In partnership with Circolo del Design and the 1st Level Master's Program in Social Ecological Design at IED Turin.

Systems thinking”, “design thinking”. Could it be that that the problem lies in the word “thinking”?
A big majority of today’s citizens and workers - in offices, and remote - want to participate in real-world activities that have a positive impact on their local environment and communities*.
And designers are well-placed to create these connections between thought and action.
The good news? Opportunities are all around us. John Thackara describes companies that, helped by design, green the streets around their offices; set up biocanteens with local farmers; plant micro-forests on disused land; ‘daylight‘ lost rivers; help their city become a national park; organise bioblitzes with local schools - and many more.
John’s talk will freature the most inspiring examples of place-based partnerships for social change. He will also identify which jobs and livelihoods are emerging in this space for the next generation. dersigners. And he will describe value for business and municipalities in tyhe new space of what does Business2Place (B2P).

The lecture will be streamed live and held in English.

John Thackara is a leading figure in contemporary design culture: an author, curator, and educator. He directed Doors of Perception for twenty years and curated major biennials focused on social innovation, ecology, and place-based practices. A visiting professor at Tongji University in Shanghai, he has written 12 books translated into 14 languages. His book In the Bubble won the ADI Compasso d’Oro, and in 2025 he received the Frontier Design Prize in China.
Thackara.com