Hundreds of design enthusiasts and activists gathered at the Muziekgebouw last week for the 12th edition of WDCD Live in Amsterdam. At the heart of this year’s programme were the 11 winners of the Redesign Everything Challenge, who took to the yellow stage to share the stories behind their climate solutions. We also heard from creative heavyweights like Edel Rodriguez, Natsai Audrey Chieza and Samar Maakaroun, whose talks explored the responsibility of design in a world that feels more complex than ever. In the afternoon, a range of interactive breakout sessions invited visitors to dive deeper into themes like climate justice, new technologies and the circular transition. Couldn’t make it to the festival on 5 July? Here’s a quick look at the biggest moments of the day.
CREATIVITY AS A BASIC NEED
Opening the festival this year was Amsterdam’s Deputy Mayor Touria Meliani, who shared a powerful reminder of the urgent role that arts and culture plays in building resilient cities and communities. She spoke about creativity being an important tool for change — but also as one of society’s basic needs, and one which we must protect in times of political upheaval. Another highlight of the morning was biodesigner Natsai Audrey Chieza, who called for more collaboration between creatives, scientists and policymakers, and spoke about the answers and allies that we can find in nature.
“Biodesign is the design of and with living systems. What happens when we all work together?” — Natsai Audrey Chieza
Scenes from the main stage, with our co-founder Richard van der Laken and hosts Ikenna Azuike and Saskia van Stein.
11 REASONS TO BE HOPEFUL
Over the next couple of hours, we saw just what these collaborations could look like in action. In this portion of the programme, our main stage became a showcase for the 11 winning teams of the Redesign Everything Challenge. This global design competition was launched by WDCD earlier this year to find and celebrate some of the world’s most creative climate solutions. Through their short (and beautifully presented!) pitches, we learned about how designers are tackling a whole host of complex issues, from waste colonialism in Accra to air pollution in Delhi and biodiversity loss in São Paulo. We saw prototypes for growable electronics, market-ready alternatives for plastic and leather, and community projects that reconnect people to traditional ways of making, living and eating. By lunchtime, the entire room was left feeling energised and inspired.
Redesign Everything Challenge winners Germinatorium (Brazil) and The Revival (Ghana) on the main stage.