 'DutGer' for joint German-Dutch design, to a call for more humour (or as Max Bruinsma preferred to call it 'irony') in German design.

The contribution of Design Den Haag to the symposium is made possible by DutchDFA.