Update: Design For Change Goes Global

Design For Change only started in February 2009.

So I am pleased to see that Design For Change, the international design project that gives young people a chance to make a design contribution in their villages and cities has now reached 34 countries, launched a new website and conference, as well as school and communities challenges. Last year, it translated its learning in over 300,000 schools into a unique curriculum to help turn this elementary- and middle-school design initiative into a truly international movement. They even have a pop hit by Raffi.

If you haven’t heard of Kiran Bir Sethi, she’s a remarkable person who turned her graphic design degree at the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad India into an innovative K-12 school that is pioneering design thinking as a methodology for growing student-involved innovation. Her TED Talk came in 2009. I wrote about Sethi in 2010 after visiting India. Then came her Design For Change contest, quickly growing to be a winner of the 2011 Index Awards.

Wherever you are, this is a project that needs mentors, designers, volunteers, supporters and sponsors. We have few readers without a Design For Change chapter near them.  — William Drenttel