In October 2008, the City of Nagoya gained membership in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (in the category of Design). As a Creative Design City, Nagoya is performing various projects to foster human resources with rich creativity and to realize a sustainable society. International Design Center NAGOYA has been proactive in developing this project.

*UNESCO Creative Cities Network
The Creative Cities Network is certified by UNESCO, an organization emphasizing the conservation of cultural diversity. This program promotes international partnerships and reciprocal exchanges among cities throughout the world that seek invigoration through the development and strengthening of creative and cultural industries. The program consists of seven fields, including craftwork and folk art, design, film, gastronomy, literature, music and media arts.

*Nagoya, UNESCO City of Design Organizing Committee
Constituent organizations: City of Nagoya, Council of Chubu Design Organizations, Nagoya Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Nagoya City Cultural Promotion Agency, Nagoya Urban Development Public Corporation, International Design Center NAGOYA Inc.

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• Nagoya, UNESCO City of Design (Official website)

IdcN has taken the initiative in holding international exhibitions, conferences and workshops in which Nagoya can play a unique role as a local instigator with a global perspective. Our task has been to launch projects that facilitate the exchange of information with design communities all over the world and help us view Japan from the outside to further deepen mutual understanding. IdcN's challenge has been to improve opportunities to represent Japan overseas. Aiming to build a comprehensive understanding of Japan by introducing superb design work, we'll continue to make a positive aesthetic appeal from Nagoya to the rest of the world.

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IdcN implements a wide variety of design programs, such as exhibitions, forums, workshops and seminars in cooperation with design bodies, promotion organizations and design institutions from around the country as well as from our local region.

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IdcN often receives internationally active designers and creators from a variety of countries and regions. As occasion calls, we hold talk sessions to present the most recent design information from abroad. These events provide opportunities for our audience to explore the work of our guest designers or creators, their way of life, values and perceptions and eventually gain access to their background in design and the essence of their creativity.

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The International Design Center NAGOYA aims to enhance citizens' consciousness of design, strengthen the next generation's power of design, offer a variety of opportunities to engage with superior design, and raise citizens' awareness of design.

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The IdcN holds approximately 2,000 Art Deco items, ranging from furniture to electric appliances, tableware, magazines and posters, which were produced in the United States in the 1930s. This design mode, having permeated the country in the dawn of the mass production age, serves as precious material demonstrating the previous century's great shift in society and the industrial structure. Even today these supremely playful objects assert an uncanny freshness. In the IdcN Collection Exhibition Series, we group and display pieces by theme.

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• American Art Deco Collection (Collection Gallery)
• American Art Deco Collection Guide (Reports)

Although many designed objects are widely known, those who designed them often remain unknown. IdcN introduces the work of leading designers and other particularly active creators both from Japan and from countries and regions around the world so that they may be more widely understood.

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"NAGOYA DESIGN DO!" is a program designed to provide an opportunity for young, talented designers to develop their skills and exchange ideas with one another. It targets young people from around the globe and is held in the form of a competition every two years. Winning works were awarded prizes and the winners were invited to a workshop, where, by interacting with one another in a work-like setting, they were able to share their talent and enjoy a wide range of points of view.

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The International New Designers Workshop targeted young designers, students and researchers. The workshop aimed to transcend design, by emphasizing social experiences in collaboration with participants from all across the world, from different disciplinary fields and cultures. Under the guidance of guest directors at the vanguard of cutting-edge fields, participants deepened their understanding of each other's differences and common ground through collaborative work, interviews and discussions.

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Since October 1990, in commemoration of the previous year's opening of the Icsid '89 Nagoya Congress for the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design, until 2009, the City of Nagoya had convened an annual, month-long event called Nagoya Design Week. The entries for the student-oriented Display Design Competition were showcased in the windows of banks and other commercial venues, adding to the charm of Nagoya's city center. This October event included the outdoor Live Market, where creators active within a wide variety of genres come to sell their work, and a commemorative exhibition celebrated the grand prix winner of the Live Market Booth Contest.

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