Executive Mayor Patricia de Lille will sign the Candidate City Agreement for Cape Town, as one of the finalists for the World Capital Design Award 2014. The agreement will fall away should Cape Town not win the award.
The winner will be announced at the 2011 Industrial Design Congress in Taipei, on 26 October 2011.
The World Design Capital title is awarded bi-annually by the International Council for Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID) to give global prominence to cities that use design for their social, economic and cultural development. Founded in 1957 and active in 50 countries, ICSID has awarded the World Design Capital designation three times – to Torino, Italy (2008); Seoul, South Korea (2010) and Helsinki, Finland (designated for 2012).
The World Design Capital title is awarded in advance, allowing winning cities sufficient time to plan, develop and promote a year-long programme of World Design Capital-themed events for their designated year.
Cape Town’s bid to be World Design Capital 2014 forms part of a broader vision to position Cape Town as a leading global city – a hub of creativity, knowledge, innovation and excellence. The City of Cape Town mandated the Cape Town Partnership, under the auspices of the Creative Cape Town programme, to coordinate Cape Town’s bid on its behalf,
Cape Town’s World Design Capital 2014 bid concept, Live Design, Transform Life, focuses strongly on socially responsive design. It recognises and mobilises Cape Town’s considerable design resources towards addressing the legacies of our City’s apartheid past. It is aimed specifically at dealing with the vast imbalances that exist in our society and is organized into three broad themes: Rebuild Cape Town through community cohesion; Reconnect Cape Town through infrastructural enhancement, and Reposition Cape Town for the knowledge economy.
For more information, visit http://www.capetown2014.co.za, become a fan on Facebook, or follow the bid on Twitter.
