Finland has been elected as the first country to preside the World Design Weeks network. The first president is Helsinki Design Week founder and director Kari Korkman.
Finland assumes a greater role within international design field after being elected as the first country to preside the World Design Weeks network. Consisting of 50 design and urban festivals around the world, the network forms a considerable consortium of design week festivals.
The objective of the World Design Weeks is to promote collaboration in the design field, to support product development, and to develop the economy of creative fields. It provides networking and support to both the design field and the fields that utilize design. Founding members include nine design week festivals on three continents: Soul, Tokio, Beijing, Toronto, San Francisco, Mexico, Barcelona, Eindhoven and Helsinki.
Design weeks have developed into local hubs of the creative fields. They connect growth metropolises’ creative urban festivals and their partners, such as academies and companies representing the design industry. Design weeks are being founded at an accelerating pace on all continents.
Read more on the Helsinki Design Week website