The City of Cape Town recently took important steps towards being the World Design Capital 2014, with a successful Stakeholder Forum and a very well-received interactive stand at the Design Indaba Expo.
A series of design related events and projects will be hosted in Cape Town in 2014, as part of the city’s designation as World Design Capital 2014 (WDC2014). The international design community will descend on Cape Town during the year and the focus will be on how Cape Town can use design to transform the lives of its residents.
“During the Stakeholder Forum we had an opportunity to gather some of Cape Town’s roleplayers and design industry stakeholders in one venue, and jointly start shaping the vision for World Design Capital for Cape Town,” says Alderman Patricia de Lille, Executive Mayor of Cape Town. “Our next step is to now put the host city agreement and organisational arrangements in place, so that we can start developing the programme for 2014.”
In addition to a very successful Stakeholder Forum that allowed the City to gather public input, the City erected a stand at the Design Indaba Expo, made up of over 16 000 pencils. Visitors were asked “what does design need to solve for you?” and were provided with sticky notes to write their answers on and stick onto the stand. Over 6000 replies were received and will help inform our plans for WDC2014 going forward.
“Some of the main themes expressed were about how innovative design could address public transport, sustainability and the use of resources, and housing and densification,” said Alderman de Lille. This stand will over the coming months travel through the city, to get even more public inputs.
The City is in the process of appointing a programme manager who will be responsible for coordinating the City’s contribution to WDC2014. The programme manager will also be required to work with the WDC organisation outside the City that will be set up and charged with overseeing greater Cape Town’s contribution to making WDC2014 a success. This entity will report to an independent board of directors, made up of leaders from business, academia, the design industry and government.
The City will be using WDC2014 as an opportunity:
- to increase the use of design in major City projects
- to review how the City can use design to improve its internal processes and improve efficiencies
- to highlight how can design can make a difference in the lives of our communities through linking City funded ward projects in 2014 to design
“We are very excited about WDC2014. It provides the opportunity to find innovative solutions to the challenges facing our city and leave a lasting legacy for the citizens of Cape Town. The City is fully behind it, and we are putting the logistical arrangements in place for a successful WDC2014,” says Alderman de Lille.
