Norwegian EV designer joins INDEX: Jury
Earlier this month, Norwegian designer Katinka von der Lippe joined the INDEX: International Jury. Her first official duty came soon after, as the jury was conveying in Singapore to discuss the strategy for selecting winners and finalists in the future and to open INDEX: Award 2012 Exhibition in downtown Singapore. The following is an interview made with Katinka in Changi International Airport on the way home...How did your first jury meeting go? My first jury meeting was a very good experience, mainly because of everyone's great commitment and genuine interest in exploring how design really can improve people's lives. I was happy and impressed to meet a jury with great professional breadth and deep knowledge about design as a strategic and operational tool. INDEX: Design to Improve Life® appears to me as an important voice and one of the few international arenas where the world's pressing challenges regarding i.e. the unequal distribution of resources is sought to be addressed/solved using design methodologies and design tools.
Do you feel that it was a fruitful meeting? When a group of younger and older (The INDEX: International Jury spans agewise from 41 to 76 years of age), visionary and down-to-earth forces meet, and there is enough time for you to discuss and exchange views and opinions, good ideas pop up all the time. And for a new jury member like myself, it was also important to get a good introduction to INDEX: Award and to the organization, and also to the work of creating a platform for the future work. I feel that we successfully went through the aims of the organization for 2012 and 2013 in a very good way, and I look much forward to starting the actual jury work.
What specifically do you look forward to? Kigge (INDEX: CEO) gave us a very detailed insight into how INDEX: Award has evolved since the organization's beginning in 2002 and the inaugural award in 2005. Since 2005, the number of nominations have thus more than trebled, and both the award ceremony and exhibition has expanded substantially from year to year. Furthermore, many new initiatives have grown from the Design to Improve Life thinking, such as Design to Improve Life Education which I believe holds a phenomenal potential towards teaching elementary- and high school students all over the world design thinking and creative methods. Skills that will be most essential in the 21st century, as the world's pressing issues are growing. I also believe that we will see INDEX: Design to Improve Life® grow on many levels in the coming years, as designers' approach(es) to local and global challenges can create results in other sectors than we traditionally link to design, i.e. health, food and agriculture. Adding to that, I think that we will find many more candidates for INDEX: Award within local politics and city planning in the future, and I look forward to this journey and to be able to contribute to shedding light on many good examples of Design to Improve Life.
Which design is your favorite to win INDEX: Award 2013? The winning design in 2013 will be the best, most innovative solution to an important problem. It could be addressing clean drinking water, emission-free transportation in urban areas or self-sustaining housing. Or it could be an education system or a digital solution helping more children getting an education. Or something completely different. The common denominator for all the winners are that they contribute in improving the lives of a lot of people.
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