MANILA, PHILIPPINES — The International Design Conference (IDC), the Philippines’ leading platform for design innovation since 2017, assembled some of the creative industry’s brightest and most curious minds at the Maybank Performing Arts Theater last September 20, 2024. The theme, “Design Beyond Desire,” stimulated thought-provoking conversations and brought forth ideas challenging the status quo.
Mylene Abiva, President and CEO of FELTA Multi-Media Inc., said that the conference was “ground zero for creativity to flourish” in her opening remarks while Jodinand Aguillon, Founder of Pineapple Lab and the host, set the tone with a meaningful reminder: “[IDC] is more than a conference; it is a platform for design to take center stage.”
Here are a few of adobo Magazine‘s key takeaways from the profound keynote sessions and the panel discussions that expounded on the points of each presentation.
“Gross National Happiness is simply development with values.”
Representing Bhutan, Lhatu, Executive Director of the Gross National Happiness Centre Bhutan (GNHCB), talked about the country’s development model: Gross National Happiness (GNH). Unlike Gross Domestic Product (GDP), GNH is an alternate measure of economic and moral progress.
Amidst a world of rapid technological advancements and individualistic societies, Lhatu stressed the vitality of community and interpersonal relationships. “What are your friendships and relationships like?” he asked before addressing the inherent greediness of large corporations.
“Business is important for [the] economy,” he admitted. “But, it can be harmful to society if the business is conducted purely for economic ends.” He explained how businesses are major contributors to climate change, the gradual eradication of natural resources, and other pressing environmental concerns. “For the time being, we cannot extract everything and leave nothing for the next generation.”
Lhutu’s overarching message was: “Happiness is a key societal component for alternative development,” which aligns with Bhutan’s Ancient Legal Code of 1629. The Code states: “If the government cannot create happiness for its people, then there is no purpose for the government to exist.”
“Remember: the earth is the storyteller, and we are the story.”
Nicola Sebastian, Co-founder of Emerging Islands and writer, captivated the room with a story of the Philippine archipelago and “its beating heart.” She expressed, “So much life flourishes in the waters because the Philippines, geographically, is a gateway. Each island comes with its own origin story.”
The Philippines can be summed up into one word according to Nicola: kapwa, which translates to “fellow humans.” She proclaimed this to be the invisible string that holds everything together, but due to countless years of colonization from the West, Filipinos have become victims, bearing the brunt of the climate crisis today.
“The signs by which we make sense of the world are disappearing,” Nicola told the audience, but she beckoned an important call to action. “All of life is a story created by the earth; our story is like an island. Remember to hold on to it while you still can. As the world burns, shakes, and floods, birthing itself anew, remember to listen.”
“AI in the future is citizenship.”
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a contentious topic at the moment, but Ana Arriola-Kanada, Founder and CEO of ICMG Next, shared how AI is not the dictator, but a mere tool for the beholder. She also emphasized the importance of design, specifically its potential to augment a society that fosters inclusion and leveraging technology as a vessel of accessibility.
With AI being the final say in more and more industries, Ana urged everyone not to lose sight of what’s most important: humanity. “Use the superpower wisely. Use it for good — not for bad. And, I encourage all of you to reflect on the aspects of the physicality [and] the civic shifts that are happening now.”
Ana underlined that regardless of AI’s deep intertwinement with the future of mankind, the echoes of humanity should design a world that includes everyone — not only in its finality, but in building it too.
“We are all citizen designers of the future.”
Leyla Acaroglu, Honorary Role of Chief Circular Designer for Circular Australia, kicked off her session with a declaration: designers have the power to invoke change. However, modern society has unfortunately become complicit to a hyper-waste culture. “We’ve perversified the economic system. Human desires are infinite, [and] a lot of those desires are manipulated by our profession regardless of field.”
Despite listing down all the environmental atrocities the earth has gone through, Leyla claims that the damage isn’t irreversible. “We have the opportunity to overcome this exploitative economy by redesigning the world we live in.” But, to bring forth change, people need to realize that it requires activating their own agency.
“The most innate human desire is to have hope,” she said. “Have hope for a better world. Have hope for better lives for our friends and family. Hope for ourselves.” The ultimate goal is to restore nature, and starting whenever is all that matters because as Leyla concluded, “The future is defined by our actions today.”
Adobo Magazine is an official media partner of IDC 2024.
