WDC 2014 to host ‘Designing Policies for a Developing Country’
The ‘Make a Plan’ WDC 2014 Design Policy Conference, taking place 17-18 October 2014 at the Cape Town Stadium, aims to develop a policy that guides and encourages design, not only in South Africa but on the entire African continent. Discussions on challenges and opportunities around policy in a developing context will also be held.
WDC 2014 Programme Director, Nicky Swartz says, “The conference theme, ‘Make a Plan’, stems from the overarching idea behind the WDC 2014 programme and projects, which is to celebrate the inherent resourcefulness and resilience of people who find solutions to problems by making use of what they have within their immediate environment. This is the essence of the South Africanism, ”n boer maak ‘n plan’ (a farmer makes a plan).
“As a developing country and continent, our design journey does not have to replicate what has been done by other more developed countries. We will make a plan with the context, skills and resources that we have. Thus, we need a design policy that is uniquely South African and which is informed by the learnings of other developing countries.”
