Designing our footprint - from the local to the global

International Design Week, HIT Holon Institute of Technology
13-17 February, 2022


Call for proposal submissions

Our current reality gives rise to a sense of uncertainty and loss of control. The nature we are accustomed to exploiting for our own needs no longer functions according to the patterns familiar to us. The climate crisis, that is a result of the accelerated industrialization and urbanization processes, threatens humanity's ability to continue to sustain, in the not-too-distant future, life in different parts of the planet. In this state of affairs, we are committed to acting out of a sense of personal responsibility at the local level, while at the same time having no choice but to pool our resources and forces and act at the global level in order to deal with the situation. The COVID 19 pandemic, which we were compelled to confront, has completely disrupted the course of our lives, and also has a twofold effect: on the one hand, it forced us into our enclosed spaces and required us to keep our distance, avoid contact, and work and study from home. On the other hand, it provided proof that only organization at a state or even universal level stands a chance of overcoming the epidemic - a total closure alongside good public healthcare systems and a broad-ranging effort to develop a vaccine and treatment that is supported by the states.

The International Workshop Week, which will be held on February 13-17, 2022, by the Design Faculty of the Holon Institute of Technology (HIT), aims to examine the place of "design" in this process, and the new practices that must be adopted to meet the new challenges.

Lecturers at academic institutions around the world are invited to submit a proposal for workshops that will address the following questions arising from the current state of affairs:
• What are the options / opportunities for designers to lead effective processes at the local level, while at the same time having an impact at the global level?
• If we do not control nature, as we used to believe, and tomorrow is an enigma, what can we consider an impactful action, how should we act - "let things flow"? "Resist"? "Listen and respond"?
• Can we employ design to utilize forces and agents that we considered to be negative in order to produce and push forward positive steps?
• How can we "shape" our footprint in today's reality?
• How can we produce design processes based on collaborations in different geographical regions?
We welcome your addressing other relevant questions.

About the Workshops
• The workshops are intended for undergraduate students in the 3rd year of their studies in the three departments in the HIT Faculty of Design: Visual Communication, Industrial Design and Interior Design. Please indicate the department for which the workshop is intended in the proposal.
• The workshops will take place from Sunday to Thursday, from 09:00 AM to 17:00 PM, at the HIT campus in Holon. Field trips can be arranged if necessary.
• Students will have full access to the design workshops and computer rooms during the workshops.
• Each workshop will be conducted jointly by a lecturer from abroad and an accompanying HIT lecturer, who will be assigned to deliver the workshop with the overseas lecturer. The nature of this collaboration will be coordinated in advance between the lecturers.
• During the week, all the lecturers will be asked to deliver a 20-minute lecture on their work before the students participating in all the workshops
• The workshops will be conducted in English.

Submission and conditions:
Lecturers interested in applying for the program are requested to submit a proposal for a workshop (up to 300 words + short CV) until 10/12/2021, using this online form.
The selected lecturers will be invited to attend the workshop week in Israel and their flights and stay will be covered by the Holon Institute of Technology. The guest lecturers will be accommodated in Tel Aviv during the workshop days.


For any questions, please contact design.hit.ir@gmail.com - Dr Yael Eylat Van Essen.

Schedule:
10.12.2021 - Proposal submission deadline
20.12.2021 – Replies to submission
13-17.2.2022 - Workshop week

designweekhit@gmail.com