Design 21: Social Design Network

Leaders of the world's eight richest countries (the G8) meet in July. They could have a huge impact on global poverty. Or they could do next to nothing. Help make sure they use this big opportunity to make a difference.

The meetings coincide with the famous Japanese Tanabata festival, where people tie written wishes to bamboo trees. Tie your wish to our virtual tree, and we'll let world leaders know you want to see action, now.

If you happen to be in the Treviso area (near Venice, Italy) mid-July......

Fabrica Workshops Environmental, Social, Relational Cameron Sinclair Architecture for Humanity

Workshop July 14-17 2008 by application Lecture July 14, 6:00pm open to all

Cameron Sinclair was named by Fortune Magazine in 2004 as one of the Aspen Seven, seven people changing the world for the better. He was the recipient of the 2006 TED prize and the 2005 RISD/Target Emerging Designer of the Year. Recently he was selected as a 2008 Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. As a result of the TED Prize Sinclair and Architecture for Humanity co-founder Kate Stohr launched the Open Architecture Network, the worlds’ first open source community dedicated to improving living conditions through innovative and sustainable design. www.cameronsinclair.com

Architecture for Humanity is a charitable organization founded to develop architectural and design solutions to humanitarian crises and provide pro-bono design services to communities in need. Currently the organization is working in fourteen countries on projects ranging from school, health clinics, affordable housing and long term sustainable reconstruction. www.architectureforhumanity.org

The workshop will close with a presentation of the final results commented by a guest critic that will be announced shortly.

For further information: Michela Liverotti +39 0422 516272 www.fabrica.it/workshops/

Really liked this poster by student Sarah Cupitt, from Kingston Polytechnic (UK), selected with other work by Michael Johnson and posted on his website.

“Sarah Cupitt’s hidden depths poster looks innocuous at first, then on closer inspection....reveals its creatures to be plastic, to protest against the increasing amount of litter in our oceans."

From the Adbusters team:

“Design is at war with itself. We are taught that design is about finding solutions. But the success of these solutions is judged so narrowly - Did it ooze desire? Did it shift units? – that we find ourselves implicated in problems far greater than the ones we solve. The time has come for a radical shift in priorities. We are now faced with some of the most daunting global challenges in human history. These are real targets, worthy of our problem-solving skills, ripe for our intervention. Yet those who have the vision to rise above national and political boundaries still have no symbol to rally under. We invite you to create a flag - free from language and well-worn clichés - that embodies the idea of global citizenship. A symbol that triggers pride and cohesion, whether worn on a backpack, displayed on a door, or flown on a flagpole. A symbol for anyone to declare membership in a growing and vital human cooperative. We invite you to prove that design has a real role to play in the fate of our world.

Submissions will be critiqued by a panel of prominent design professionals, then featured in Adbusters and supporting design publications. The winning flag will go into production, ready for flying by the patriotic citizens of Earth.

Deadline for entries is December 1, 2008.

Judges: Jonathan Barnbrook, Michael Bierut, Vince Frost, Steven Heller, Kalle Lasn, Rick Poynor and Dmitri Siegel."

More info: http://www.adbusters.org/campaigns/onef...

If you happen to be in Milan in June, AIAP have organised a series of meetings at La Triennale to celebrate the opening of their 'Good 50x70' 2008 poster exhibition which will feature over 200 posters covering a variety of social and environmental issues.

Some of the designers featured: Timo Berry (Finland), Bulent Erkmen (Turkey), Cao Fang (China) Yossi Lemel (Israel), Alain Le Quernec (France), Chaz Maviyane-Davies (Zimbabwe), Armando Milani (Italy), Woody Pirtle (USA), Gunter Rambow (Germany), Liza Ramalho (Portugal), Dan Reisinger (Israel), Leonardo Sonnoli (Italy), Massimo Vignelli (USA) and Lourdes Zolezzi (Mexico).

Further info: info@good50x70.org, www.good50x70.org

The opening of the Good 50x70 2008 exhibition will take place on Tuesday, June 10th at La Triennale museum, viale Alemagna 6, Milan, Italy.

Here’s the programme of events:

11:00 pm Press conference

2:30 pm – 6:30 pm International seminar on social communication with Good 50x70 jurors and collaborators:

Beppe Chia, AIAP president Dalia Gallico, ADI Lombardy president Yossi Lemel, Jury member Alain Le Quernec, Jury member Armando Milani, Jury member Massimo Pitis, BEDA representative

7:00 pm The Good 50x70 exhibition is officially opened.

7:00 pm - 11:30 pm The Good 50x70 opening party in the gardens of La Triennale.

The catalogue of the selected posters will be given to the winning entrants on the day and will also be available to purchase for the rest of us mere mortals. We hope to see you t...

Correct post above.....sorry.

"150 statues across Rome were wearing elasticated anti-pollution masks over their mouths on Thursday morning following a covert night-time operation by environmental activists.

Early-morning joggers and dog walkers alerted the police to the masks after finding them on statues of Roman emperors lining Via dei Fori Imperiali near the Colosseum, famous magistrates around Rome's Palace of Justice, and Garibaldi's mustachioed generals on the Janiculum Hill.

Statues in Piazza del Popolo and along two bridges across the River Tiber were also dressed in the protective gear.

The activists from environmental group Terra! had also hung no-entry road signs around the necks of the statues bearing the chemical symbol for carbon dioxide."

(from ANSA)

A really effective 'campaign' that's getting a lot of press over here. A simple, harmless idea that gets across a very big issue. A kind of vandalism, I know, but I really love the idea that it looks like it's the statues themselves, romans, angels, military figures, etc, that are protesting at the pollution levels. Wish I'd come up with something like that. Bravi! 'Terra!'