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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

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.

The Rural Studio
Auburn University program co-founded by the late Samuel Mockbee that engages students and a select pool of graduates from outside the university in the practice of community-based architecture in Alabama.

The Design High School
Learning to think like a designer gives the students the experience and skills they need for productive decision-making. At the Design High School, a free public charter school in LA, the concepts and practices of design will be used to deliver a rigorous and relevant college preparatory and career oriented curriculum.

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Competitions

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.

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.

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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.

Gigaton Awards
The mission of the GIGATON AWARDS is to inspire and challenge businesses to make a difference to climate change and global sustainability. The awards will honor businesses for outstanding performances as defined by measurable carbon reductions and quantifiable steps toward sustainability. There will be a number of prizes awarded, including awards for relative reductions in CO2e (normalized against revenue) by business category and a prize for the most innovative plan to reduce emissions. The Awards ceremony will culminate in the presentation of the Gigaton Prize, which will go to the company that has demonstrably reduced emissions by the largest absolute amount on an annual basis.

The Buckminster Fuller Challenge
The Buckminster Fuller Challenge is an annual international design Challenge awarding $100,000 to support the development and implementation of a strategy that has significant potential to solve humanity's most pressing problems. It attracts bold, visionary, tangible initiatives focused on a well-defined need of critical importance. Winning solutions are regionally specific yet globally applicable and present a truly comprehensive, anticipatory, integrated approach to solving the world's complex problems.

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Organizations

Project for Public Spaces
New York-based non-profit dedicated to creating and sustaining vibrant community spaces. Since its founding in 1975 has served 2,000 communities in 26 countries.

Design In Kind
A collaborative network of designers who work with clients in resource-scarce areas to provide access to clean water, education and health care. Current projects include a test for HIV and STDs and a training program for reducing infant mortality in scores of African and Asian villages.

Designers Without Borders
Non-profit consortium of designers and design educators working to assist institutions of the developing world with their communication needs.

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Programs & Initiatives

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."

Project M
An intensive summer program founded in 2003 by designer John Bielenberg to persuade young graphic designers, writers, photographers and other creative people that their work can have a positive and significant impact on the world.

DESIS Lab at Parsons
The DESIS Lab advances the practice and discourse of design-enabled social innovation toward more sustainable cities. The DESIS-Lab conducts applied research into the ways in which design can enhance community-led initiatives in the development of more sustainable ways of living and working. The DESIS Lab brings together faculty and students from across the disciplines at The New School, led by Parsons The New School for Design and Milano The New School for Management and Urban Policy.

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Publications & Websites

Behance
"Behance researches the most productive creative people and teams in the world, and then translates this knowledge, through the power of design, into products and services that help push ideas forward." Showcases creative portfolios and publishes an online magazine.

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.

Ethonomics
Channel of Fast Company magazine's website with articles about socially responsible and environmentally friendly business endeavors. ("Ethonomics" = ethics + economics.)

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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 >>