50 years after hosting Expo 67, Montreal has been tapped to host the first-ever World Design Summit from October 14 to 25, 2017. Montreal, a UNESCO ‘City of Design,’ will showcase all the disciplines of design with the goal of establishing a renewable international design charter that will promote positive social and environmental change through the use of design.
“This global summit is a historic opportunity to bring designers, planners and architects together to address urgent environmental issues like climate change by exploring and sharing innovative, efficient and dynamic solutions,” said Glen Murray, Minister of the Environment and Climate Change of Ontario, in a press release.
As part of the Summit, 18 conventions will take place simultaneously with over 4,500 delegates from 80 countries. These delegates will represent six professional disciplines surrounding the built environment: architecture, landscape architecture, graphic design, industrial design, interior design and urban planning. The event will also include exhibitions and a festival.
“We are happy to host the first edition of the World Design Summit – Montreal 2017,” said Manon Gauthier, Member of the City of Montreal’s Executive Committee, in a press release. “This event is important for Montreal’s reach and reputation – and an opportunity to strengthen our ties within the UNESCO Creative Cities Network. This great Summit, which will bring together international experts, decision-makers and government bodies, will showcase Montreal’s expertise in the search for solutions to environmental and economic challenges.”
The Summit will take place in 30 culture-promoting venues across the city, including libraries, community centres and showrooms, and through open houses at four universities and demonstration spaces.
“This is a defining moment for Montreal, but also for the international design community which will greatly benefit from the reach and reputation of this major event and propose tangible solutions to global challenges,” said Alain Dufour, Co-Director of the World Design Summit Organization (WDSO) and Secretary general of the Summit, in a press release. “Organizing such a momentous gathering and mobilizing all the partners has already taken eight years of hard work! This is the first time that all Canadian design organizations unite in this way behind a common goal.”
The City of Montreal provided support for the WDSO in the amount of $500,000 over three years, made possible by a contribution from the Government of Quebec. The Secretariat is also helping to fund the Summit through a contribution of $200,000 for 2015-2016.
