‘The outrageous amount of entries from designers and creatives from around the globe proves their engagement and commitment to real societal issues. Indifference and cynicism is not applicable to these people. They show us what design can do. And that sincerely touches me.’ Says Richard van der Laken, founder and director of What Design Can Do, in reaction to the news that the WDCD Refugee Challenge drew more than 600 entries from 69 countries.
The WDCD Refugee Challenge, set up in cooperation with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and IKEA Foundation, focuses on the search for concepts that improve the standard of living among refugees waiting in urban areas for asylum or temporary accommodation. The open call for idea submission finished on Friday, 20 May. During the last hours before the deadline the contributions literally came in by the minute.
‘Solving the complex challenges of what is considered the largest refugee crisis since World War II will require new approaches and new ways of thinking,’ says Corinne Gray, acting Co-Lead of UNHCR’s Innovation Unit. ‘More importantly it will require new partnerships and collaboration across sectors. This is why UNHCR partners with organizations such as IKEA Foundation and WDCD. Now more than ever we need designers, entrepreneurs, and anyone with a commitment to change to work together with us to create the most dignified existence possible for those who are forcibly displaced.’
Overwhelmed and humbled
Jonathan Spampinato, IKEA Foundation’s Head of Communication and Strategic Planning says: ‘We are overwhelmed and humbled by the quality and quantity of ideas submitted, and we thank everyone that shared their ideas with us. The great participation confirms what we were hoping for when we launched the challenge – that designers and creatives too want to use their skills to create better everyday lives for refugee children and families. We are all very eager now to review all these great submissions!’
Dagan Cohen, leader of the Refugee Challenge, adds: ‘The fact that we have received submissions from 69 countries proves that the Challenge really resonated with designers and creative thinkers from all over the world. We are overwhelmed by the creativity and empathy demonstrated by all the entrants. It will be a tough job to bring all these great ideas down to a shortlist.’
And Marie de Vos, design researcher at STBY who helped to draw up the briefs for the challenge, concludes: ‘The fact that we reached almost 600 entries for the What Design Can Do Refugee Challenge, shows to me that creatives from all over the world used their empathy in a very constructive way. I’m very happy the challenge and the platform provided a place for all this creativity and all these wonderful ideas. When scrolling through the entries it’s super nice to see the amount of diversity of the applications and the effort all participants have put in explaining and visualizing their idea. There’s so much potential there!’