The 31st edition of the prestigious World Design Assembly (WDA) will take place for the first time in India at Hyderabad on October 11-12.
Along with this event the city will also host the inaugural edition of Hyderabad Design Week (HDW). This five day event from October 9 will be organized by the Government of Telangana, in partnership with India Design Forum (IDF). It is aimed at demonstrating the power of design to improve lives.
Key events in the programme will include the Autodesk Design Night, WDA Education Forum, IDF Awards, networking dinners at the historic Taj Falaknuma Palace and Chowmahalla Palace, the HDW Design Conference Aand curated design expo at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC).
It will also include presenting designs by leading students and design professionals from across the nation as well as citywide tours showcasing the best of the region’s heritage crafts, according to a statement from the organizers.
With over 150 international participants, including members of the World Design Organisation (WDO), HDW will showcase Indian design on a global platform. A key highlight of the programme will be the highly anticipated Design Conference, which will take place at HICC and feature eminent design industry figures such as Marcus Fairs (Dezeen), Tim Kobe (Eight Inc.), Cristiano Ceccato (Zaha Hadid Architects), Jane Withers (Jane Withers Studio), Emma Greer (Carlo Ratti Associati), Pratap Bose (Tata Motors), Ruchika Sachdeva (Bodice), Sandeep Sangaru (Sangaru Design Studio), and Shiva Nallaperumal.
Hyderabad was praised by the WDO for a proposal that presented opportunities to position design as a critical tool for addressing the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. With the theme of humanizing design, the conference will consider how design innovation can be used to address pressing humanitarian issues such as poverty, pollution, and the rapid depletion of natural resources.
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“Contending among other global cities in 2018, the city won the bid to host the prestigious World Design Assembly. It is even more wonderful that it will be held in tandem with the city’s own design event Hyderabad Design Week from 9-13 October 2019,” said Jayesh Ranjan, from the Government of Telangana’s Department of Industry & Commerce.
The city’s first-ever Design Week seeks to not only make an impression over the course of the five-day programme, but to have long-lasting impact for the region through awareness raising initiatives, change-making projects, and memorable events.
