Ribó: “In Valencia we believe in design. Our mission is to project this term as capital towards the future”

The mayor of Valencia, Joan Ribó, highlighted in Hyderabad (India) the city’s commitment to the project of Valencia World Design Capital 2022 and its “mission to project this term as capital towards the future via its global legacy,” which aspires to improve the wellbeing of residents and to respond, to the extent possible, “to the great challenges faced by Humanity.”

“Design is the lever of change to activate innovation processes in all public and private activities. In our city we believe in design and we have made a great effort to achieve this appointment as capital,” declared the mayor to the World Design Assembly, organised by the World Design Organization (WDO) until this Saturday in Hyderabad.

On his trip to India, Ribó was accompanied by the president of the Associació València Capital del Disseny, Marisa Gallén, and the strategic directors of the project, Xavi Calvo and Pau Rausell, together with representatives of Valencian companies that belong to the WDO, such as Point and Andreu World, as well as Carlos Ferrando of Closca, who gave a presentation during the meeting.

After publicly announcing their choice of Valencia last September, the WDO congress served to make the city’s appointment as World Design Capital 2022 official.

“For our city, being world design capital in 2022 is a real challenge and a great opportunity. This recognition gives a boost to the Valencian and Spanish creative industry, progress is made in competitiveness, our whole economy and our products are projected throughout the entire world. Furthermore, new formulas are given visibility to improve people’s lives, also through design. During the next three years, we want design to impregnate all the spheres of our city and to influence innovation in the fields of education, urban planning, communication, tourism, innovation, culture, business and ecology,” stated the mayor.

Ribó took the opportunity to present Valencia, as a city, and its design sector to the general assembly of the WDO, referring to its inhabitants, its industries, its gastronomic culture, its sustainability, it history, its cultural knowledge and its bid to become a Smart City.

“We have a group of companies linked to design that have supported this initiative from day one. Our Valencian industrial sectors have endorsed design as an element to set them apart and open them up to the rest of the world. In the city of Valencia and in our region we have willing and able teams of people, with committed public institutions, with private sector agents that are willing to become involved and sufficient infrastructures to commit to the development of this bid,” the mayor stressed.

Valencia’s project, which will include universities, institutions, professionals, companies and citizens, seeks to promote Spanish design at an international level but also to connect it to national economic, social and cultural sectors, to boost the sustainable and inclusive development of the region, generate business opportunities, favour collaboration and innovation and make Valencia a benchmark for innovation beyond 2022, among other aims.

‘Humanizing design’ is the slogan of this World Design Assembly which takes place every two years and which, in this case, has been held for the first time in India. This meeting also included a research and education forum that aspired to “explore trends that better prepare young designers for new challenges and opportunities,” according to the WDO.

This forum analysed the integration of the UN Sustainable Development Goals in the curricula of design studies around the world, the future of design and research education in emerging economies and the human focus applied to digital media.