International Visitors Programme
In October 2022, an international delegation of professionals with diverse specializations in the fields of architecture, design and digital culture came together to participate in the International Visitors Program, co-organized by the Nieuwe Instituut, Dutch Culture and Dutch Design Foundation.
Nieuwe Instituut’s invited guests, with recommendations from the Netherlands’ Embassies abroad, Thilini Perera (Sri Lanka), Chani Perera (Sri Lanka), Grace Lilian Lee (Australia), Dalia Laz (Egypt), Karim Al Hayawan (Egypt), Ahmed Mansour (Egypt), Maria Daif (Morocco), Francois Knoetze and Amy Louise Wilson (South Africa), JoAnn Edwards (USA) and Alexandra Sachs (USA), were joined by Dutch Culture's invited guests from Indonesia, Poland, Belgium and Japan for this multi-day visit.
Each of the visitors brought in their own set of skills, knowledge and expertise to this year’s edition of Dutch Design Week, which was themed Get-Set: aimed to inspire designers to create a societal impact on various scales, and ‘get set’ for the challenges we are faced with, whether it is the climate crisis, inequality, or one of many other social challenges.
The delegation attended the opening days of Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven with an extensive program, including guided tours at various venues and organisations, such as Dutch Invertuals, Design Academy Eindhoven Graduation Show, Yksi Expo, a selection of Dutch Design Awards and Things that Matter at Microlab Hall, and the Solar Pavilion at Ketelhuisplein. With a combination of guided tours, network dinners and meetings with designers and curators, the delegation exchanged ideas, knowledge and experiences based on their regional context.
Their fruitful visit to Dutch Design Week was followed by a satellite program in various cities with visits to BlueCity lab in Rotterdam, Textile Museum in Tilburg, STORE Projects in Rotterdam, Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, and more.