Submissions deadline: 3rd October 2022 Contributions are open for ServDes.2023: Entanglements and flows: service encounters and meaningsThe call for submissions is available in: https://servdes2023.org. Contributions for Long Papers, Short Papers, Worksh... read more
15th June 2022 at 15.00 UTC – DESIS Café hosted by Paulina Cornejo from Social Design Hub! DESIS Café is a virtual place where DESIS Labs can meet and talk about their activities, expectations, thoughts, research, projects, etc. It’s a place to rein... read more
By DESIS Lab Social Design Hub CENTRO from Mexico City CENTRO will be opening a Specialization Program in Design for Social Innovation in August 2022, which will be directed by Paulina Cornejo, also coordinator of Hub de Diseño Social Lab. This is a one-... read more
June 15 2022 (16:00-18:30 CEST)Politecnico di Milano, Campus Durando. Building B1 – Room Castiglioni, 3rd floor, Via Durando 10, 20158 – Milano (IT)You can attend the event by signing up for a Free Ticket via Eventbrite.The event will also be streamed... read more
Tuesday May 24th 2022 – 10am-12pm cetIn presence: Z33, House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture in Hasselt.Online: Please use this link. In this “DESIS Philosophy Talk #7.6 The Politics of Nature – A Conversation with Annemarie Mol... read more
By DESIS Lab PROJEKT of the University of Nimes For this academic year 2021-2022 the monthly seminar DEIS (Design And Social Innovation) aimed to discuss the notion of “social innovation” in order to question collectively the future researc... read more
DESIS Café is a virtual place where DESIS Labs can meet and talk about their activities, expectations, thoughts, research, projects, etc. It’s a place to reinforce connections within the community and exchange knowledge about good practices and difficu... read more
On Wednesday 11, Thursday 12 and Friday 13, May 2022.Location: Escuela Superior de Diseño de AragónAvenida María Zambrano, 3 50018, Zaragoza, Spain. Open Event. The Aragonese Superior School of Art and Design (ESDA), in Zaragoza, Spain, is hosting ... read more
Friday, April 29, 2022, 5:00 pm—8:00 pmLocation: Cabral Center, John D. O’Bryant African-American Institute40 Leon St, Boston, MA 02115 Online: the event is going to be broadcasted on this link. This closing event promotes the mission of the ... read more
We welcome nominations for the tenth Artful Integrators Award, to be presented online or in person in Newcastle upon Tyne U(K) during PDC 2022. The Award is intended to recognize outstanding achievement in the area of participatory design of information ... read more
Open call for articles for the 2022 Spring issue of ‘DISCERN, International Journal of Design for Social Change, Sustainable Innovation and Entrepreneurship’. DISCERN is inviting researchers, academics, professionals, practitioners, and postgraduate s... read more
Declaration of the International Coordination Committee of Desis Network: We believe that we must oppose the war in all possible ways: from public declarations to street demonstrations and the development of projects against all types of military aggres... read more
*Periplus: a Greek word of ancient origin, means sailing around. A periplus is a voyage around something, like an island or a coast line.&nb... read more
Dia 02 Dezembro| December 2st13:00 – 14:00 Brazil | 16:00 – 17:00 UTC | Check your time zone here O encontro com o tema: Como promover a inovação social em países lusófonos através do DESIGN? O Exemplo da DESIS Network, preten... read more
November 18th, at 5pm UTC It’s time for the second edition of DESIS STUDENTS Design Challenge. This time, the topic will be “Design for Emergency” and the event will happen on November 18th, at 5pm UTC! Although it is called Design “Challenge”, ... read more
23 November 2021 at 13h30 UTC The outcomes of the World Design Impact Prize 2021 will be presented in a 90-minute World Design Talks on 23 November from 1:30pm – 3pm UTC, with the participation of DESIS International Coordinator Teresa Franqueira. It wi... read more
(by Ezio Manzini, DESIS Network founder)20th October 2021 In a few weeks the DESIS Assembly 2021 will happen. It is good that it will happen now: we must make it into a non-formal meeting in which to share our vision of where the world is going. And of us... read more
Thursday 11 November, 5pm – 7pm UTCPlease check your timezone: here At this online roundtable, hosted by DESIS and part of the UAL ‘Carnival of Crisis’ festival, we will explore: how can we craft new social economies and mobilise creati... read more
SAVE the DATE: 17th November 2021 at 14.00 UTC – DESIS Café hosted by Nick Spencer from the nDESIS Lab in Northumbria University – UK! DESIS Café is a virtual place where DESIS Labs can meet and talk about their activities, expectations, thought... read more
30 October 2021 from 9:00-17:00 (GMT+08:00) DESIS International symposium is an annual academic event of Jiangnan University under the framework of DESIS network. This online symposium is scheduled for October 30 and is a part of the 2021 Jiangnan Univers... read more
The SDS2021 (VIII Simpósio de Design Sustentável + Sustainable Design Symposium) is one of the main events in the field of Design for Sustainability in South America. The event will be held between 1st and 3rd December 2021, and it is endorsed by the Br... read more
(By Teresa Franqueira) We have the pleasure to invite you to attend the first Conversations for the Planet event on the 30th September, at 13.00 UTC.The topic of this Conversation is Social Innovation in Post-Catastrophic contexts, and we expect it to act... read more
Paper submission system will be open from 1st September 2021 and full papers must be submitted by 24th November 2021. DRS2022 invites new paper submissions in an open call or theme-track. They embrace research looking at and using design in the widest po... read more
Save the date! Virtual Conference on November 8-11, 2021 The virtual Cumulus Conference hosted by Universidad de las Artes del Ecuador (UArtes) from Guayaquil, Ecuador will take place next November 8 through 11. The conference seeks to promote academic re... read more
(by Susan Melsop) OSU DESIS Lab, based in the Ohio State University, hosted the DESIS Café on September 15th, 2021. The event was co-hosted by Susan Melsop and Sébastien Proulx. After having the opportunity to share and contextualize our work, the café... read more
SAVE the DATE: 15th September 2021 at 14.00 UTC – DESIS Café hosted by Susan Melsop from the OSU DESIS Lab in the USA! DESIS Café is a virtual place where DESIS Labs can meet and talk about their activities, expectations, thoughts, research, projects,... read more
August 17th, 2021 – 13:00-16:00 @ NORDES2021 (online) Liesbeth Huybrechts, Oswald Devisch, Mela Zuljevic (UHasselt) Virginia Tassinari, Annalinda de Rosa (Politecnico Di Milano) Ezio Manzini (DESIS Network, Politecnico di Milano) Contributions by Cristi... read more
(by Pablo Bris) ETSIDI Madrid Desis Lab, based in the Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería y Diseño Industrial (Universidad Politécnica de Madrid), hosted the DESIS Café on July 21st, 2021. The event was co-hosted by Félix Bendito, Cristina Alía,... read more
SAVE the DATE: 21 July 2021 at 12.00 UTC DESIS Café hosted by Pablo Bris from the ETSIDI Madrid DESIS Lab in Spain! DESIS Café is a virtual place where DESIS Labs can meet and talk about their activities, expectations, thoughts, research, projects, etc... read more
In this experimental format of conversation, Emanuele Coccia (The Life of Plants: a Metaphysics of Mixture), Ezio Manzini and Virginia Tassinari enter a conversation and explore how both design for social innovation and philosophy are currently reflecting... read more
June 23rd, 4:15 – 6:15pm CEST Opening event of the International Doctoral School “MORE-THAN-HUMAN FUTURES | Reframing design knowledge provotyping for human-non-human ecologies”, organised by the PhD programme in Design of Politecnico di... read more
The UC Public Innovation Lab, in the context of it becoming part of the DESIS network, invites you to a conversation with Ezio Manzini on 15th June at 10:00 (CHILE UTC – 4). The conversation with Jose Allard and Mariana Fulgueiras, will seek to re... read more
(by Audrey Bennett and Deepa Butoliya) Stamps DESIS Lab at the University of Michigan in the United States hosted the DESIS Cafe on May 19th, 2021. The event was co-hosted by Dr. Deepa Butoliya, Nick Tobier, Dr. Roland Graf, and Dr. Ron Eglash. The co-hos... read more
Dongseo University and the Asia Design Center for the Future (ADCF) will be hosting the DESIS Labs Forum 2021 under the motto: “A Bright Future for Asia.” The online event is scheduled for Wednesday, June 9, 2021, from 13:00 to 18:00 (Seoul, GMT+9).&n... read more
Save the date for the DESIS Event at Cumulus Rome Conference 11 June 2021, from 11:10 to 12:50 CET. Emerging design culture(s) is conceived as a collective reflection on what transformative social innovation has brought and could bring to the culture of... read more
(by Teresa Franqueira) DESIS Café aims to be an informal virtual place where DESIS Labs can meet and talk about their activities, expectations, thoughts, research, projects, etc. It’s a place to strengthen connections within the community and exchange ... read more
(by Ezio Manzini, DESIS Network founder)15th May 2021 As we have always done, DESIS will participate in the annual Cumulus Conference organizing a DESIS event. This year, the main Cumulus conference, which will be held from the 7th to the 11th of June, is... read more
Next May 15th, the DESIS Students initiative will host the 1st edition of their new project, the “Design Challenges”. The event is based on using the Design theories and methods to work collaboratively, identifying opportunities for social tra... read more
SAVE the DATE: 19 May 2021 at 13.30 UTC – Desis Café hosted by Audrey G. Bennett from Stamps DESIS Lab in the US! DESIS Café is a virtual place where DESIS Labs can meet and talk about their activities, expectations, thoughts, research, projects,... read more
Open from 30 March to 18 April 2021Folie N°6, Parc de la Villette The ExpoAction “Infinite Creativity for a Finite World aims to highlight the unique capacity of design to actively engage in the co-construction of a desirable future and to research... read more
We are glad to announce that the second number (Part 2) of the Design Contributions for the COVID-19 Global Emergency special issue is available. DESIS Network was one of the endorsing partners of this special issue, together with the Learning... read more
To celebrate the release of Designing in Dark Times: an Arendtian Lexicon, a series of dialogues are being organized to further explore what “dark times” means today and design’s recent positioning towards the expanded field of the socie... read more
The US Consulate in Milan, in collaboration with BASE Milano is pleased to invite you to “Walkable Cities / Sustainable Cities”, a conversation with the Urban Designer and City Planner Jeff Speck and Davide Fassi, Associate Professor at the Po... read more
SAVE the DATE: 24 March 2021 at 12.00 pm GMT – Desis Café hosted by Teresa Franqueira from ID+ Desis Lab in Portugal Desis Café is a virtual place where Desis Labs can meet and talk about their activities, expectations, thoughts, research, project... read more
What is the shape and sound of social innovation in urgent times? Our friends at SIX are hosting the Wayfinder Final Symphony on 19 February at 3pm GMT / 10am EST, with six Artist Composers who turned the Wayfinder content into art and music. In two sho... read more
(by Teresa Franqueira, DESIS International Coordinator)January 2021 The process of this defining document for the DESIS future started with the DESIS Conversations 2020 – an initiative to discuss the present and the future of social innovation, design a... read more
(by Teresa Franqueira, DESIS International Coordinator)January 2021 The new IC proposal is based on three pillars and intends not only to address environmental and ecological issues, but also to push the network towards clearer justice-based goals.It also... read more
(by Ezio Manzini, DESIS Network founder)1st February 2021 This newsletter is the first after the handover in the role of International Coordinator from Carla to Teresa. I want to thank them again, and their fantastic teams for the work done in the past 4 ... read more
The Special Issue “Design contributions for the COVID-19 global emergency” is now available. You can access it here: http://revistas.unisinos.br/index.php/sdrj/article/view/sdrj.2020.133.01/60748255 The number of submissions and their global... read more
From Ingrid Bico and Matheus Ventura Today is the last day of 2020 and also our last day as DESIS International team members. During the past year and half, we had the opportunity to keep in touch with many inspiring people that make DESIS what it is. Thi... read more
Involved in DESIS Network since its creation, more than 10 years ago, in the last DESIS Assembly Teresa Franqueira presented her action program for the biennium 2021-2023. The proposal is based on three pillars and seeks to address environmental and ecolo... read more
Design and Nature: A Partnership is a collective effort involving 3 editors, Kate Fletcher, Louise St. Pierre, and Mathilda Tham, along with almost 40 contributors from around the world. The book contributes to the growing scholarship, about challenging a... read more
We are proud to present ServDes.2020 conference that allows delegates around the world to access all 100 presentations, panel discussions and workshops, designed to suit multiple time zones across the world. Please join us from 2-5th February 2021 by... read more
The Annual DESIS Assembly happened earlier this week, via Zoom, and reunited around 50 people from more than ten countries to discuss the activities developed in 2020 and also the next steps of the network. This Assembly marked an important transition bet... read more
As part of Seoul Innovation Week 2020 organised by Seoul Metropolitan Government, Social Innovation Exchange hosted a special session sharing the story of Seoul’s journey to becoming a people-powered city on 25 November 2020. Seoul City’s global ... read more
– The next DESIS annual assembly will take place on the 9th of December at 5 p.m. (CET). It will be streamed on our YouTube channel and you can watch, as well as interact via chat through this link:
Dear Cumulus Friends,as you know, the Covid-19 situation is globally asking us to take responsible measures to protect the health of everyone and overcome this state of uncertainty.Since two years, we have been and keep working hard together with many peo... read more
(Written by Carla Cipolla, DESIS International Coordinator from 2017 to 2020) Our IC program relied on a question: who are we? What triggered this IC program was the will to increase the connections between DESIS members and access the richness of DE... read more
Montreal (Canada), 29 October 2020 — As designers around the world work to become more intentional, sustainable and inclusive in their design practices, the World Design Organization (WDO)® is embarking on a new project to explore design as a key ... read more
The 15-minute city: what it is, what it means to live there, how to design it and how to create it. An exchange of experiences (before and after COVID-19) Wednesday, 18th November 202014.30 – 17.00 (CET) see time in your region here.Online event, broadc... read more
Last Friday, the 30th of October, the workshop led by students at “Design: Vertical & Horizontal Growth” Conference gathered more than 25 students and professors discussing themes to nurture the initiative. Students and teachers joined the... read more
On the next 30th of October, a workshop led by DESIS Students in partnership with DESIS SPbU (St Petersburg University) will be held at the online conference “Design: Vertical & Horizontal Growth” in collaboration with Cumulus. The worksho... read more
In accordance with the vision that Cumulus has regarding the exchange of knowledge and design experience on a global and interdisciplinary scale, three Russian schools – Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, St. Petersburg University an... read more
On the next 17th of October 2020 the Maison POC Collaborative City / Design Week will host the DxCC Lille conference that will take place at 17:30 (France) online. Find detailed info below. Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89723069545Check ... read more
On the 19th of September, a workshop with students from Brazil, Canada, India, Italy, New Zealand, Portugal, South Africa and the United States, discussed future ideas for the initiative. The workshop was led by Ingrid Bico, a DESIS Student from the coord... read more
Register here: bit.ly/32U5t2BTime in your region here The COVID-19 health crisis can be seen as a radical unplanned social experiment in new ways of living and caring for each other. Viewed from this perspective, it reveals the fragility of contemporary f... read more
The “Collaborative City” Maison POC explores, through “design shows”, a hundred local and international projects in order to discover emerging visions of sharing, mutual aid and cooperation… How can design facilitate collabo... read more
(Written by Ezio Manzini, DESIS Network Founder) Designing for Reimagined Communities: this is the title of the call for papers for a special issue of CoDesign. It would be nice and useful if many members of the DESIS network participated. To this invitat... read more
Come check the updates from three DESIS Labs in Greece, Japan and Spain. From TZU DESIS Lab at Tokyo Zokei University, in Japan, we have the Spedagi Tokyo Project. From ETSID DESIS Lab at Universitat Politécnica de Valencia, Spain, we have Craft Your Fut... read more
Visit the new repository here: desisnetwork.org/covid-19 To share ideas with our network and to spread them as far as possible, we put together a special website containing all the projects being developed for our DESIS Labs and partners. Called DESIS Net... read more
Discussing the future of humankind in the pandemic/post-pandemic scenario has become a common practice around the world. DESIS Network brought this discussion to the Design table during an international webinar with professors, students and researches fro... read more
The Conversations 2020 initiative started last year and brought up a discussion on the present and the future of social innovation, design and sustainability. Now it’s time to return to it, in order to build a DESIS Manifesto. The Conversations 2020... read more
Written by Ezio Manzini, DESIS Network founder | Note: If you want to read this article in PDF, please click here Conversations 2020 started with a contribution written a year ago: July 2019. I don’t think it’s rhetorical to say that it seems ... read more
The 2019-20 coronavirus pandemic disease (COVID-19), appeared for the first time in Wuhan (Hubei Province, China) in late 2019 and rapidly spread in the rest of the world since the early months of 2020, has produced a significant and sadly dramatic impact... read more
Next 25th of July, Ezio Manzini will present “Hybrid Communities of Place: Politics of the every day in the post-pandemic phase”. The event is organized by Prof. CAI Jun of the Design Management Institute of the Academy of Arts&Design, Tsi... read more
24H WORLDWIDE DESIGN CONVERSATIONS Ed. 2020 | design wor(l)dbook after lockdown Following the COVID19 pandemic, many design paradigms need to be rethought and re-invented. The POLIMI Design System community of the Politecnico di Milano will launch, on Jun... read more
How does the ecological thinking affect architects, designers and the design culture itself? Complete information here: https://eventi.unibo.it/theecologicalturn-architettura-bologna-2020 The Anthropocene has the merit of challenging our conventions in an... read more
The Center for Design at Northeastern University (Boston, USA) has launched Design for Emergency, an open design platform to face the Covid-19 emergency through design. https://www.designforemergency.com Through this project, we&... read more
Organised by Virginia Tassinari, Ezio Manzini, Arturo Escobar, Liesbeth Huybrechts and Annalinda De RosaZoom conversation @PDC2020 Manizales 15:30-17:00 COT – Brussels 22:30-00:00 CEST In this session, hosted by PDC2020, we will open the discussion a... read more
Innovation processes in public service communication for service designs Complete info here! MD Journal #10 intends to explore the contribution that design can make to this area of interest, by focusing on the theoretical and design aspects, sharing ... read more
14th October 2020: Deadline for the submission of 1000 word abstracts CoDesign Special Issue, Proposed Publication Date March 2022 Guest Editors: Professor Lynn-Sayers McHattie, Glasgow School of Art; Dr. Brian Dixon, Ulster University Designing for ... read more
We are proud to announce that the preliminary program for PDC2020 is now online! This year PDC will also be fully online, exploring participation(s) otherwise and more sustainable formats for knowledge exchange in times of global pandemics. Call for Parti... read more
2 July 2020 | 5pm – 6pm (London)This event will be live streamed via Zoom Brought to you by the Short Courses & Executive Education team at the RCA. Currently our resilience looks to peers, local resources and communities to temper the storm. Rob... read more
After inviting students from across the globe to develop products, services and systems that address SDG 12 for responsible consumption and production, Cumulus GREEN 2020 announced its 3 winners and 50 honorable mentions! Students across 44 countries and ... read more
Dear colleagues from DESIS, our long time friend François Jégou, curator of the Collaborative City exhibition within Lille 2020, World Design Capital, invites us to submit projects that rethink the theme of the Collaborative City within the pandemic cri... read more
Motivated by all the changes the Coronavirus pandemic has provoked in the world, DESIS Network members, colleagues and partners got together to discuss the impacts, ideas and what designers, as active citizens, could do to help the world face the pandemic... read more
CALL FOR PAPERS: The Strategic Design Research Journal has announced a Call for Papers on ‘Design contributions for the COVID-19 global emergency’. Submissions are open until 15 July 2020. http://revistas.unisinos.br/index.php/sdrj/pages/view/... read more
Written by Ezio Manzini, DESIS Network President If you rather be reading this article in PDF, please, click here to download the file. What will the world be like after the Covid-19 crisis? It will certainly be different. But how? Where will the change g... read more
Since the announcement of the pandemic and the imminence of a shortage in medical supplies volunteers started gathering, to sum-up efforts on fighting this crisis. A large number of volunteers are working with 3D printers to produce face masks, used by he... read more
In this moment of unprecedented difficulty, we want to express our closeness and solidarity to all of you. Today more than ever, we would like DESIS to be a common home in which to feel close. But, since DESIS was born to be a tool with which to produce k... read more
Written by Fang Zhong, from Tsinghua University DESIS Lab At the beginning of 2020, just as everyone was looking forward to the Chinese New Year, the people of the whole country suddenly entered a national anti-epidemic action. In the past month, no matte... read more
Check the new projects from DSU DESIS Lab from Busan, South Korea. Sujeong-dong Hope Village Vertical Fram Hope Village Vertical Farm was established in 2011 as part of the local community revitalization project, but it was going through difficulties due ... read more
Do you already follow DESIS on social media?Here you can find the links: Instagram: @desis_network Facebook: DESIS Network Twitter: @desisnetwork LinkedIn: DESIS Network
Service Design and Innovation conference (ServDes.) is the premier international research conference for exchanging knowledge within service design and service innovation studies aimed at both academics and industry practitioners. As the field of service ... read more
Join DSD DESIS Lab this Friday, 28 February 2020 for presentations by Terence Fenn and Jason Hobbs, focusing on discursive design. Discursive design is a growing approach to both conceptualising and conducting design research and practice. Talk 1: ... read more
Aligned with the vision of Cumulus Association and its commitment for sharing design knowledge and practices in a global and multidisciplinary perspective, Sapienza University of Rome will host the Annual Cumulus conference with the aim to house and to fo... read more
South African Keynote Speech for LENS World Distribute Conferenceby Angus Donald Campbell, Design Society Development DESIS Lab, University of Johannesburg) Check here the speech for LeNS by Prof Angus Donald Campbell from Design Society Development DES... read more
Carla Cipolla (DESIS Coordinator), Ingrid Bico and Matheus Ventura (Coordination Team and… students at UFRJ Rio DESIS Lab!) Students have always been essential to DESIS network. The last DESIS Assembly in Bogotá included a discussion about the role of ... read more
Written by Carla Cipolla, DESIS Coordinator and UFRJ/Coppe Rio DESIS Lab, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil DESIS Conversations 2020 has been a discussion about the present and the future of social innovation, design and sustainability. The ope... read more
The DESIS Philosophy Talk “#7.1 “Designing as politics of nature” is the first of a new series of talks dedicated on the topic of post-anthropocentric design. This first conversation, that will be prompted by the Politecnico di Milano PhD programme ... read more
Written by Ezio Manzini, DESIS Network president Are there, or are there potentially, social innovations motivated by environmental concerns (or which integrate traditional social motivations with clear and explicit environmental motivations)? If so, what... read more
On the 28th February join Parsons DESIS Lab at The New School for a day-long exploration of the ways practitioners are forging alliances and taking action to address social, political, environmental, and economic issues and redress conditions broadly... read more
In 2020, Rome will become the epicenter for universities of design. The Roman University of La Sapienza will host the Cumulus Spring Conference in 2020 (16th to 19th June 2020). A preliminary event, a pre-conference with the keynote speakers Ric... read more
From 5 to 7 February 2020, designers, researchers, philosophers and artists will reflect and work together on how to stimulate and cultivate diversity and critical thinking while catalysing the positive resources needed to address the ... read more
Unfolding: Education and Design for Social Innovation explores the paths of creative education regarding innovation and social impact. It contains conversations amongst international experts from different fields including Carry Somers (Great Britain), Ch... read more
The rapid urbanisation of African populations across the continent has disrupted not only traditional life but also notions of the ‘city’ inherited by colonial legacy. Emerging African mega-cities are often characterised by inequality, poverty and sca... read more
A very happy new year from all of us at DESIS!
“Villa Clarín, a space for all” is a project that is generated by community desire to have a more suitable to carry out their leisure activities, especially for children. With this space it is intended that people can generate better links be... read more
Soap-ing was designed for adults who are mildly intellectually disabled in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province in China. They struggle to find employment, and are living in poverty. The project’s goal is to provide dignified labor opportunities for IDP. The project ... read more
Currently at The New School connections are emerging between graduate programs across the various colleges. In different ways, each node in this emerging network is forming within a climate of cross-disciplinary research and practice; and each is respondi... read more
The Seventeenth International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic & Social Sustainability features research addressing the following annual themes. THEME 1: ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY THEME 2: SUSTAINABILITY IN ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTU... read more
New Energy systems are evolving globally. Introduction of renewable energy technologies are affecting different parts of the world. In some parts wind and solar production are being used to replace non renewable energy sources or then are becoming an incr... read more
Global Grad Show conference will return on November 11th under the theme “Innovating for Social Impact”, mirroring the exhibition’s commitment to social development and academic engagement. The conference will explore how universities can be c... read more
Find attached the official call for papers for the 9th International Conference on Appropriate Technology 2020. The Design Society Development DESIS Lab based in the Faculty of Art, Design & Architecture (University of Johannesburg) is a partner for t... read more
We are very pleased to announce the release of DESIS’ new book, Design for Social Innovation and Cities (DxSIC). The publication, edited by Ezio Manzini and Carla Cipolla, is a project compilation with all DESIS Labs’ projects with the keywor... read more
DESIS Assembly – 29th October, in Bogota After the DxCC Seminar, in Bogota, the DESIS Network members will be able to join a meeting to discuss the on-going projects of all DESIS Labs around the world. The Assembly will be held on the 29th October, ... read more
Most people live in urban settlements that challenge the idea of cities as planned and regulated environments. They are challenging places where social and environmental problems may be tragically tangible, basic infrastructure may not exist and public in... read more
On the 22nd and 24th October, Prof Ezio Manzini will be at Universidad Autónoma de Occidente, in Cali, Colombia. Programme: Tuesday, 22nd October: The power of collaboration Venue: Auditorio Yquinde, UAO, Cali Time: 10:00-12:00 Thursday, 24nd October:... read more
On the 10th October 2019, in the city of Hyderabad, India, the World Design Organization will discuss the issues regarding the future of the design education. DESIS Network will be represented by our international coordinator Prof Carla Cipolla. Regis... read more
Written by Ezio Manzini (DESIS President) and Edgard Quijano (DESIS DISCALab Caribe) The next DxCC seminar in Bogotá raises this very basic question: can we have collaborative solutions in highly challenging places? That is, in places where social and en... read more
Sanitation is a major challenge in Moshie-Zongo (one of the less developed communities in Kumasi, Ghana). The ‘5-star street’ project is designed to address sanitation challenges in the Zongo community through the 5-Star Street project. This way the... read more
USIS – Unidade de Suporte à Inovação Social da UFRJ | SISU – Social Innovation Support Unit at Federal University of Rio de Janeiro There are many social innovation initiatives in the city of Rio de Janeiro that need support. Universities h... read more
A Design Project for SEWA, Ahmedabad, Gujarat SEWA, Self Employed Women Association, aims the women workers to obtain collective strength and ownership of their trades, and get directly linked with consumers through a store named ‘KALAKRUTI’ and vario... read more
Violence is one of America’s most significant public health issues. “Where’s Daryl?” is one of the outcomes of a Designmatters studio that tasked students with creating a gun prevention campaign for Los Angeles youth, in partnership with the Los A... read more
CEPS – Creativity, Engagement and Problem Solving: Building confidence and new capabilities in disadvantaged youth. Auckland, New Zealand, is the largest Polynesian city in the world, with the majority of ‘Pasifika’ people residing in South Auckland... read more
DESIS Philosophy Talks Assemblies is a new, light, situated format of talks developed in collaboration with Pantopicon, Politecnico di Milano and UHasselt organised in the public space, engaging different social agents. Design scholars and practitioners, ... read more
The “Jockey Club Youth Programme” administered by Yunus Social Business Centre@CUHK, an affiliate of this Centre, is sponsored by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust. It is going to organise the Yunus Social Business Seminar 2019 this month. ... read more
This is a project developed by the LUCA DESIS Lab, at Hasselt, Belgium, which corresponds to the series of Thematic Areas. These projects are activities carried out by the DESIS Network Labs, whose objectives can be seen here The purpose of the pro... read more
This is a project developed by the St. Petersburg DESIS Lab, at St. Petersburg, Russia, which corresponds to the series of Thematic Areas. These projects are activities carried out by the DESIS Network Labs, whose objectives can be seen here The pr... read more
Politics of the everyday in the climate emergency Social innovation and design for resilient sustainable cities: how to amplify and accelerate the process of change? September 11 th 2019 Copenhagen, Aalborg University CPH- room: Fkj 10A (D)/0.108 –... read more
The Desis Design for Collaborative Cities Network (DxCC) organises CAPA.CITY Autumnschool Where? Hasselt, Belgium, 14-17 October 2019 Theme: Reclaim The Suburbs. Which Capacities For Participatory Approaches? The point of departure of this CAPA.CITY autu... read more
The International Development Research Centre (IDRC, Canada) and Carleton University are pleased to announce a call for expressions of interest to research on Gendered Design in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics) in Low and Mi... read more
This is a project developed by the University of Botswana DESIS Lab, at Botswana, which corresponds to the series of Thematic Areas. These projects are activities carried out by the DESIS Network Labs, whose objectives can be seen here It is very exp... read more
This is a project developed by the NAS DESIS Lab, at Santa Catarina, Brazil, which corresponds to the series of Thematic Areas. These projects are activities carried out by the DESIS Network Labs, whose objectives can be seen here S... read more
This is a project developed by the NAS DESIS Lab, at Santa Catarina, Brazil, which corresponds to the series of Thematic Areas. These projects are activities carried out by the DESIS Network Labs, whose objectives can be seen here CloTHING(s) as co... read more
Under the thematic of “Design for Sustainable City for a harmonious relationship between human and the environment”, the Human City Design Award 2019 is calling for subscriptions until next week, on August 6. The competition will take place in... read more
As part of Design Lab#4, the Kunstgewerbemuseum cooperatade with the Italian Embassy in Berlin to organize a pop-up exhibition dedicated to the work of the DESIS Network, which was founded by Italian design theorist Ezio Manzini in 2008. It took place on... read more
What is Design for Collaborative Cities (DxCC) DxCC is a design research program, self-organized by DESIS Network, which involves several design schools around the world that work at the crossroads of city making, social innovation and design. More ... read more
This is a project developed by the NAS DESIS Lab, at Santa Catarina, Brazil, which corresponds to the series of Thematic Areas. These projects are activities carried out by the DESIS Network Labs, whose objectives can be seen here The project aims ... read more
Cumulus International Association of Universities and Colleges in Art, Design and Media has proposed an international student competition: Cumulus Green 2020: For a New Circular Economy (Competition website: https://www.cumulusgreen.org/ email: cumulu... read more
Competition Institutional Registration EXTENDED till August 30, 2019! Submission of projects: September 2019 – January 2020 Cumulus invites the participation of students from its member institutions to put forward submissions that demonstrate the po... read more
The DESIS Coordination congratulates Mariana Amatullo for her new role as president of Cumulus Association. Many schools are members of Cumulus and DESIS and the collaboration between the networks has been significant for our community. Mariana is a m... read more
The Participatory Design Conference (PDC) has a long history in bringing together research concerned with the direct involvement of people in co-design, development, implementation, and ppropriation activities around The Participatory Design C... read more
On the 25th of June, the Italian Embassy will host the Conference “Design, Social Innovation and Public Services: Everyday Perspectives” in collaboration with the Italienzentrum of Freie Universität Berlin, where Ezio Manzini will present his r... read more
This is a project developed by the DSD DESIS Lab, at the University of Johannesburg – FADA, South Africa, which corresponds to the series of Thematic Areas. These projects are activities carried out by the DESIS Network Labs, whose objectives ... read more
Lecture | Performance | panel discussion Offers for: Adults Date: Wed 26.06.2019 18:00 clock – 20:30 clock Location: Kulturforum Meeting point: Lecture hall Kunstgewerbemuseum Costs: Free Registration: not required Exhibition: Design Lab # 4 Collect... read more
This is a project developed by the TU/e DESIS Lab, at the Eindhoven University of Technology, which corresponds to the series of Thematic Areas. These projects are activities carried out by the DESIS Network Labs, whose objectives can be seen here ... read more
The European School of Social Innovation (ESSI), TU Dortmund University and DASA Working World Exhibition are happy to announce that the overview of the parallel sessions for our 5th Global Research Conference: Social Innovation and Socio-Digital Tran... read more
This is a project developed by the AUT DESIS Lab, New Zealand, which corresponds to the series of Thematic Areas. These projects are activities carried out by the DESIS Network Labs, whose objectives can be seen here The Mangere-Otahuhu district of... read more
Competition Registration by June 30, 2019 Cumulus invites the participation of students from its member institutions to put forward submissions that demonstrate the power of design and creative solutions to help humankind transition to a circular econ... read more
WEDNESDAY 29 May 2019, 11 A.M. at Cumulus Conference Rovaniemi Organizer: DESIS Network Can students and teachers act as members of the local community, and become agents in its regeneration? And vice versa: how do these initiatives become part of thei... read more
This is a project developed by the Tsinghua DESIS Lab, China, which corresponds to the series of Thematic Areas. These projects are activities carried out by the DESIS Network Labs, whose objectives can be seen here The Urban Planting project consis... read more
‘Progettualità sociale e politiche’ Ezio Manzini, Bertram Niessen, Marianna D’Ovidio, Davide Agazzi, Mattia Diletti, Marianella Sclavi e Daniela Selloni. Una costellazione di persone, comunità, reti, organizzazioni e istituzioni ha immaginato ... read more
A new publication with the working title of Global LEAP: New Frontiers in Design for Social Innovation edited by Mariana Amatullo (affiliated faculty to Parsons DESIS Lab), Bryan Boyer, Andrew Shea and Jennifer May is collecting design for social innova... read more
English version The SDS – Simpósio de Design Sustentável + Sustainable Design Symposium 2019 edition will be held in Recife, organized by Federal University of Pernambuco – O Imaginário DESIS Lab and Design Department. The SDS 2019 will ... read more
This is a project developed by the ELISAVA DESIS Lab, at Barcelona, which corresponds to the series of Thematic Areas. These projects are activities carried out by the DESIS Network Labs, whose objectives can be seen here The project ”A la plaç... read more
In the framework of #ItalianDesignDay2019, Ezio Manzini will talk about #CollaborativeCities next 16 May at Istituto di Cultura Bruxelles. The conference will start at 7pm and will be followed by a debate with #VirginiaTassinari from DESIS Networ... read more
This is a project developed by the DK DESIS Lab, Denmark, which corresponds to the series of Thematic Areas. These projects are activities carried out by the DESIS Network Labs, whose objectives can be seen here The increased mobility of people across... read more
At a time when ecological and social urgency makes more than ever the need for a new thinking and making of the common, we will question design on its ability to contribute to the making of its cultural organ, the community, from which psychosomatically s... read more
Cumulus conference Bogotá 2019 The Design After October 30 – November 1, 2019 Bogota, Colombia Hosted by Universidad de los Andes Submission of abstracts EXTENDED by April 1, 2019 When design is about thinking in action and transition, it questions its... read more
This is a project developed by the Emily Carr DESIS Lab, at Canada, which corresponds to the series of Thematic Areas. These projects are activities carried out by the DESIS Network Labs, whose objectives can be seen here The goal of the ”Who is ... read more
11.01.2018 – DESIS EVENT In November 2017 , Emily Carr’s DESIS Lab invited the Obakki Foundation and founder Treana Peake in for a late afternoon of experimental storytelling around her work with Refugees in South Sudan. This storytelling event, which... read more
This is a project developed by theUNISINOS DESIS Lab, Brasil, which corresponds to the series of Thematic Areas. These projects are activities carried out by the DESIS Network Labs, whose objectives can be seen here Held with young people of the Vi... read more
Virginia Tassinari *, Assistant Professor LUCA School of Arts, Belgium Ezio Manzini, ELISABA, Spain Liesbeth Huybrechts, University of Hasselt, Belgium Maurizio Teli, Aalborg University, Denmark *contact: virgitassinari@gmail.com The issue of design and ... read more
With Ezio Manzini, John Thackara, Lisa Enzenhofer and Roberto Fraquelli This is a rare chance to work with key figures at the cutting edge of design. Lisa Marie Enzenhofer is an award-winning architect, ecological designer Ezio Manzini and John Thackara... read more
In today’s global world, change is happening at breakneck speed. Fluidity and interdependence are the hallmarks of our time. The imperative to connect knowledge with action in support of a common purpose, creating and promoting a better life for the maj... read more
“Sharing Cities: Activating the Urban Commons, is a collection of 137 case studies and policies in 11 categories that demonstrate that a city run by the people is not only possible, but that much of it is already here. From participatory budgeting in Br... read more
This is a project developed by the POLIMI DESIS Lab, Italy, which corresponds to the series of Thematic Areas. These projects are activities carried out by the DESIS Network Labs, whose objectives can be seen here In contemporary cities, as Service ... read more
Problem Formulation The project is based on the awareness that many older people and their relatives experience a difficult and stressful period when the elderly person moves from his or her own home to a nursing home. It is experienced as a transition pe... read more
This project was developed by the DSD DESIS Lab in partnership with the Leverhulme Trust. Achieving Inclusive Cities through Scaling up Participatory Planning in Africa project was led by Professor Diana Mitlin and Dr Philipp Horn from the Global Developm... read more
Inclusive play is a project developed by the NID DESIS Lab, India, which corresponds to the series of Thematic Areas. These projects are activities carried out by the DESIS Network Labs, whose objectives can be seen here The magic of augmented realit... read more
Spedagi is a social design project initiated in 2014 by a designer, Singgih S. Kartono. It is based in Kandangan Village, about 2 hours by car from Yogyakarta City, in the middle of Java Island, Indonesia. Spedagi word means riding bicycle in the morning.... read more
This is a project developed by the Designmatters DESIS Lab, USA, which corresponds to the series of Thematic Areas. These projects are activities carried out by the DESIS Network Labs, whose objectives can be seen here At the core of The Wellbeing ... read more
The Unmaking workshop is a project developed by the Emily Carr DESIS Lab, at Vancouver, Canada. The workshop engages students in the unmaking of technology by taking it apart to its simplest form. Objects and tools are provided with one goal: To deconstru... read more
This is a project developed by the ETSID DESIS Lab, Valencia, Spain, which corresponds to the series of Thematic Areas. These projects are activities carried out by the DESIS Network Labs, whose objectives can be seen here “Post it city”... read more
The Cumulus Rovaniemi 2019 conference “Around the Campfire – Resilience and Intelligence” invites you to discuss the themes of resilience and intelligence. The Faculty of Art and Design of the University of Lapland will host the conference f... read more
The Zoo Poo and You Studio is a project developed by Melbourne DESIS Lab. Inspired by educator and systems thinker Linda Booth Sweeney: “Education in how living systems function should be a fundamental part of 21st century schooling and anyone’s lifel... read more
Passion for the environment is what Manon Cognard, Manuel Kulzer and Nellie Johnsson, three students with different backgrounds, have in common. Together, they started a group project for the “Co-design: design, participation and democracy” class at M... read more
This is a project developed by the TZU DESIS Lab, Japan, which corresponds to the series of Thematic Areas. These projects are activities carried out by the DESIS Network Labs, whose objectives can be seen here This project tried to draw a desirabl... read more
On November 7, Carlos Moedas, Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation publicly signalled support for Europe’s first cross-sector, citizen-led Declaration for Social Innovation at the Web Summit in Lisbon. The SIDeclaration sets out core valu... read more
Tactus is a project from the Design School Kolding DESIS Lab, in Kolding, Denmark. The project works as a dialogue tool using tactile elements to empower children with cognitive challenges to express thoughts and feelings. Marielund School is a newly es... read more
2019 Special Focus: Design + Context Date: 1 – 3 March, 2019 Location: St. Petersburg, Russia The Thirteenth International Conference on Design Principles & Practices is an initiative from the Saint Petersburg DESIS Lab. The 2019 edition of th... read more
This is a project developed by the University of Lapland Arctic Design Lab, Finland, which corresponds to the series of Thematic Areas. These projects are activities carried out by the DESIS Network Labs, whose objectives can be seen here The Margin... read more
On the 25th October (10:00-12:30), during the Dutch Design Week, Design Academy Eindhoven and the DESIS Philosophy Talks are organizing the DESIS Philosophy Talk “Regenerating Democracy: a Design Contribution #6.5, where we will discuss together how ... read more
At the next and final DSD DESIS Lab Talk for 2018 Terence Fenn and Shashi Cullinan-Cook will be presenting their PhD projects. Shashi Cullinan-Cook is a ‘teacher-student’, editor, researcher and writer in art and design theory and education. Her P... read more
The 3rd LeNS International Conference is a unique worldwide event, distributed for the first time to 6 venues around the world. The conference will take place simultaneously in Beijing (China), Bangalore (India), Cape Town (South Africa), Mexico City (... read more
It is with great excitement that we near the 2018 EFL autumn conference in Milan, Italy. You may find the official program HERE Hosting organisation of this edition is Fondazione Housing Sociale (FHS). FHS has played a major role in the development ... read more
This is an open invite to a meet-up to form a Cumulus working group for education, teaching and learning in the area of service design. Date: 3rd november 2018 Location: Wuxi, Cumulus conference As more designers work in areas where a service perspecti... read more
This is a project developed by the NAS Design DESIS Lab, at Santa Catarina, Brasil, which corresponds to the series of Thematic Areas. These projects are activities carried out by the DESIS Network Labs, whose objectives can be seen here. NAS Design... read more
DESIS activities in Cumulus Conference in Wuxi, China (Oct. 31st -Nov. 3rd 2018) Cumulus Conference “Diffused Transition & Design Opportunities” at Jiangnan University in Wuxi, China will host three DESIS Network activities, organised by... read more
Conference Organized by College of Design and Innovation Tongji University and DESIS Network 28-29 October 2018 Shanghai, Tongji University What can design do for social cohesion? What can it do for urban commons? How can it trigger and support a regener... read more
Designscapes is an H2020 project with the ambition to exploit the generative potential of urban environments in the highest possible number of European Cities to encourage the adoption of Design Enabled Innovation by existing enterprises, start-up compani... read more
The Cumulus 2018 Wuxi China organized by the School of Design, Jiangnan University will be held in Wuxi, China. on October 31, 2018 to November 3, 2018. Background Today we are in wide and deep transition locally and globally which creates many discont... read more
Lecture with Pelle Ehn, professor emeritus, School of Arts and Communication, ;. This lecture by Pelle Ehn gives an overview of how design practice and research has developed during the last 100 years. The viewpoint is from the Scandinavian School of Part... read more
In collaboration with Z33Research Studio Time and Istanbul Design Biennial SALT, Galata, Istanbul 23 September, 15h In this DESIS Philosophy Talks we discuss how to renegotiate the ideology of linear time and progress through the philosophy of Walter Benj... read more
This project was developed by TU/e DESIS Lab at Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands. This is the thirteenth project in the series of thematic areas. All projects are activities carried out by the Laboratories of DESIS Network and respond to th... read more
This project was developed by ID+ Desis Lab at University of Aveiro, Portugal. FAVA is the twelfth project in the series of thematic areas. All projects are activities carried out by the Laboratories of DESIS Network and respond to the call of thematic ar... read more
This work is based on the research supported in part by the NRF for the Thuthuka grants held by Angus D. Campbell titled Designing Development: An Exploration of Technology Innovation by Small-scale Urban Farmers in Johannesburg and by Dr. Naudé Malan ti... read more
This project was developed by NID DESIS Lab at National institute of Design, Ahmedabad, India. This is the eleventh project in the series of thematic areas. All projects are activities carried out by the Laboratories of DESIS Network and respond to the ca... read more
Co-Living is a project developed by HKDI DESIS Lab at Hong Kong Design Institute, located in Hong Kong, China. This project is the tenth project in the series of thematic areas. All projects are activities carried out by the Laboratories of DESIS Network... read more
Transition Town Collaboration I: Seeds INVESTIGATORS: LOUISE ST. PIERRE AND ALL THE STUDENTS IN THE ECOTANK CORE STUDIO; VILLAGE VANCOUVER COLLABORATORS: ROSS MOSTER AND THE VILLAGE VANCOUVER TRANSITION COMMUNITY, KAY CAHILL AND NONI MILDENBERGER, VANCOUV... read more
Alto Vale do Itajaí is a project developed by NAS Design DESIS Lab at Federal University of Santa Catarina, located in the state of Santa Catarina, Brasil. This project is the ninth project in the series of thematic areas. All projects are activities car... read more
To celebrate Women’s Month the DSD DESIS Lab will perform a conversation with a group of experienced female design professionals. This conversation will explore issues of gender equality in various South African design industries; and will expose future... read more
PDC2018 (Hasselt & Genk, B), Tuesday, 21st of August 2018 Organisers: Virginia Tassinari, Liesbeth Huybrechts, Ezio Manzini This DESIS Philosophy Talk aims to provide insight in and research collaboratively with the participants how Hannah Arendt... read more
We are pleased to announce the Call for Papers for the Thirteenth International Conference on Design Principles & Practices, held 1–3 March 2019 at Saint Petersburg State University in Saint Petersburg, Russia. We invite proposals for paper presenta... read more
CampUS is a design project developed by the Polimi DESIS lab at the Politecnico di Milano in Milan, Italy. This project is the eighth project in the series of thematic areas. All projects are activities carried out by the Laboratories of DESIS Network a... read more
The Linnaeus University offers an opportunity for PhD students in interaction design with a focus on design, sustainability and homes. Description of positions The Department of Design, Linnaeus University, Sweden is offering two PhD positions in Design, ... read more
The DSD DESIS LAB: Workshop that was scheduled for this Friday, 20 July 2018, due to the installation of a new air-conditioning system in the FADA building. The event will be rescheduled and we will soon release the new date. More information about d... read more
What is Lasin? LASIN aims to implement a new model for University – Socioeconomic engagement, based on a combination of curricular and extra-curricular activities; learning materials and tools; practical training; mentoring; and the development of s... read more
The Life Without Single-use Plastics (SUPR) is a project developed by the DESIS Emily Carr DESIS lab at Emily Carr University of Art + Design, in Canada. This project is the seventh project in the series of thematic areas. All projects are activities carr... read more
This DESIS Philosophy Talk belongs to a series of travelling talks (www.desis-philosophytalks.org) developed in collaboration with Z33 Research STUDIOTIME (http://z33research.be/studiotime), which started in New York, continued in San Francisco and Milan,... read more
Anna Meroni, coordinator of the POLIMI-DESIS Lab, along with Daniela Selloni and Martina Rossi, which are also part of the POLIMI-DESIS Lab, have launched the book: Massive codesign, a proposal for a collaborative design framework. This book focuses on ... read more
The ZONGO project was developed by the DESIS KNUST lab at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), in Kumasi, Ghana. This project is the sixth project in the series of thematic areas. All projects are activities carried out by the... read more
05.07.18 Ezio Manzini The 19th June 2018, in the framework of the ServDes Conference in Milano, DESIS has organised a workshop titled “Between servitude and collaboration. A service design choice?” This workshop background and aims have already been p... read more
This project is the fifth project in the series of thematic areas. All projects are activities carried out by the Laboratories of DESIS Network and respond to the call of thematic areas, whose objectives can be seen here. Page Hall is a small suburb in t... read more
Compasso d’Oro (Golden Compass) is the name of an industrial design award originated in Italy in 1954 by the La Rinascente company from an original idea of Gio Ponti and Alberto Rosselli. It is the first and most recognized award in i... read more
A research on social innovation and higher education in the BRICS countries – that involved interview and research with DESIS Labs in BRICS countries – has resulted in the publication of a working paper. It was developed by the BRICS Policy Ce... read more
This project is the fourth project in the series of thematic areas. All projects are activities carried out by the Laboratories of DESIS Network and respond to the call of thematic areas, whose objectives can be seen here. NICE 2035 is a framework project... read more
Open & Distributed + Design & Production, theme: Design strategies for enabling indie designers and makers. Designers’ practices have constantly evolved in the last two centuries, and during the last decades new design and production para... read more
This project is the third project in the series of thematic areas. All projects are activities carried out by the Laboratories of DESIS Network and respond to the call of thematic areas, whose objectives can be seen here. Developed by the Carnegie Mellon ... read more
The DESIS Assembly will take place 18 June, 2-5 PM CET, Milan time. You can take part in the DESIS Assembly on Zoom by clicking on this link: https://zoom.us/j/978447653 Conference ID (if asked, should work automatically) is 978447653 (for those who neve... read more
This project is the second in the series of thematic areas. All projects are activities carried out by the Laboratories of DESIS Network and respond to the call of thematic areas, whose objectives can be seen here. The project. The objective of this proje... read more
This Latin American Social Innovation Conference brings together two important social innovation events: the Second Latin American Social Innovation Conference promoted by the LASIN project – Latin American Social Innovation Network – and... read more
This is the first project of a series that we will publish. All projects are activities carried out by the DESIS Network Laboratories and are a response to the Temathic Areas call. The objectives and thematic areas of the DESIS Network can be seen here. &... read more
An Auckland University of Technology project in partnership with The Southern Initiative (Auckland City Council), The Roots Creative Entrepreneurs, Meshed Co-op and 412 Youth. The Southern Initiative (TSI) is a local government ent... read more
Collective Common Occupation: An Auckland University of Technology (Fashion Department) project. New Zealand fashion graduates find that the local industry is largely unable to offer jobs that are in any way aligned to their design training. While ‘thro... read more
Atlantic Wonder is a six-day design-led workshop centred around interdisciplinary contributions of design theory and praxis. It aims to trigger learning, reflection, collaboration and to build nature inspired design methods and processes, drawing inspir... read more
A new theme issue of She Ji brings together a collection of papers that reflect on art and design action research that has been delivered in response to a common theme: Cultures of Resilience. Initially, the purpose of Cultures of Resilience (CoR) was to ... read more
Today we are experiencing wide and deep transitions locally and globally, creating transitions across multiple perspectives. Current developments in society, economy, technology, culture, environment and politics are bringing increasing challenges and com... read more
Please note: After the presentations we would like to formalise the DSD DESIS Lab steering committee for 2018. Therefore, could those who are interested in participating in the future running of the DSD DESIS Lab please try to attend this ses... read more
Interested in Service Design Pedagogy and Practice? Curious about service design tools? Wondering about service design applicability? Want to learn about the case studies from leading service designers? Then join Lara Penin at the book launch of An Int... read more
In partnership with The Southern Initiative (Auckland City Council) and Auckland Transport. Reliance on cars as a primary mode of transport carries significant social, economic, and environmental impacts. In South Auckland, a lower socio-economic area of ... read more
An Auckland University of Technology project in partnership with The Southern Initiative (Auckland City Council) and Oceania Career Academy. Auckland, New Zealand, is the largest Polynesian city in the world, with the majority of ‘Pasifika’ peopl... read more
In partnership with The Southern Initiative (Auckland City Council) and Auckland Transport. In 2017, Auckland city was home to 1.37 million people, and 1.05 million cars, with more than 40,000 new cars being introduced to the region every year. In the cu... read more
This workshop – framed in the context of the DESIS Philosophy Talks – aims to provide insight in and discuss collaboratively with the participants about ‘Participatory Design and Democracy’. It addresses and discusses how PD is currently regener... read more
An Auckland University of Technology project in partnership with The Southern Initiative (Auckland City Council), Middlemore Hospital and Resilio Studios. Middlemore is one the largest public hospitals in New Zealand, admitting 91,000 patients per annu... read more
In partnership with The Southern Initiative (Auckland City Council), Cook Island Development Agency of New Zealand (CIDANZ), Auckland Teaching Gardens Trust and Resilio Studios. The Mangere-Otahuhu district of Auckland, New Zealand, boasts a growing, y... read more
“In the conversation we will explore how the philosophy of Walter Benjamin can help speculative design and design fictions to look at the future outside of a linear idea of time. In particular, we will discuss how his idea of collection can contribu... read more
Below we reproduce an invitation from Flor Avelino, who coordinated the TRANSIT research – Transformative Social Innovation Theory – in which the DESIS Network was studied. — Dear critical thinker and/or doer in social innovation, We wou... read more
Wira Wai: Co-designing affordable, sustainable mobility solutions for harbour commuters. An Auckland University of Technology project in partnership with Generation Zero, Fullers Ferries and The Southern Initiative. The Auckland region is home to over one... read more
A new position just got announced at Malmö University. It is a senior lectureship in design with focus on sustainability and social change. The deadline is the 30th of April. Get more info : http://web103.reachmee.com/ext/I005/1015/job?site=6&lang=SE... read more
In this theme, researchers and designers involved in the DSD DESIS Lab and partner organisations explore a variety of aspects related to spatial and interactive design. Primary objectives of SIX-D include: The explore the reciprocal tension and benefits t... read more
Watch the video of Professor Ezio Manzini’s lecture at the Future Scenarios of Strategic Design seminar, held in March 2018 in Brazil. The seminar was promoted by UNISINOS DESIS Lab, of the Graduate Program in Design, University of Vale do Ri... read more
In 2018, the Post-Graduate Program in Strategic Design at UNISINOS completes 10 years. To celebrate this date and reflect on the way forward and future, the program organized two days of activities on March 19 and 20. At the occasion, will be present the... read more
Book’s title: Quando todos fazem design. Uma introdução ao Design para Inovação Social (Design, When Everybody Designs. An Introduction to Design for Social Innovation) Short overview In a changing world everyone designs: each individual p... read more
Reimagining an existing digital service through research and prototyping How to use an iterative approach that partners with low-income New Yorkers to improve a service. See here: https://civicservicedesign.com/case-study-access-nyc-part-1-5ccdf1c4a520
NYC is a global hub for innovation and design expertise. Through the Government x Design Citywide Design Services contracts, the City will now be able to better engage the design industry in improving public services. See more: http://www1.nyc.gov/nyc-r... read more
Conference Assuming that we all want to move towards sustainable, fair and resilient cities, some qualitative criteria to evaluate the city making projects have emerged. The first and most characterizing concerns the role of collaboration: how much and in... read more
CIID is founded on the vision to create a positive impact on society through creative thinking and digital technologies. The Institute is bringing its life-centred innovation model to Latam with the clear mission to support the region’s efforts f... read more
“Translated by Google Translate” March 14, 15, and 16, 2018 Armazen da Criatividade – Caruaru Rodovia BR 104, Km 62 s/n, Nova Caruaru. Lectures by Ezio Manzini, Carla Cipolla and Carlo Franzato The Creative Input arrives in Caruaru to propose a ... read more
This toolkit outlines Bridgeable’s approach to harnessing behavioural economics to design better products and services that nudge user behaviour. We’ll show you how to identify and utilize BE principles to understand behaviour and generate impactful s... read more
Rather than having researchers formulate specific recommendations for policy makers – TRANSIT Project invited 13 policy makers from local, national and supra-national governmental organizations to attend the TRANSIT final conference as ‘key listeners... read more
In the TRANSIT project – Transformative Social Innovation Theory project – they have developed a theory on Transformative Social Innovation. It is a process of change in social relations involving challenging, altering and/or replacing dominan... read more
Sustainability is unavoidable. It will happen anyway by the interplay of ecological, social and economic disasters. But we could take initiatives: we can design and develop this transition in a process of collective decisions and actions. This series of c... read more
We are pleased to announce that the call for academic workshops is now open! http://www.servdes.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Call_for_Workshops.pdf Service Design has now become a mature field for academic research that, in a constantly dynamic evolu... read more
The Atlas of Social Innovation gathers leading experts to deliver new intelligence on the diversity of Social Innovation complemented by the results of the international research project SI-DRIVE. The articles reflect the diversity, broadness and usabili... read more
The TRANSIT Working Paper Series aims to accelerate the public availability of research undertaken by TRANSIT researchers. It presents research results that in whole or part are suitable for submission to a scientific journal or book. It also considers th... read more
ServDes.2018 PhD Special Seminar: unfolding a proof of concept Politecnico di Milano, Milano June, 18th 2018 www.servdes.org In connection with the ServDes 2018 conference, this 3-hour seminar aims to be a day of reflection to further discussion on the to... read more
RAUM is a collaborative project investigating spatial design education in relation to global urban development challenges, and is interested in expanding knowledge about teaching in this field. RAUM is an initiative by Beatrice de Carli, Florian Kossak an... read more
Many social innovators of today work locally, but are connected with other innovators around the globe through networks. TRANSIT – Transformative Social Innovation Theory project – explored these linkages by researching transnational networks of... read more
Dear (colleague), As you might know, we will host, in June 18-20 2018, ServDes.2018, the leading international conference on service design and innovation. Within the research activities for the preparation of the conference, we are creating a map of th... read more
How to encourage university-community engagement with local communities and disadvantaged groups? This is one of the main questions of the project LASIN – Latin American Social Innovation Network, funded by the European Commission. Specifically, one of... read more
The 2018 Participatory Design Conference (PDC) is looking for student volunteers! 5 good reasons to join the PDC18 student volunteer team! Get insights into the latest design and research in the area of participation in design. Get a chance to meet the na... read more
Watch the broadcast of DESIS Philosophy Talk – Design as a promoter of a participatory democracy (debate) – at the University of Aveiro with Ezio Manzini. https://www.facebook.com/idmaisdesislab/videos/361544380925089/
The international symposium, Design and Social Innovation in Asia-Pacific (DESIAP) co-led by Assoc. Prof. Joyce Yee (Northumbria University) and Assoc. Prof. Yoko Akama (RMIT University) will take place in Kuala Lumpur, on the 21st December 2017 at Malays... read more
TRANSIT project – Transformative Social Innovation – have been working on a Manifesto for Transformative Social Innovation. This is a way to synthesise not only insights from the TRANSIT research project, but also to identify complementarities... read more
“Matters of concern are topics that are not the central research area for any given discipline, but instead require contributions from many disciplines. Erling Björgvinsson, Pelle Ehn, and Per-Anders Hillgren, of the Malmö Living Labs, talk about “m... read more
The Strategic Design Research Journal is launching a CfP for a Special Issue: Autonomía | Design strategies for enabling design process. Extended deadline for submissions: December 15th, 2017 Guest editors: Chiara Del Gaudio, Andrea Botero and ... read more
Booking essential: events.arts.ac.uk
On 12 October 2017, Carla Cipolla (International coordinator DESIS Network) and Eun Ji Cho (Tongji DESIS lab) organized an workshop “Design for social innovation: emerging issues and practices from DESIS Network” at Tongji university, as a part of DES... read more
Tongji DESIS lab, in collaboration with DESIS Network international coordination team, held an exhibition from October 9 to 27 at College of Design & Innovation, Tongji University, in Shanghai. The exhibition, curated by Eun Ji Cho at Tongji DESIS lab... read more
The Summit of International Organizations was held in Montreal Oct 23-24 2017. It gathered around 50 international organizations with the objective of developing an international action plan for harnessing the power of design to address pressing global ch... read more
DESIS SPbU, at Saint Petersburg State University, Faculty of Arts, Design Department is the first DESIS laboratory in Russia and has just become a member of the Network. “The Department of Design in Saint Petersburg State University has a relatively sho... read more
Dear colleagues, There is a special track titled ‘Designing Social Innovation in cultural diversity and sensitivity’ at the next DRS conference in Limerick. The paper deadline is the 6th of November 2017 and full details of the call can be found he... read more
On October 18 and 20, 2017, on the initiative of Carla Cipolla – International Coordinator – and Ezio Mazini – Founder and President of the DESIS Network – all participating members were invited to a web meeting to discuss one of t... read more
For the Circular Economy movement to become a new economic paradigm, it requires a more robust vision. Focus on just the circular/spiral flows of resources is not enough. This theme and its speakers will explore a new robust vision for a circular economy,... read more
Hosted by the China Australia Centre for Sustainable Urban Development University of South Australia, Adelaide, September 20-23, 2018 [Conference website will be live from November, 2017] The university of South Australia invites to call for papers and ab... read more
We are pleased to share with you the case study of the DESIS Network, developed for the TRANSIT – TRansformative Social Innovation Theory – project. Authors: Carla Cipolla, Mayra Prestes Joly and Rita Afonso. DESIS-REPORT-TRANSIT We hope you e... read more
Carla Cipolla, international coordinator of the DESIS Network (Design for Social Innovation and Sustainability), led the workshop entitled “Design for Social Innovation: methodologies and practices between university and broader society” at th... read more
In this theme, researchers and designers involved in the DSD DESIS Lab and partner organisations explore a variety of aspects related to spatial and activity design. Primary objectives of SADUAC include: To better understand the notion of an afro-centric ... read more
On 12th October, a round-table talk called “Democrazia e Design” will take place at MIAAO, Laboratorio di San Filippo Neri (via Maria Vittoria 7/a, Torino), during the prestigious event Torino Design of the City (9th-16th October). In this contex... read more
Between the 14th and 15th of September the DESIS Network participated in a series of activities at the final Conference of TRANSIT – Transformative Social Innovation Theory project. Read more: http://www.desisnetwork.org/2017/09/19/desis-participated-in... read more
The Design for Social Innovation and Sustainability Network (DESIS) was invited to take part in the first World Design Summit Meeting (WDSM) occurring in Montréal (Canada) on 22-24 October 2017, represented by Carla Cipolla (DESIS coordinator) The WDSM ... read more
The International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (to be known as the World Design Organization, effective 1 January 2017) is pleased to announce that the City of Torino, Italy, will host the organization’s 30th General Assembly and World Desi... read more
Tongji DESIS lab, in collaboration with DESIS Network, will hold a DESIS exhibition from October 9 to 27, at College of Design & Innovation, Tongji University, in Shanghai. The exhibition, organized as part of 2017 Tongji Design Week, will present the... read more
Between the 14th and 15th of September the DESIS Network participated in a series of activities at the final Conference of TRANSIT – Transformative Social Innovation Theory. TRANSIT (http://www.transitsocialinnovation.eu/home) is a project that deve... read more
This particular series of DESIS Philosophy Talks – platforms of discussion between design and philosophy on issues coming from the practices of social innovation – called DESIS Philosophy Talk “Regenerating Democracy: a design contribution” (www.d... read more
Starting March 3rd 2018, Germany’s biggest design event, Munich Creative Business Week (MCBW) will draw visitors for the 7th time. You can be part of it – not just as a visitor but as an active partner. If you plan on participating with an event you c... read more
We have already published the four DESIS labs with their critical turning points (CTPs) in the TRANSIT project. We would like, however, to show the Critical Turning Points of the 20 global social innovation networks studied under the TRANSIT Project more... read more
“WE ARE PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT THE CALL FOR PAPERS FOR THE CONFERENCE ‘SERVDES2018 – SERVICE DESIGN PROOF OF CONCEPT’, IS OPEN!” ServDes, the Conference on Service Design and Service Innovation, is the premier international research c... read more
The Readership (Dutch: Lectoraat) Strategic Creativity explores how design can contribute to innovation in society and the economy. In the project named ‘Stroompunt/Let’s Talk Water’ (2015-2017), two research associates, Alissa van Asseldonk a... read more
Emerging Practices Design Research and Education Conference (EPC) is the most important annual international academic event hosted and held by Tongji University College of Design and Innovation. The conference has been held since the year 2012 during Tong... read more
Communicating the Wellbeing of a City with Santa Monica challenged ArtCenter students to work alongside Santa Monica civic leaders and other community stakeholders to translate the City of Santa Monica’s pioneering Wellbeing Index into innovative transm... read more
This project is focusing on ageing issue and especially targeting seniors living alone who are more exposed to loneliness and a lack of social support. Social support refers to ‘process of interaction in relationships which improves coping, esteem, belo... read more
TRANSIT – Transformative Social Innovation Theory project – has studied DESIS Network as a global Social Innovation network. In the links below you can find the 4 timelines labs with their histories. These four timelines are regarding the most importa... read more
TRANSIT (TRANsformative Social Innovation Theory) is an ambitious research project that will develop a theory of transformative social innovation which is about empowerment and change in society. It is co-funded by the European Commission and runs for... read more
In partnership with COANIQUEM, a nonprofit pediatric treatment facility in Santiago, Chile, the “Safe Niños” project reimagined the 6-acre campus with human-centered environments that celebrate wellbeing for patients, their families and medical staff... read more
This design project was initiated by the request of Ulsan Nam-gu Office as a project of Government 3.0 Design. The initial goal was to suggest design solutions to turn Samho village into a tourist area by utilizing the emigrant birds as the tourist resour... read more
We are proud to present a new book born here at POLIMI DESIS Lab! It is ‘CoDesign for Public-Interest Services’ by our researcher Daniela Selloni. ‘CoDesign for Public-Interest Services’ is a book about codesign, and more specifically, about the... read more
Dutch design organisation What Design Can Do launched the Climate Action Challenge on May 23rd, 2017. The Challenge is a new global design competition calling on designers and creative entrepreneurs to submit innovative solutions to combat the impacts of... read more
The Strategic Design Research Journal is launching a CfP for a Special Issue: Autonomía | Design strategies for enabling design process. Deadline for submissions: November 30th, 2017 Guest editors: Chiara Del Gaudio, Andrea Botero and Alfredo Gutiérr... read more
“Soap-ing” is one of social innovation projects on active welfare promoted by DESIS Lab-JU and Keyihui social lab. It was designed for adults who are mildly intellectually disabled in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province in China. They struggle to find employment, ... read more
Promoters: Federal University of Paraná Design & Sustainability Research Center Prof. Aguinaldo dos Santos João Caccere The research investigated the use of Digital Fabrication and Open Design to enable a Distributed Economy Scenario. Such applicati... read more
The objective of this work is to discuss the relations between the design and the street art present in the graphic-visual manifestations of the streets of the city and urban territories. This project seeks the development of a collaborative tool to recor... read more
Promoters: Fluminense Federal University Federal University of Paraná Design & Sustainability Research Center Prof. Liliane Iten Chaves[1] Camila Ferrari, The main objective of the research is to increase the competence about design for Social... read more
Three more workshops of the research project “Cities After Cars” from Tongji DESIS Lab, this time in the dynamic and post-modern scenario of the Pearl River Delta, naming in Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong. Thanks to the support of KAS Konrad-Adena... read more
Use of sustainable design concepts, to develop ways of recycling residues to create new processes and products, which are appropriated by the community to generate income, social inclusion and sustainability. This project of extension and research seeks, ... read more
NEW LEADERSHIP AND LEARNING IN DESIGN AND ENGINEERING. DESISLAB is the Elisava’s Hub of Design for Social and Digital Innovation that aim to foster new research culture and open format through design and a new performative ways of living. The lab is par... read more
doo+ vibe is a one-of-a-kind event, which will be held for the first time in China, that celebrates social innovation and everything with a social purpose. What’s ours? To grow and maximize the social impact of all the dooers+ in our community and rai... read more
This social technology consists of the creation and application of a game called Librário, which is composed of a deck of pairs of cards containing the signs of Libras (Brazilian Sign Language) and the words in Portuguese. Its goal is to teach sign langu... read more
THE DESIS MAP (Send us feedback and ideas about the map in the Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1244948655616919/) Since its foundation, DESIS Network has recognized the value of its labs. Design for social innovation and sustainability is... read more
This project has two main goals: by encouraging local producers to focus or native products to be used to create gastronomic dishes with their identity, we develop tourism and generate income; designing games and strategies to guide kids to eat more healt... read more
This research focuses on the population over 60 years, and seeks to identify their daily difficulties and opportunities to improve their quality of life. To this end, design tools are used to try to make daily experience more enjoyable. It is important to... read more
“Regenerating democracy: a design contribution” When: Wednesday 31 May at 18.30 Where: REDO Cumulus Conference Kolding Chairs: Virginia Tassinari (LUCA School of Arts), Ezio Manzini (DESIS Network) Who: Mathilda Tham (Linnaeus University),... read more
This research investigates communities affected by social exclusion. The study seeks to identify and take advantage of different knowledges and experiences accumulated by the members, looking for solutions in creative economy, using social technologies, i... read more
Designing for Financial Empowerment (http://dfe.nyc) is a cross-sector project that envisions how New York City might challenge the cycle of poverty by holistically examining current public policy and service offerings; understanding the interrelated need... read more
On the 25th of April, Desislab ELISAVA and the Barcelona Municipality signed a triennial agreement for the co-operation between the public and private institutions. The main goal is co-design the city trhough the implementation of Eu policy to inclusive a... read more
from German Studies Center and Tongji DESIS Lab D&I, Tongji University, Shanghai Cities After Cars is a research project composed of a programme of workshops by which citizens are called to participate in activity of envisioning, imagery producing of ... read more
This is an interactive workshop acting as motivator tool during all days of Redo. “Design for Democracy- An Open-ended Storytelling” have as main actors are the Kolding Design students Degree. We are already working together online, but the re... read more
“Speak in tongues. The real design language” DESIS Lab ELISAVA initiative. A video series to communicate, debate and act designing for social and digital innovation and sustainability. The first video is of Ezio Manzini:
[ID+] DESIS Lab, Universidade de Aveiro, Portugal is now halfway through the project Erasmus+ Strategic Partnerships – Strategy for Change – the main objective of the project is to establish a formalised transnational training programme to prepare s... read more
Emily Carr DESIS lab exemplifies “ground up” research innovation with Student Directed, a series of research workshops that are developed and hosted by students. The students solicit a faculty partner, and then submit a proposal for a research worksh... read more
The Democracy and Design platform was launched. You can now send your personal support and publicize the organized events in relation to the issues raised by the open letter Stand Up for Democracy on-line.
[ID+] DESIS Lab, Universidade de Aveiro, Portugal started in January 2017 its participation in the european project SEASIN – Southeast Asian Social Innovation Network an Erasmus+ Capacity Building in Higher Education. This project introduces new par... read more
The project focussed on using a Community Centred Design (CCD) approach and service design processes within a community context, to build sustainable socio-economic models. The project was done in Botswana with a small ceramic making enterprise which spec... read more
(With contributions of Louise St. Pierre, Associate Professor in Emily Carr University of Art + Design) In the panorama of a network of Design Labs based in design schools and in other design-oriented universities, DESIS promotes and supports internationa... read more
Pearl Diver Elisa Bertolotti, Heather Daam, Francesca Piredda and Virginia Tassinari “Presently, we encounter a wide variety of ways in which designers tell stories of social innovation. This encouraged us to start a reflection on the idea of storytelli... read more
DESIS Philosophy Talks Book The Pearl Diver: The Designer as Storyteller (free download) Presently, we encounter a wide variety of ways in which designers tell stories of social innovation. This encouraged us to start a reflection on the idea of storytell... read more
Jiangnan University 7th DESIS Symposium 2016 As a part of programme of DESIS-China regional cluster, the 7th DESIS Symposium 2016 has been organized at School of Design Jiangnan University (Wuxi, China) on 26th -27th of November 2016. With the theme of ... read more
REFRAMING MIGRATION Looking around, we can recognise several examples of migrating people catalysing and contributing to new ways of meeting everyday needs – collaborative initiatives and organisations demonstrating in practice how inclusion can be ... read more
Call for proposals for: INSIDE/OUTSIDE Working our way out of the damaged now is an exhibition and symposium in February 2017 at the San Francisco State University Design Gallery in collaboration with DESIS Philosophy Talk and DESIS Lab LUCA Arts. ... read more
Call for participation Welcome to join this explorative research workshop to imagine a future without cars Venue D&I College of Design and Innovation, Aquarium Room Monday 24th october, 1pm to 7pm Organized by German Studies Center a... read more
Ezio Manzini, Politecnico di Milano Emeritus Professor, has been awarded the Compasso d’Oro ADI alla Carriera 2016. This is the oldest and most influential international design award established in 1954 in Italy. The Compasso d’Oro is awarded on t... read more
We are pleased to announce that the DESIS food cluster is now at the launch! The Food Cluster is an initiative of DESIS Network that explores and promotes design knowledge for social innovation and sustainability in the food system. The cluster aims to hi... read more
A scenario in which more is more 09 Oct. 2014 18.00 -20.00 – Central Saint Martin, Kings Cross, London Josephine Green, in discussion with Jeremy Till and Ezio Manzini Resilience is increasingly recognized as a key quality to cultivate in the face o... read more
Parallel Crossings, Film festival for Social Innovations and Sustainability in Berlin From the 5th until the 28th of September Parallel Crossings a unique Film Festival on Social Innovation and Sustainability is taking place in Berlin screening film produ... read more
Ezio Manzini, 25.07.2014 The notion of design for social innovation is frequently considered similar, if not coincident, with the one of social design. In my view, to do that is an error: the two expressions refer to different activities and have very d... read more
Dear DESIS community, we are pleased to announce that the call for paper of the conference ‘CUMULUS Milan 2015 – The Virtuous Circle. Design Culture and Experimentation’, is now open. We are planning several parallel initiatives for DESIS and th... read more
DESIS China is glad to announce the Spring Festival, a series of initiatives organized by Jiangnan DESIS Lab in the framework of Re-design Education Conference at Jiangnan University This conference is an yearly appointment for the Chinese community of de... read more
Wednesday March 12th, 2014 Design Academy Eindhoven, 5th Floor 14.00-17.00 DESIS Philosophy Talk Storytelling is an initiative of DESIS Network, Design Academy Eindhoven (Strategic Creativity Lab) – Heather Daam & Maartje Van Gestel, Politecnic... read more
Ezio Manzini, Anna Meroni, December 13th, 2012 A distributed design agency: a work in progress. Is DESIS a “distributed design research agency”? Not yet, but we are working on it!As a matter of fact, since the Meeting in Helsinki, in May 2012, several... read more