Stephen Wordsworth

Better by Design

I spoke last evening at the official opening of Belgrade Design Week (BDW).  This is the fourth such annual event, and this year the UK (through the British Council) has supported it by helping to bring to Belgrade a large group of top UK designers and design journalists.  So I ended up making a speech, together with the BDW organiser, Jovan Jelovac, and Culture Minister Bradic. 

As I said in my speech, 'design' might sound like an indulgence in a time of global economic crisis, but in fact nothing could be further from the truth.  In the UK the creative industries contribute about €25 billion a year to the UK economy and employ some half a million people - one in five of all new jobs. 

Serbia is well placed to be a regional leader in this area.  BDW is already not just a regional, but a global, event.  And good design is not just about making things look better, it's about making things work better, to create a better world for everybody.  We are pleased, for example, that this year's BDW 'DesignPark' will include an exhibition of the work that the British Council has been doing under their 'Access for All' programme, with the Belgrade Faculty of Architecture, to promote the design of better facilities for disabled people, to make it possible for them to play a fuller role in society.  So we are proud to be BDW's partner this year - and we wish them every success.

Posted at 08:54 26 May 2009 by Stephen Wordsworth  |  Comments[1]