Italian Design Day 2021 spotlights the importance of sustainable design

Italian Design Day 2021 spotlights the importance of sustainable design for our well-being and a healthier, more productive environment

IN KEEPING WITH the commitment to promote strategic design, the Embassy of Italy, in collaboration with the Malaysia Italy Design Institute (MIDI) of Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) celebrated the fifth edition of the Italian Design Day (IDD) with the theme “Project and Matter: new challenges for the sustainable restart of the Made in Italy.”

Focusing on the connection between design and sustainability to minimise waste and consumable, non-renewable resources, and to create healthier, more productive environments, the live webinar commenced with welcome speeches by Datuk Dr. Roziah Omar, president/CEO of UniKL, and Cristiano Maggipinto, the Ambassador of Italy to Malaysia. This was followed by a series of insightful talks led by Professor Silvia D’Ambrosio of Politecnico of Milan, who is the Ambassador of Design for this year’s edition, alongside Professor Luca Fois, also from Politecnico and the Ambassador of Design in previous years.

Other guest speakers included Ar. IDr Dr.

Tan Loke Mun, principal of DrTanLM Architect, director of ArchiCentre, founder and director of DTLM Design Group; IDr Joe WH Chan, Honorary Treasurer of the Malaysia Institute of Interior Designers (MIID) and principal of DesignTone Interior Practice; and Professor

Ts. Dr. Khairul Aidil Azlin of PEREKA, the Malaysian Association of Industrial Designers.

Datuk Dr. Roziah Omar lauded the Embassy, ITA, the Italy Malaysia Business Association and other stakeholders for their strong support in the realisation of IDD 2021 by saying, “I believe this collaboration and similar industry partnerships between MIDI and similar Italian entities, not only raise the standards of our academic quality but also ensure our students will be relevant to future job needs, enhance our graduates’ employability, and boost the growth of our nation. We hope to foster more initiatives: student internships, summer programmes and academic mobility with many more Italian partners in the near future.”

SUSTAINABILITY - THE WAY FORWARD

Commending UniKL on their proactive role in supporting IDD, His Excellency Cristiano Maggipinto cited three key words critical to this year’s event: “Made in Italy,” “sustainability,” and “restart.” According to His Excellency Cristiano Maggipinto, “After the pandemic, our plans to recover and restart have to be sustainable, going forward. Hence the theme of IDD 2021 is especially important considering this year is crucial for the defence of the environment, in the fight against climate change and the promotion of authentically sustainable development: all themes central to the events of COP-26, which is co-chaired by the United Kingdom and Italy. Italy will be hosting the Pre-COP and the Youth4Climate meetings in Milan between September 28 and October 2, and it will play an essential part in the COP-26 meeting the following November in Glasgow.

“Design can play an important role in daily life. Everyday objects have to be sustainable starting from their conception, if we really want to take into account the environmental impact.

It would be good if our young UniKL students can be at the forefront of this revolution and dramatically reduce the impact on the environment through their sound, sustainable designs before we go into producing the actual goods.”

SMALL STEPS MAKE BIG CHANGES

In her talk titled The Culture of Sustainability: Daily and Designerly Practices for Greener Communities, Professor Silvia D’Ambrosio said, “Small and simple daily actions have the power to change the production chain. Now young people are the ones raising awareness on environmental, social, energy and mobility issues. Led by movements such as the one inspired by Greta Thunberg, they have turned the spotlight on the need to redesign the world in a fair and more sustainable way. In fact, it is the youngest (Generation Z) who are willing to pay more for environmentally-friendly and sustainable products.”

In addition, Professor Silvia cited Naturalmente Sostenibile (a small Italian store),