Nagoya International Design Competition Committee
Consisting of Nagoya City, International Design Center NAGOYA Inc., Council of Chubu Design Organization (CCDO)
The city of Nagoya is located in central Japan and has a population of approximately 2.25 million people. The city possesses a long history of tradition, as well as a wide range of industries such as textiles, ceramics, furniture, transportation equipment and information products. The history of Nagoya began in the Edo Period with the construction of Nagoya Castle in 1610. The year 2010 will mark the 400th anniversary of the establishment of the city of Nagoya.
The “manufacturing city” of Nagoya held the World Design Exposition in 1989 and also issued a “Design City Declaration” in the same year. Since then, Nagoya has actively performed city development centered on design and has held many design events. In October, 2008, Nagoya was selected as a member city of the design field for the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) Creative Cities Network*1. This selection was made in recognition of previous “Design City” projects such as the establishment of an International Design Center to serve as a base for supporting the creation of design, the holding of international design conferences and various other events, and the development of young design professionals. Recognition was also given to Nagoya's future vision regarding design.
In 2010, in addition to the 400th anniversary of the establishment of the city of Nagoya, the international conference on biological diversity “COP10: The 10th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity”*2 will be held in Nagoya. The ecological richness and balance maintained by biological diversity is essential for the existence of human beings. A biological diverse environment can be protected through a society which recycles resources and energy, as well as through the creation of a sustainable society.
“Design City Nagoya” also seeks to become the “Environmental Capital City Nagoya”.
(*1)UNESCO Creative Cities Network
Please see the section of “Creative Design City Nagoya”.
Creative Design City Nagoya: http://www.creative-nagoya.jp/index_e.html
(*2)COP10: The 10th Conference of the Parties to
the Convention on Biological Diversity:
http://cop10.jp/aichi-nagoya/english/index.html
The following 3 visions are raised by Nagoya, which has greeted a new stage of existence as “Creative Design City Nagoya”.
1. Fostering the next generation
In order to contribute to the invigoration of regional industry, we shall create collaborations between the industrial world and design institutions, and shall work to discover and develop talented young designers.
2. Calling for an environmental city
We shall strive to shift our form to a recycling society and an environmentally friendly city.
3. Network with diverse culture
In order to advance new projects such as joint projects with UNESCO, we shall use a global perspective and cooperate with other member cities while working together with young artists who are leaders of the next generation.
The Creative Cities Network was certified in 2004 by UNESCO, an organization which emphasizes the conservation of cultural diversity. This program promotes international partnerships and reciprocal exchanges between cities throughout the world which seek invigoration through the development and strengthening of creative and cultural industries.
The program consists of seven fields which include design, craftwork and folk art, film, gastronomy, literature, music, and media arts.
Cities Appointed to the Network(19 cities as of June, 2009)
Field/City/Country (Joining year)
○UNESCO Cities of Craft and Folk Art
Aswan, Egypt (2005)
Santa Fe, USA (2005)
Kanazawa, Japan (2009)
UNESCO Cities of Design
Berlin, Germany (2005)
Buenos Aires, Argentina (2005)
Montreal, Canada (2006)
Nagoya, Japan (2008)
Kobe, Japan (2008)
Shenzhen, China (2008)
○UNESCO City of Film
Bradford, UK (2009)
○UNESCO Cities of Gastronomy
Popayan, Colombia (2005)
○UNESCO Cities of Literature
Edinburgh, UK (2004)
Melbourne, Australia (2008)
Iowa City, USA (2008)
○UNESCO Cities of Music
Bologna, Italy (2006)
Seville, Spain (2006)
Glasgow, UK(2008)
Ghent, Belgium (2009)
○UNESCO Cities of Media Arts
Lyon, France (2008)
Creative Design City Nagoya: http://www.creative-nagoya.jp/index_e.html
