Singapore Highlights Growing Creative Talent Pool

Speech by Mr. Lui Tuck Yew, Acting Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts, at the opening ceremony of the Singapore Design Festival, 20 November 2009, at Ion Orchard Singapore
HE, President S.R Nathan

Mr. Mah Bow Tan,
Minister for National Development,

Distinguished guests,

Members of the media,

Festival Partners,

Ladies and gentlemen,

A very warm welcome to the Opening Ceremony of the Singapore Design Festival 2009 and the launch of the President’s Design Award Exhibition. The Exhibition provides an opportunity for the public to view the award winning designs. I have no doubt their work will not only inspire but also encourage us to think about the value that design brings to business and to our everyday lives.

The Singapore Design Festival is an important biennial platform that serves to demonstrate and validate the importance of design in economic growth, in improving the quality of life and creating a sustainable environment.  The Festival is made up of an extensive range of more than 100 events that will attract and engage designers, businesses, Singaporeans and overseas visitors alike.

Over the next ten days, Singapore will be a hive of design activity at four major festival hubs across the island.

We believe design is integral to the development of Singapore into a global node for the exchange of creative ideas and innovative solutions.  With collaborations between practitioners and a stronger interface across design sectors, Singapore’s creative talent pool is growing and is poised to support our position as a thriving design city.

This has also made Singapore an attractive hub, with its strong emphasis on innovation, as host and home to global enterprises and their employees.

International Design Exchange

The theme for the Singapore Design Festival 2009 is Possibilities for Tomorrow. This Festival is made possible with the strong support of our 60 partners from Singapore alongside international partners from eight countries. Their participation and support brings together the best of design from around the world with a wide range of world-class, international presentations.

What is especially exciting in this year’s Singapore Design Festival is that DesignSingapore has commissioned nine Design2050 Studios, helmed by internationally renowned design leaders to develop design propositions for the year 2050. They will offer propositions and designers’ perspectives for the year 2050 in different aspects of life encompassing climate change, urban farming, healthcare, urban sustainability, mobility and entertainment.

The outcomes of these Studios will contribute insights and ideas to shape our future.  These will be presented and deliberated at The International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (Icsid) World Design Congress that will run in tandem with this year’s Festival. This Congress brings together an estimated 650 design-related participants from 38 countries and it is certainly a worthwhile opportunity for Singapore-based design professionals to network and collaborate with partners from around the world.

Through various platforms like the Singapore Design Festival, the Icsid World Congress and many more initiatives, DesignSingapore is shaping a more conducive environment for collaboration, co-creation and of course, innovation. This will serve to accelerate the transformation of the design sector and establish Singapore as an attractive marketplace of ideas and innovation, providing global opportunities for designers and enterprises in Singapore.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank President Nathan for gracing this occasion and all Festival Partners and the DesignSingapore Council for bringing the Singapore Design Festival to fruition. We look forward to your continued support and wish you a rewarding time at this year’s Festival and an enjoyable stay in Singapore.

Thank you

Topics: Arts, business, design, economic development, Economy, employment, information, international design exchange, jobs, media, quality of life, Singapore, Singapore Design Festival, sustainable environment

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