As design continues to be a powerful tool for innovation and improvement, national policies for design are increasingly recognised as an important means of shaping the future prosperity and wellbeing of a city and its inhabitants. The WDC International Design Conference provides a global platform for the high-level exchange of ideas, insights and best practices from different countries, regions and cities developing, launching and maintaining effective design policy.

Key figures working on projects involving design: government policy makers, design promoters, economists, industrialists, academics, educators and designers, come together to share their experience and knowledge in this two-day open forum. Through a combination of speeches and roundtable discussions the conference aims to address the following:

• What measures are needed to stimulate innovation through design?
• What insights have been gained from international best practise in design promotion and support?
• In which ways does national design policy have an impact on economic development and society?
• What are the strategies that bring the greatest change in the design and innovation behaviour of businesses?
• How can design contribute to the wider goals of fostering and communicating cultural identity?
• How can the design sector better deliver what the design policies promise?