The Finnish design community received its greatest recognition ever, when Helsinki together with its partner cities Espoo, Vantaa, Kauniainen and Lahti was nominated to carry the title of World Design Capital for 2012 by the International Council of Societies for Industrial Design last November.

It is certainly a great honor to carry the title, but we are now clearly obliged to act as a trend-setter for other cities to follow. Our starting point for the bid was somewhat an unconventional approach which required us to go beyond the traditional concepts of design. “Embedding Design in Life” was therefore a natural choice as the cross-cutting theme of our submission.

Thanks to a broad consortium including all major public and private partners, we were able to ensure a shared vision and will to succeed. For us the unanimous and ultimate aim of being the world capital of design is to find solutions that improve the way our citizens go about their daily lives. This mission statement can be derived from the core duty of all Finnish local authorities, which is to act as guardians of the citizens’ well-being and their living environment.

WDC2012 Helsinki is fundamentally about using design as a tool in cultural, social, economic and sustainable development. Service design will be applied to make basic services like health care and public transport more user-oriented and efficient. Regarding city planning, design will be utilized in the historical regeneration projects that will dramatically change the urban texture and the face of the city.

The title of World Design Capital may be granted to one city for the period of one year, but its legacy will stretch far beyond these limits of place and time. It requires long-term dedication to seek local answers to global challenges using the best possible design. Our intention is to assemble a grid of like-minded cities that wish to pursue the same ideal.

The Helsinki metropolitan area has a strong design tradition, a unique momentum which is present and a shared vision of becoming a global design-led metropolis. The time to carry the title of World Design Capital is optimal for us now. There are already numerous outstanding initiatives, events and networks in existence that will form the basis for the activities of the World Design Capital festivities during 2012.

The front-runner in terms of events is Helsinki Design Week, the annual festival that offers professionals a unique opportunity to display their skills and versatility. Helsinki Design Week brings together professionals who share a passion for good design.

I invite everyone to find new inspiration from this year’s program and to rediscover Helsinki as a global design city.

Jussi Pajunen

Mayor of Helsinki

Photo Chris Vidal

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Helsinki Design Week on 26 August–5 September 2010. See the complete schedule at www.helsinkidesignweek.com.

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chris vidal, design, espoo, helsinki, helsinki design week 2010, jussi pajunen, kauniainen, lahti, maailman muotoilupääkaupunki 2012, muotoilu, vantaa, world design capital 2012