And we’re off! Today, the organizing committee of the first World Design Summit is proud to launch this event, which will take place until October 25 right here at Palais des congrès de Montréal. This unprecedented international gathering will illustrate the growing importance of design in our everyday lives, as well as its ability to sustainably resolve issues related to climate change, among others.

With the main theme Bring About Change by Design, the international summit will bring together seasoned professionals from all over the world in the six major disciplines of design: architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, graphic design, industrial design and interior design.

The World Design Summit has three distinct components. First, it is an exhibition where more than 350 exhibitors will promote the main innovations and solutions in design. Second, it is a congress  that will bring together more than 650 expert panelists and over 40 keynote speakers who will discuss a wide range of subjects related to the six leading design disciplines. Finally, it is a summit in which up to 50 international organizations will adopt the first world design the declaration: Montréal Design Declaration. As part of this important summit meeting, a 10-year action plan will be discussed in order to face the global challenges of the future.

The plethora of speakers in the congress program will explore six key interdisciplinary themes: Design for Earth, Design for Beauty, Design for Participation, Design for Sale?, Design for Transformation, and Design for Extremes.

M. Pierre-Alain Gariépy, President and CEO of the World Design Organisation (WDSO) – the event’s founding partner and organizer – is particularly excited about the future of the Summit: “The entire team has worked really hard and we are seriously considering making this celebration of design into a biennial event.”

Congress keynote speakers

From October 16 to 19, several renowned speakers will address participants. Among these high-profile panelists, we note the presence of architects Alejandro Aravena (Chili) and Jan Gehl (Denmark), graphic designers Ruedi Baur (France) and Ginette Caron (Canada), as well as landscape architect Dirk Sijmons (Netherlands). To name a few more, the interior designer Suzanne Tick (USA), the landscape architect Claude Cormier (Canada), the industrial designers Pierre-Yves Panis (Netherlands) and Christopher Rudwal (Canada), as well as the head of the company Roset USA Antoine Roset (USA) are just a handful of the must-see lecturers. Also noteworthy is the presence of the founder of the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA), Montrealer Phyllis Lambert, who will deliver a much-anticipated speech.

Expo essentials

From October 17 to 20, the World Design Summit Expo will dazzle visitors. Among the special projects to look out for, the VIA (Valorization of Innovation in Furnishing), in partnership with the Institut français, will present No taste for bad taste. Another remarkable project is Trekfit’s recent innovation, the Bamboo Jungle.

In addition, some fifty Montreal designers from the Code Souvenir Montréal 2016-2017 catalog will also be present to promote Montreal’s creativity and to present their products. The Packplay 2 Exhibition will reveal its selection of best projects as part of its international competition. 

Joining these exhibitors, Mega Brands Mattel will be presenting its Monument Mega Construx. Synsocium, un dialogue entre Art & Design (Synergy: a dialogue in art and design), will showcase the work of six world-renowned Canadian artists, coupled with the perspectives of six international designers. ARCHELLO will present its new exhibition How it’s made and AJAP will promote the creations of young French architects and landscapers.

Finally, in conjunction with the Canadian Commission for UNESCO and the Society for the Celebrations of Montréal’s 375th Anniversary, the exhibition Indigenize Montreal will offer a magnificent showcase of the potential of integrating Indigenous culture into the city’s built environment.

World Design Summit: Historical achievements ahead

During the World Design Summit Meeting opening ceremony (October 16), the Steering Committee, including the three International Organization Founding Partners partners of the World Design Summit, Kathryn Moore, President of the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA), Regitze Marianne Hess, Special Advisor for the International Federation for Housing and Planning (IFHP), and David Grossman, President of the International Council of Design (ico-D), and also Alain Dufour, Secretary General of the Meeting, and Marie-Claude Parenteau Lebeuf, chair of the World Design Summit Organisation (WDSO), Founding Partner and Organizer of World Design Summit, will present the fruits of their hard labour: Montréal Design Declaration.

This official document is a powerful call for the utilization of the efficiency of design to improve the lives of the world’s population by addressing current challenges. In the context of the World Design Summit Meeting, which will take place on October 23 and 24, the Declaration will present the heightened potentials of design, propose a broad range of projects to address a spectrum of challenges and establish a roadmap for collaboration leading to future Summit Meetings. 

The World Design Summit—Montreal at a glance: 

•  Congress: October 16–19, 2017 

•  Expo: October 17–20, 2017

•  World Design Summit Meeting (by invitation only) : October 23–25, 2017