where climate action meets the future of design

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REANNE LEUNING

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Reanne is an international business development expert for the creative industries. As Head of Internationalisation Programmes for the creative sector at ADVANTAGE AUSTRIA, she creates opportunities to connect, collaborate and grow beyond Austria.

Reanne brings extensive experience in international business development, cross-border cooperation and the creative industries. At Advantage Austria, she supports Austrian businesses in expanding their international reach through strategic advice, export development and financial support, while organising exhibitions, showcases, B2B matchmaking events, conferences, trade fair appearances and international economic missions. Her work connects businesses with partners, customers and institutions worldwide, with a particular focus on design, fashion, art and culture, furniture and interior, music, film and entertainment.

Christoph Pauschitz

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Christoph Pauschitz is Managing Director of GP designpartners, an industrial design studio based in Vienna working with clients worldwide.
For Christoph, innovation is inseparable from value. He believes products need genuine added value — that function, usability, and experience are what matter most.

He sees the potential for innovation in every market offering, always aiming for something better, simpler, and more convincing. He recognizes what’s missing, because without something new, there is no interest — and without interest, no value.

Lotte Kristoferitsch

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Lotte Kristoferitsch is co-founder of EOOS NEXT, an industrial design studio and social enterprise that responds to the world’s major challenges, such as the climate crisis and social injustice, through industrial design strategies. She sees design as a tool for social change, aiming to create alternatives for future, sustainable ways of living.

At EOOS NEXT, Lotte and her team strive for positive change by designing transformative technologies in fields such as mobility, health, water, self-sufficient sanitation, and electricity, driving forward social and sustainable design projects. To achieve this, they collaborate globally with universities and research institutes, social enterprises, and NGOs to improve the situation of people in need, working with Open Design and applying the principles of Circular Design across all their projects.

Juan Umbert Rosselló

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Juan’s approach is rooted in systems thinking, circularity and interdisciplinary collaboration, with the aim of designing food experiences and tools that are not only desirable, but also meaningful, efficient and aligned with future environmental and social challenges.

Juan Umbert is CEO and Co-Founder of Makeat, a food design and innovation studio focused on rethinking how food systems are conceived, produced and experienced. His work operates at the intersection of gastronomy, design, technology and science, developing tools, products and experiences that connect creativity with operational reality across hospitality, food industry and brand ecosystems.

Beyond Makeat, he co-created Plesh, a new concept on the chocolate snack brand exploring new models of responsible indulgence taking out the sugar from the equation keeping the same pleshure, and co-founded liQeat, an R&D platform researching the future of liquid gastronomy through technology, process innovation and sensory design.

Barbara Weingartshofer

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Barbara Weingartshofer is a Vienna-based graphic and information designer with a deep passion for pictograms, typography, and the power of visual communication.

CEO of Nau Design since 2005, she specializes in creating compelling infographics using her design expertise to support international-driven social causes and advocate for gender equality.

In 2023, Barbara initiated and published Frauen zählen (Women Count), a collection of data focusing on the representation and experiences of women in professional design fields in Austria. This publication has been praised for shedding light on gender disparities and opened up an international conversation on women’s contributions and challenges in the design industry. Barbara was key note speaker at Next Gen Design: Women Creating the Future of Design at designforum Wien in September 2024. An active member of the International Institute of Information Design, Barbara is also a keynote speaker and advisor on the visualization of statistics.

AMINA HASANBEGOVIC

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Amina Hasanbegovic is an established fashion designer based in Novi Pazar, Serbia, recognized for her distinct high-fashion aesthetic that balances bold, dramatic silhouettes with subtle, elegant femininity.

Since launching her career, she has specialized in unique evening gowns, custom-made couture pieces, and bridal wear. Her design philosophy rejects passing fast-fashion trends, focusing heavily on craftsmanship, intricate details, and genuine emotional expression.

In addition to running her fashion atelier and dressing prominent regional music and style icons, Hasanbegović incorporates her creative expertise into education, balancing entrepreneurship, family life, and her role as a professor. Deeply influenced by the rich culture of her hometown and an early admiration for classic style icons like Audrey Hepburn. While she continues to scale her brand internationally, she does so through conscious, sustainable growth, remaining deeply rooted in the local ecosystem of Novi Pazar.

Richard van der Laken

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Laken practice advocates for designers’ responsibility to engage with societal issues and contribute to systemic change.

Richard van der Laken is a designer and creative director, and co-founder of the international platform What Design Can Do (WDCD). Through WDCD, he has led numerous campaigns, conferences, and design challenges that bring together multidisciplinary communities to rethink the role of creativity in urgent global challenges such as climate change, inequality, migration, and the transition to circular systems.

Recently, he founded Laecken, a contemporary fashion label that explores men’s self-expression through clothing, accessories, and textiles. Rooted in global craft traditions from regions such as Mexico, Japan, Ghana and India, the brand draws on geometric simplicity and the traditional menswear.