October 2008
At the closing ceremony of the "Seoul Design Olympiad", design expert Professor Dr. Peter Zec, Senator of the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design and initiator of the "World Design Capital" project, will congratulate the city of Seoul on the extraordinary success of the 21-day design festival.
Conferences, exhibitions, different projects and events attracted an international audience of approximately two million visitors consisting of design experts and people interested in design and offered - not only to visitors - a taste of the design activities the city has planned for its future role as World Design Capital.
This is the honorary title the city will carry from 2010 for the duration of one year.
The competition around the distinction established in 2006 is held as a cooperation between the international umbrella organisations of Icsid and Icograda and honours cities worldwide which are successfully using design in all areas of public life.
The winning cities will thus be given the opportunity to establish their reputation as a location for creative professionals and to integrate design into their city development for the long-term.
As initiator of the project, Professor Zec already emphasised the exceptional achievements in the design development of the South Korean capital when it was selected Wold Design Capital.
"The measures Seoul has taken already are groundbreaking: with the 'U-Design International Competition', the construction of the enormous Dongdaemun Design Plaza and also the Seoul Design Olympiad the metropolis successfully lives up to its title as World Design Capital."
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