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Upcoming Conferences

2nd Conference on Economic Degrowth for Ecological Sustainability and Social Equity
March 26, 2010
The second international conference on degrowth will develop clear policy proposals and strategies for action on degrowth and define the key open questions and research agenda. The conference will foster interaction between participants and put emphasis on the development of cooperative research. This conference will follow a novel format. It will include selected keynote speeches and roundtables by distinguished degrowth scholars. The conference will however mainly be based on paper presentations with oral sessions, posters and working groups.

Design Research Conference 2010
May 10, 2010
Sponsored by IIT's Institute of Design, this 9th DRC will be a conversation about the new frontiers of design research. It will host the world’s most compelling stories about the human condition and unmet needs. It will be a stimulating place to learn the most innovative new research methods. It will address the challenges facing the industry head on. Finally, it will continue to explore how design research can help us address the grand challenge of bringing meaningful things into the world.

International Festival of Cultural Diversity
May 11, 2010
Sponsored by UNESCO, ten days of concerts, exhibitions, performances and a conference focused on arts, music and crafts produced throughout the world.

D: All Things Digital
May 26, 2010
Sponsored by The Wall Street Journal, this conference is devoted to digital and technological innovation and is especially noted for impressive speakers on the order of Arianna Huffington, Evan Williams and Mark Cuban.

13th Annual Subtle Technologies Festival 2010
June 03, 2010
For 12 years, Subtle Technologies has provided a forum where participants share their projects, theories and technologies around an annual theme. Subtle Technologies is also a place where artists, scientists, and other innovators inspire, inform and generate new concepts and tools. The 2010 theme is Sustainability.


2010 International Design Development Summit (IDDS)
July 07, 2010
IDDS 2010 will be somewhat different from previous years — whereas past summits focused on creating prototypes, this summit will focus on turning these prototypes into products and getting them into the hands of people who can use them. It is the goal of IDDS 2010 to guide project teams through the process of becoming viable ventures with business plans to disseminate their innovations at scale. Participants will have the opportunity to explore the many challenges of entrepreneurship and technology dissemination for developing markets with a diverse group of people from around the globe.

Business Perspectives for Creative Leaders
July 25, 2010
Limited to senior executives involved in strategy or design projects, this program of the Yale School of Management aims to foster an understanding of the interreliant but often mutually misunderstood areas of business and design.

International Design & Emotions Conference
October 04, 2010
Sponsored by the Institute of Design at the Illinois Institute of Technology, and the Design & Emotion Society, this biannual forum is where practitioners, researchers and industry leaders meet and exchange knowledge and insights concerning the cross-disciplinary field of design and emotion. The conference will offer workshops, research paper presentations, design case presentations, and poster presentations.

Feast Conference
October 15, 2010
The Feast Conference gathers the world's greatest innovators from across industries and society to empower, inspire and engage each other in creating world-shaking change.

All Conferences & Events >>

Academic Programs

Designmatters
Educational program founded in 2001 at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, to advance the discussion of design education’s role in today’s world. Focuses on global health care, public policy, social entrepreneurship and sustainable human development. Manages three to five major projects per term across multiple disciplines.

Entrepreneurial Design for Extreme Affordability
Academic course hosted by the Stanford Institute of Design involving graduate students from all seven schools at Stanford University. Multidisciplinary student teams work to create innovations that lie at the intersection of business, technology and human values. The class is project-based, and all projects are done in close partnership with a variety of local and international organizations.

Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation Program in Social Entrepreneurship
Program at New York University for educating and inspiring a new generation of leaders in public service. A select group of undergraduate and graduate NYU students are chosen annually to learn cross-disciplinary skills for producing sustainable and scalable solutions to demanding social problems.

More Academic Programs >>

Competitions

Re:Vision
Initiative to create the prototype for an innovative, sustainable urban community. At the heart of the process is a series of contests generating visionary ideas for what can and should be done in the design of urban space.

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Fellowships & Prizes

Curry Stone Design Prize
Supported by the Curry Stone Foundation of Oregon and administered by the University of Kentucky College of Design, this $100,000 prize is given annually to a designer or design group with a project or idea that improves global, social, or humanitarian conditions.

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Organizations

IxDA
Member-supported community dedicated to the professional practice of interaction design. Sponsors annual conference.

Project H Design
Charitable venture founded in 2008 by Emily Pilloton that champions design as a tool for social improvement, especially in the realm of products. "A nonprofit coalition of hundreds of designers worldwide who work locally and globally to develop and implement product design solutions for Humanity, Habitats, Health, and Happiness."

The Graphic Alliance
A network for graphic designers, website developers and other professionals who are pursuing social change. "We are committed to helping build a new social order based on direct democracy, communal economics, human rights and ecological sensibility. We believe that design and technology are important aspects of the struggle for freedom, peace and social justice. We stand united in our opposition to concentrated power, discrimination and oppression in its many forms. We promote social ownership and democratic control over information, ideas, technology and the means of communication."

More Organizations >>

Programs & Initiatives

Starbucks Shared Planet Youth Action Grants
"Starbucks has a culture of innovation and entrepreneurialism. With the Starbucks Shared Planet Youth Action Grants, we use this spirit of innovation to inspire young people to take action to create positive solutions to real local needs they see in their neighborhoods. We believe that by supporting young people, we make real change in local communities and inspire additional individuals to take part in community service."

Material Beliefs
Based at the Interaction Research Studio in the department of design at Goldsmiths, University of London, Material Beliefs unites scientists, engineers, designers, social scientists and members of the public in an investigation of emerging biomedical and cybernetic technologies that blur the boundaries between materials and the body.

Echoing Green
Fellowship program that has distributed $28 million to more than 450 social entrepreneurs and organizations to tackle society’s most difficult problems.

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Publications & Websites

Engineering for Change
Engineering for Change is an online environment bringing together engineers and other problem solvers with NGOs and local communities to address basic quality of life issues such as access to clean water, electricity and proper sanitation.

Groundswell
"Dedicated to critical cultural production at the intersection of art and activism. We cover artists from around the globe whose work explores and realizes social change. Our goal is to provide a narrative about these activist efforts while simultaneously participating in them."

Ethonomics
Channel of Fast Company magazine's website with articles about socially responsible and environmentally friendly business endeavors. ("Ethonomics" = ethics + economics.)

More Publications & Websites >>

Social Networks

BOP Source
"Social network that closes the digital divide, bringing together the 4 billion people at the base of the economic pyramid (the 'BOP') with the companies and NGOs that want to hire them and design products and services for them."

Design 21
UNESCO and the Japan-based company Felissimo are behind this network, which connects designers, businesses and nonprofits for the greater good and hosts competitions to create socially minded products and graphics.

Open Architecture Network
An online, open-source community founded by Architecture for Humanity. Offers a place where designers can share ideas and projects and host or participate in competitions

More Social Networks >>

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