The Information Office of Shanghai Municipality held a municipal government press conference today afternoon (September 6) during which Zhang Wei, Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee and Vice Mayor, gave a briefing on the 2022 World Design Cities Conference (WDCC). Wu Jincheng, Director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization, Ruan Li, Deputy Director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization, Lou Yongqi, Vice President of Tongji University, and Wang Nai, Deputy Chief of Huangpu District, attended the press conference and answered questions from reporters.

1.　Background of the　WDCC

In 2010, Shanghai stood out to win the City of Design designation granted by the United Nations. Since then, Shanghai’s creative design industry has accelerated its development. At present, the city is home to a group of professional design institutions with core competitiveness, well-known designers and widely influential design brands. As the city further develops the creative industry with an aim to build a world-class city of design and a creative design industry with high added value and brand value, it is necessary to have an international, professional and market-oriented platform, and rely on a vast number of experts, scholars and industry professionals at home and abroad to provide insights and help recruit talents. As such, the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee and the Shanghai Municipal Government decided to hold the first WDCC, aiming to create a grand event for cooperation and exchange in the field of international design, and to help build a more creative, innovative, competitive and influential creative design industry in Shanghai.

The 2022 WDCC will be held in China Shipping Pavilion on the riverside of Huangpu District and nearby areas from September 15 to 18. This year’s WDCC has the theme of design beyond borders for integration and symbiosis. The conference will focus on cross-sector integration trend, innovation-driven effect and ubiquitous empowering role of design. At the same time, it will also showcase Shanghai’s active integration into the global Creative Cities Network,　as　well as the determination and mission to gather wisdom, build platforms, share opportunities, and create the future together.

2.　Relevant arrangements of the WDC

With regard to the preparations for the conference, there are three main considerations.

Firstly, we aim to lead industry trends and build a high-end platform for international cooperation and exchanges. The overall structure of the conference is “1+2+2+X”, that is, 1 opening ceremony, 2 summit forums (Design 100 Summit and City of Design Summit), 2 exhibitions (main exhibition and Paris exhibition), as well as more than 50 forums and design events. On one hand, the forum topics are forward-looking. We will invite industry leaders at home and abroad to deliver keynote speeches, by focusing on industrial design, architectural design, fashion design, digital design, and service design. For example, international design masters such as Philippe Starck will make suggestions for Shanghai to be the city of design. C919 chief designer Wu Guanghui and Huawei executive director Yu Chengdong will discuss industrial design ecosystem. The conference will also have forums in specific fields like automotive design, brand design, advertisement design, youth creativity, and design education to inspire innovative ideas on hot topics. On the other hand, event planning highlights international perspectives. We will invite Deputy Director-General of UNESCO to give an online speech, and Thomas Heatherwick (famous British designer), Alexandra Michele (Gucci Creative Director), Nicolas Hieronimus (L’Oreal Global CEO) and other internationally renowned designers and entrepreneurs to give online speeches. At the same time, we will link with Paris Design Week 2022, Milan Fashion Week, and the Sino-French Brand Summit, such as holding an overseas exhibition at the Galerie Joseph in central Paris, to demonstrate the global fashion, Chinese style and technology with an aim to create an international event where Chinese and Western cultures complement each other.

Secondly, we will present a “five-dimensional” structure and convey the concept and connotation of the City of Design. Based on the concept of “design for an innovative city”, the main exhibition in　China Ship Pavilion will be built into a prototype for Shanghai to build a world-class city of design. The exhibition starts with a design narrative, together with landscape installations to outline the overall picture of 43 cities of design around the world. The main part revolves around the “five-dimensional” structure of 1) design empowering industry innovation and development; 2) creating dynamic urban space; 3) optimizing social public services; 4) enabling people to live a better life; and 5) working together to build a city brand. The special French and Italian zones will be set up. The out square consists of landscape installations such the Dream of Design created by Arcplus Group.　The total exhibition area is nearly 20,000 square meters, with more than 110 brands and more than 300 exhibit series, of which international brands account for 20%. In line with the “five-dimensional” structure, new product release sessions will be held. Under the new “Shanghai Design 100+” campaign, we will select winners from 2,128 design projects from 1,416 design teams in 18 countries and announce the results at the conference. These shortlisted works have realized economic value of 42.2 billion yuan, and the total economic value through the life cycle is expected to be 398.7 billion yuan. Among them, MicroPort, Shanghai Jahwa, and Forest Cabin will also hold special product release events.

Thirdly, we will coordinate global resources to incubate an innovative and dynamic design industry. The conference and its rich activities will elaborate around an award, a think-tank, and an initiative. We will present the Vanguard Design Innovation Award during the conference. With three sub-awards for Design Contribution, Design Innovation, and Future Innovation, we want to build the award into an influential one that recognizes Shanghai’s reputation as a city of design. We also expect the award that stresses both professionalism and public participation to demonstrate Shanghai’s advantages and resources. We will establish a think-tank that consists of 100 professionals from around the world, including design bigwigs, directors of famous design schools, and heads of leading design companies, to build an inspiring ecosystem. We will also unveil the City of Design (Shanghai) Initiative. It calls for stronger interaction in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network and promotes Shanghai’s philosophy, vision, and willing to cooperate. Besides, we will organize 20 featured activities during the conference, including an exhibition of industrial designs over the last century and another one of living room designs in regions south of the Yangtze River. We will work with social media platforms such as Tencent, Douyin, and Poizon to expand the coverage of the activities. We will announce the official establishment of a demonstrative region of the City of Design and launch a series of industrial projects and global cooperation programs. We expect to attract companies, institutions, and high-end talents from home and abroad to contribute to the development of Shanghai’s design industry.

We will launch a Meta Universe site to facilitate participation in the conference. People could also make reservations online to visit the exhibitions. We expect to present a spectacular conference that features the power of design and a safe one that fulfills Covid rules. #