On May 30, Brussels hosted the BEDA Forum, a day dedicated to exploring trends and challenges in the field of design. The event was held at the Design Museum Brussels.
This year’s theme was “COOL Europe – by Design: Connected, Optimistic, Open, Sustainable“; an invitation to dive into the captivating world of European design and discover how connectivity, optimism, openness and sustainability influence our world.
On the program: a series of conferences introduced by Christina Melander, President of BEDA, and moderated by Tom Watts, on the latest advances in Europe, and knowledge exchanges to inspire and highlight the importance of meaningful conversations.
Discussions also focused on design and creativity in campaigns to raise awareness of the climate crisis, and on accelerating designers’ skills as part of the SACCORD project, with Isabelle Vérilhac and Dimitris Kaboukos. Felix Kosok presented the World Design Capital Frankfurt RheinMain 2026 initiative on the theme of “Design for Democracy”. Audronė Drungilaitė and Laure Capitani from WBDM discussed initiatives to support designers and the integration of design.
The following day, BEDA held its annual general meeting at Wallonie-Bruxelles Design Mode. At this event, the network welcomed Design Regio Kortrijk, bringing the number of members to 50. The new Board of Directors was elected, marked by a positive and constructive energy that continues to mobilize this European network.