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Online Opening Event
Wednesday, October 4
10:30 am Texas, USA

10:30 A Message from the President of UDA, Robert Hower

10:40 Welcoming Remarks from the Director of United Designs Biennial, Dr. Albert Young Choi (UDA President Emeritus)

10:50 Keynote Presentation, Bernd Riedel (the CEO of Ellery Studios Berlin, Germany)

11:30 Gallery Talk by Robert Grame (UDA VP of Design Technology)

12:00 Closing Remark from Sarah Meyer (UDA VP of Design Education)

12:10 Farewell

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A Message from the President of UDA
Prof. Robert Hower

We hope to see you at the 11th United Designs Biennial 2023 Online.

We are holding this celebration virtually for the second time with designers from several continents.

The poster exhibition theme, 3rd Messages to Humanity, is an important and meaningful topic for designers to visualize our experiences, strengths, and emotions. The presentation of the work will be inspiring.

The United Designs Alliance is committed to fostering cooperation, inclusion, development, celebration, success, and collaboration across borders. We will continue to initiate and share design education and practice opportunities with you.

Thank you for your contributions to this dynamic community. 

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Welcoming Remarks from the Director of United Designs Biennial
Dr. Albert Young Choi

Today is our third Messages to Humanity poster exhibition. The message is always “Love and forgiveness.” Every two years, with United Designs Biennial, we celebrate our creativity and existence by promoting our messages. We must realize that only love and forgiveness will help us survive and nurture nature and humans. The action must come from our hearts and minds. It should be a permanent source for our efforts. So many people should reform or rebirth their attitudes and beliefs toward favoring others.

“Love” is beautiful, and so is “forgiveness.” They work side by side. They came from our origin, and we are born from the womb of love. We can recurrence the earth and ourselves! You must realize yourself! These beautiful posters will show our shared beliefs and where our origin is.

It is lovely where we live and where our children will live.

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Chief Director: Dr. Albert Young Choi
Co-Directors: Robert Grame, Juergen Hefele, and Sarah Meyer

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Keynote Presentation
Putting the Brakes on Dystopia
Bernd Riedel
Head of Strategy & Design
Ellery Studios Berlin, Germany

How can we move away from climate dystopia and put forward new thoughtful models for mitigating climate change? We will reflect on lessons from participatory and co-creative practices, like a SolarPunk-inspired platform that brings visual thinkers together with scientists and po

The reality of climate change is setting in. We’re incensed but also paralyzed—often moving from moments of extreme outrage to apathy. Dystopian imaginaries reign. It’s clear that we need to take steps to safeguard our future, but it can be difficult to get started, so many choose to revel in humankind’s downfall.

There’s been a vast proliferation of apocalyptic imagery in films, TV shows, and novels. But image-makers have the power not just to suggest dystopian scenarios but to posit a new way of living in the world. It’s clear that when designing for our imagined futures, we need to move beyond the utopia/dystopia mindset.

This presentation will take the form of a multimedia report from the field, detailing Ellery Studio’s ongoing efforts to break down climate policy and model desirable futures with novel tools: speculative design as a practice, participatory foresight formats, playful science communication, and other exploratory collaborations across sectors. These programs bring disparate stakeholders out of their comfort zones to form new climate-justice-oriented alliances.

In design, we talk about innovation and the dynamism of our processes. However, that’s not necessarily enough to get us through the mess of a steadily warming earth. We need new ways to put forward a future that isn’t just innovative but takes a moral stand.

In this session, we will examine climate fiction with a particular focus on the emerging model of SolarPunk to understand how the literary and visual movement that originated in Brazil is surging precisely because it rejects dystopian pessimism and, instead, puts forward images of renewable-powered utopias that challenge us to alter our social habits.

At the heart of this presentation will be an in-depth look at the tools for visualizing nuanced alternatives in climate policy and the techniques for catalyzing a previously reticent public. A particular focus will be on “visual literacy” and the democratization of future thinking—how can we ensure that truly diverse stakeholders weigh in on critical issues? And how do we ensure public participation in complex decision-making processes?

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Online exhibition opening_Wednesday, October 4 at 10:30 am Texas, USA
Messages to Humanity Poster Exhibition
Participants: 25 Participants from 15 Nations

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Gallery Talk
Robert Grame
VP Design Technology

Our capacity for compassion is one of our most incredible superpowers as designers. The following United Designs Biennial Exhibition of posters contains thoughts on how we might create a better, more harmonious world – and such; the posters are a powerful and inclusive collection of messages on love and forgiveness.  

“Most importantly, all participants share their kindness with a good heart.” 

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