Opening day of conference proceedings in Chicago.
The weekend offered an opportunity for discussion and critique of designers’ efforts on behalf of social, economic and environmental benefit. A range of conference offerings made this event a success in my opinion: The conference organization team in Chicago put forth every effort to make sure this year’s conference was a highly accessible and engaging event.
The panels were well organized and presented with special attention paid to panel three, Change Agents and Innovators, moderated by Christine Gaspar of the Center for Urban Pedagogy. Featuring speakers Quilian Riano of DSGN AGNC, Emily Pilloton of Project H Design: Studio H and Trung Le of CANNON Design (co-author of The Third Teacher) — this group offered their earnest and unique perspectives on issues of site and physicality in the way design can be used as a vehicle for the education of communities and students. Additional panels included Making Change Happen and Learning from Communities where individuals presented project case studies.Tom Fisher’s closing comments on the future of public interest design were profound.
Bryan Bell of Design Corps and Monica Chadha of Converge Exchange with opening remarks.
The Sunday workshops offered some hands-on small group sessions. I participated in two sessions presenting the SEED Evaluator 2.0 and also co-facilitating a session with Sharon Haar, Associate Professor, University of Illinois at Chicago. The session with Sharon, entitled SEED + Academia: Brainstorming the Possibilities offered a focused session for students, educators and others interested in how SEED could play a more relevant role through models of design education as well as within the next SFI conference call for projects.
Here I am, presenting the SEED Evaluator 2.0 updates.