The International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (Icsid) has announced that four cities will proclaim 29 June, World Industrial Design Day – as the Mayors of Dublin (Ireland), Graz (Austria), Helsinki (Finland) and Torino (Italy) have already signed proclamations. Pledges to sign the declaration before the official day of observance have also been received from Kauniainen (Finland), Ljubljana (Slovenia) and New York City (USA) have been made . These cities are joining Montreal (Canada), the first city to sign a proclamation in 2010, in commemorating this important day for industrial design.

The acknowledgment, through the signed proclamations from eight cities declaring World Industrial Design Day, affirms the importance of industrial design to a city’s social and economic development and reinforces the relevance of programming championed by Icsid within the international design community.

“World Industrial Design Day is an excellent way to highlight the societal dimension of design,” said Mr. Jussi Pajunen, Mayor of Helsinki. “Design has become a key driver for smart and sustainable cities all over the world. As World Design Capital 2012, one of the largest expeditions into design ever undertaken, we are committed to being a global forerunner in using design as tool to improve the quality of life of our citizens.”

This year, to mark World Industrial Design Day, organisations from around the world are hosting events to celebrate their industrial designers and the fruits of their labour. Design Schools such as the Scuola Italiana Design (Italy) and Universidad Catolica Nuestra Senora de la Asuncion (Paraguay) are creating a montage of video interviews on design and hosting local poster competitions, respectively, in order to spread awareness throughout and beyond their design community. Two organisations in India, Tata Elxsi and Rana Chaitable Trust are holding nation-wide design contests to commemorate the day.

In addition to events in Belgium, Canada, the Philippines and Venezuela, Executive Mayor of Cape Town, Patricia de Lille and Icsid President Soon-in Lee will participate in the signing ceremony of the Host-City Agreement for World Design Capital 2014. The City of Cape Town was designated World Design Capital 2014 by Icsid at the 2011 IDA Congress in Taipei [Taiwan, (Chinese Taipei)]. The Signing Ceremony marks the first signature event for Cape Town as it officially assumes the title of World Design Capital 2014 and reveals its colour rendition of the WDC logo.