By Elizabeth Tchii
STAFF REPORTER
Thursday, Aug 27, 2009, Page 11
Taipei City has been selected to host the 2011 International Design Alliance (IDA) Congress and exhibition out of a pool of 13 countries and 19 cities around the world, Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) announced yesterday.
It is the first time an Asian city will host the event.
“What makes this significant is that this is also the first time that Taiwan will be on center stage hosting the world’s biggest design conference, and also the first time the three global organizations for industrial design, interior design and graphic design will come together for this highly anticipated event,” Hau said at a press briefing.
The 2011 IDA Congress in Taipei will attract more than 3,000 prominent designers and 1 million visitors from over 60 countries, according to the exhibition’s co-organizer, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA).
More than 50 related activities will be held throughout 2011, with the IDA Congress Forum to take place on Oct. 24, the council said.
The exhibition will directly or indirectly generate potential tourism revenue of more than NT$8 billion (US$243 million), TAITRA chairman Wang Chih-kang (王志剛) told the media briefing.
Wang, who is also chairman of the Ministry of Economic Affairs-backed Taiwan Design Center (台灣創意設計中心) said the government had named the 100th anniversary of the Republic of China as the “Year of Design.”
The congress’ theme will be “Design at the Edges.”
“We’ll be exploring the edges of the design discipline. Participants will witness the edges blurring between design and other industry fields such as healthcare, information technology, engineering and business,” IDA executive Mark Breitenberg said yesterday. “Innovation and creativity is always the heart and soul of design, so we look forward to edges of the unknown as well.”
The international design summit will take place at the Taipei International Convention Center, Nangang Exhibition Hall (南港世貿) and Songshan Tobacco Factory (松山煙廠).