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Upcoming Conferences

Cumulus Conference
May 24, 2012
Cumulus, a Helsinki-based association of more than 140 universities and colleges of art, design and media, sponsors conferences for creative professionals and leaders in education and media. Its next conference, Helsinki 2012 - World Design Capital 2012, will be held in Helsinki - Espoo, Finland, in May 2012.

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Academic Programs

Designmatters
Educational program founded in 2001 at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, to advance the discussion of design education’s role in today’s world. Focuses on global health care, public policy, social entrepreneurship and sustainable human development. Manages three to five major projects per term across multiple disciplines.

Austin Center for Design
Austin Center for Design exists to transform society through design and design education. This transformation occurs through the development of design knowledge directed towards all forms of social and humanitarian problems. The Center offers an innovative curriculum that repositions creative design education in the context of designing for the public sector.

Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation Program in Social Entrepreneurship
Program at New York University for educating and inspiring a new generation of leaders in public service. A select group of undergraduate and graduate NYU students are chosen annually to learn cross-disciplinary skills for producing sustainable and scalable solutions to demanding social problems.

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Competitions

Re:Vision
Initiative to create the prototype for an innovative, sustainable urban community. At the heart of the process is a series of contests generating visionary ideas for what can and should be done in the design of urban space.

INDEX Design Challenge : Design for Education
The INDEX: Design Challenge asks design and business students, as well as cross-disciplinary student teams, to develop design solutions for better education and education environments in developing regions. The challenge centers around three sub-themes: Improved Education Facilities; Sanitation and Hygiene; and Gender Parity in Education. As well, the contest features an open challenge. Participants from all design disciplines are invited to enter the challenge.

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Fellowships & Prizes

iida - Incheon International Design Award
“iida 2010”, a Korean sustainable design award, seeks fresh and new design proposals to be made by designers with green hearts, being aware of the environment. They welcome active participation of competent world designers to "iida 2010" with the goal of opening possibilities for sustainable life through design. Applicants can enter until August 25, 2010.

Prince Claus Awards
Since 1997 the Prince Claus Awards are presented annually to artists, thinkers and cultural organisations in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. The Principal Award of 100,000 euros is presented during a festive ceremony in Amsterdam in December every year. The additional awards of 25,000 euros each are presented at ceremonies in the Dutch embassies in the countries where the recipients live.

MacArthur Fellows Program
The MacArthur Fellows Program awards unrestricted fellowships to talented individuals who have shown extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits and a marked capacity for self-direction. The MacArthur Fellowship is a "no strings attached" award in support of people, not projects. Each fellowship comes with a stipend of $500,000 to the recipient, paid out in equal quarterly installments over five years.

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Organizations

IxDA
Member-supported community dedicated to the professional practice of interaction design. Sponsors annual conference.

The Association for Community Design
Established in 1977 as a national network and voice for those involved in community-based design and planning. Seeks to broaden the field of community design through more than 40 centers in the U.S. and an annual conference.

All Day Buffet
An "incubator for social innovation" that hosts cross-disciplinary programs, often around meals. Its 2009 Feast Conference will take place in New York City on October 1.

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Programs & Initiatives

Pratt Design Incubator for Sustainable Innovation
Provides office space and advisory support for entrepreneurial students, alumni, and faculty at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. Emphasizes links between social enterprise and the business of design. Since its founding in 2002, the incubator has launched six businesses.

Starbucks Shared Planet Youth Action Grants
"Starbucks has a culture of innovation and entrepreneurialism. With the Starbucks Shared Planet Youth Action Grants, we use this spirit of innovation to inspire young people to take action to create positive solutions to real local needs they see in their neighborhoods. We believe that by supporting young people, we make real change in local communities and inspire additional individuals to take part in community service."

Charlottesville Design Marathon
The Design Marathon is an annual event held at the Charlottesville Community Design Center (CCDC) involving teams of area designers who each provide 12 hours of pro-bono design services to ten deserving area non-profit organizations. Each creative team includes a student pursuing a design-related degree.

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Publications & Websites

Core77
Directed at industrial designers, Core77 publishes articles, discussion forums, an extensive event calendar, portfolios, job listings, and a database of design firms, schools, vendors and services.

The Living Principles
The Living Principles for Design aim to guide purposeful action, celebrating and popularizing the efforts of those who use design thinking to create positive cultural change. This is the place where we co-create, share and showcase best practices, tools, stories and ideas for sustainable design across all disciplines.

Design Mind
Published by global innovation firm frog design, design mind is a media platform that includes a print magazine, a website, videos, and events. Written by frog designers, technologists, and strategists, design mind articles provide the design and innovation community with perspectives on industry trends, emerging technologies, and global consumer culture. design mind also features interviews with high-profile thought leaders, along with contributions from external writers, designers, and photographers. The design mind Web site is regularly updated with fresh video, blog, and event content. The print issue of design mind is published three times per year.

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Social Networks

Open Architecture Network
An online, open-source community founded by Architecture for Humanity. Offers a place where designers can share ideas and projects and host or participate in competitions

BOP Source
"Social network that closes the digital divide, bringing together the 4 billion people at the base of the economic pyramid (the 'BOP') with the companies and NGOs that want to hire them and design products and services for them."

Design 21
UNESCO and the Japan-based company Felissimo are behind this network, which connects designers, businesses and nonprofits for the greater good and hosts competitions to create socially minded products and graphics.

More Social Networks >>