Read the official press release - German Design Council

PRESS RELEASE__________________________________________________________07-2013
German Design Council celebrates 60 years of design culture in Germany
International congress Design. Innovation. Europe. on 14 June 2013
Frankfurt/Main, 16 May 2013
The established institution of German design. In its 60-year-long history, the German Design Council has
made a significant contribution to the promotion of the value and significance of design as well as the key
role it plays within the country’s economy. Now it is celebrating its anniversary with a diverse programme
of events, evoking 60 years of design culture in Germany.
An anniversary provides a perfect opportunity to take stock and look back on how far one has come since the
very beginnings. The German Design Council is taking this milestone as occasion to ascertain the current
status quo in German design culture, and that with a whole host of top-class guests, as well as embarking on a
journey of discovery into the past and taking a look into the future.
In addition to the ceremony for invited guests in Frankfurt’s Paulskirche on 13 June 2013, one particular
highlight of the celebrations will be the international congress Design. Innovation. Europe. with a focus on
national and European innovation policy set to take place on Friday 14 June 2013 in Frankfurt’s Römer.
Experts from numerous nations and specialist fields will be providing a detailed discourse on the political
dimension of design. In doing so they will be looking, among other things, at how we can hone the public’s
awareness of design as a driver for innovation and how design as an economic and indeed growth factor can
be integrated into the orientation taken by German and European innovation policy in the future.
After all, it has been proven that companies that pursue a long-term design strategy experience significantly
higher performance and have a decisively greater edge in international competition than their competitors
without a clear focus on design.
Andrej Kupetz, General Manager of German Design Council: “Germany’s strength in terms of design still
receives far too little attention among trade associations and in the political world. The knowledge that design
is an innovation factor that exercises an almost intuitive control over German industry still doesn’t appear to
have taken hold in these areas. The congress aims to familiarize stakeholders from politics, business and the
media with the significance and indeed potential of design as an economic and innovation factor in the
European context and as such draw attention to the high added value afforded by a clear focus on design as
an important factor for the future.”
Further information on the congress can be found at:
http://www.german-design-council.de/en/60-years-design-culture/eu-congress/program.html
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German Design Council
The German Design Council is an independent and internationally active institution that supports companies
to communicate their design expertise efficiently and also seeks to strengthen the broader public’s
understanding of design. Established as a foundation in 1953 by decree of the German Parliament, the German
Design Council champions good design by means of competitions, exhibitions, conferences, seminars and
publications. Membership of the supporting foundation currently includes 180 companies from Germany and
overseas, who together employ more than 1.8 million people.
Contact:
German Design Council
Julia Kostial, Manager Corporate Communications
Tel: +49 (0) 69 74 74 86 0
Fax: +49 (0) 69 74 74 86 19
Email: kostial@german-design-council.de
www.german-design-council.de
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