Asahikawa, Kobe, and Nagoya have been designated as Design Cities as part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) and established the “UNESCO City of Design Conference” in 2023 to strengthen exchange and collaboration among design cities in Japan.
In 2023, in conjunction with the World Design Conference that was held in Tokyo by the World Design Organization (WDO), an international design organization, the conference “往来(ourai)｜Correspondence” was held as an official program of the World Design Conference.
In 2024, the second conference will be held in Nagoya on Monday, October 28, in conjunction with the UCCN City of Design Sub-Network meeting in Asahikawa, Japan.
This conference will feature the activities of Naohiro Niiyama, a representative of Tsugi LLC, who designs, promotes and manages accessory and apparel brands, sales channels, and tourism in Sabae City, Fukui Prefecture, where manufacturing is thriving; and Mirari, a Montreal-based company that builds interactive relationships between citizens and cities, audience and space, through installations in public spaces and event venues around the world. In the second part, we will consider the future of design cities and networks through short presentations from domestic and international design cities.

◾️Program
1: CREATIVE TALK
“Creating a Creative Community”
Naohiro Niiyama (Representative, TSUGI LLC, Sabae City)
“The power of creativity to transform cities”
Thomas Payette, Catherine Lareau (Mirari, Montréal City)
2: SHORT PRESENTATIONーFrom UNESCO Design Cities of the World

*Capacity: 60 people (*First-come-first-served basis)
*Registration necessary
*Communication: Japanese-English Interpretation provided