Saint-Etienne hosting UNESCO design network
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
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Saint-Etienne has welcomed delegates for the International Design Biennial, with participants working on designs that improve the quality of urban life and enable social cohesion.
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Saint-Etienne, designated international design capital until the end of March, has welcomed 80 delegates for the 2013 International Design Biennial, which runs from 14 to 31 March.
The participants comprise designers, project managers and elected representatives from ten of Saint-Etienne's fellow UNESCO cities of design, namely Buenos Aires, Berlin, Montreal, Nagoya, Kobe, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Seoul, Graz and Beijing.
The delegates took part in a creative cities forum entitled 'EmpathiCITY, Making our City Together' between 13 and 17 March. It served as an invitation to 11 cities of design – Saint-Etienne included – from the UNESCO creative cities network to collaborate on ways of presenting the transformative powers of design: designs that at once improve the quality of urban life and enable social cohesion.
The resulting designs are being exhibited throughout the Biennial in the French city, which runs until 31 March.
The forum was also notable for the signing of a declaration committing to "build together a creative and more human city".
