Projects against war. Let's give a voice to peace.
The invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 provoked a reaction of dismay and concern around the world. As designers, we asked ourselves what our role could be in opposing all wars and promoting a culture of peace and non-aggression.
Design Against War - DAW is an initiative launched in March 2022 to give voice to projects, ideas and initiatives against all forms of war and aggression, proposed by students from all universities.
Initially launched by the Polimi Design System (School of Design of the Politecnico di Milano, Department of Design and POLI.design), the DAW platform is now also promoted by a growing number of other universities and organisations operating in the field of higher design education, such as the Politecnico di Torino (BSc in Design and Communication - Department of Architecture and Design), the DESIS Network (Design for Social Innovation and Sustainability), and the CUMULUS Association.
DAW brings together projects developed independently by individual students or in groups; projects guided by a specific brief defined with organisations active against war; initiatives for cultural promotion and practical support for those suffering the consequences of aggression or in conflict. It also organises workshops, seminars and exhibitions of the projects collected in progress.
Ideas and initiatives are shared on the dedicated Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/designagainstwar/
DAW brings together product, service, space and communication ideas that can be traced back to three main objectives
• preventing conflict and building environments of peace
• alleviating the consequences of war
• rebuilding people, places and societies of peace.
In addition, the ideas collected so far have specific purposes, such as
• generating awareness: systems to inform, sensitise, tell the values of peace
• welcoming: systems to facilitate the reception of conflict victims and for mutual aid
• taking action: systems to publicly denounce violence and promote proximity to affected populations.
• remembering: systems to preserve and bear witness to the memory of places, territories, people.
A few key words can drive creativity:
#Resilience
#Solidarity
#Sustainabiliy
#Inclusion
#Resistance
#Democracy
#Freedom
The call-for-project is always open to all students of the Politecnico di Milano and other Universities: designers are suggested to work in small groups of at least 2 people. Combinations of students from different disciplines are welcome.
Specific workshop, seminar and exhibition initiatives are communicated at their launch, on various channels. Each has its own rules of participation, which are each time clarified.
INDEPENDENTLY DEVELOPED PROJECTS: WHAT TO DO
• Think of a solution, an initiative, a measure that can help strengthen a culture of peace, avoid and prevent a war, or alleviate its consequences.
• Explain your concept with a title, a text (recommended max 300 characters, all included, preferably in English language) and 1 image/visualisation for Instagram (1080 x 1080 pixels)
• Add your names, the school and the study course you are attending.
• Upload the material here: https://forms.office.com/r/k3W4fbDYJ4
Students from other universities wishing to participate should send the image and text with their contact details (name, surname, university, school, course of study) and the required caption to the following email: orientamentocarrieradidattica-design@polimi.it
For questions, please contact: orientamentocarrieradidattica-design@polimi.it