World Design Capital 2012

World Design Capital Helsinki 2012 was all objectives was to offer methods for ordinary about making a better city. Above all, the citizens to participate in developing their living goal was to make a permanent impact. It environment. was more than a year of events or a festi- The World Design Capital is an initiative of val – it was about making the role of design Icsid, the International Council of Societies of visible. Industrial Design, which every second year rec- Helsinki was the World Design Capital of ognizes one global city for its accomplishments 2012 together with its neighbouring cities of Es- in utilizing design as a tool to improve social, poo, Vantaa, Kauniainen and Lahti. WDC Helsinki cultural, and economic life. Icsid owns the rights 2012 promoted design with 550 projects and to the World Design Capital trademark. 2,800 events. The programme was implement- In 2012 Helsinki was the World Design ed by a network of 290 organizations in Capital together with the neighbouring cities and abroad. The year’s exhibitions, events and of Espoo, Vantaa, Kauniainen and Lahti. The World Design Capital Helsinki 2012 Stakeholders Meeting 24.9.2010. (From left): World Design Capital sites attracted 2.5 million visitors. previous World Design Capitals have been Turin Helsinki 2012 Director Pekka Timonen, Helsinki Mayor Jussi Pajunen, Minister of Economic Affairs Mau- The news on the appointment arrived on 25 in (2008) and in (2010). ri Pekkarinen, and Icsid President Mark Breitenberg. Photo: Seppo Laakso. November 2009. During the following three and Following Helsinki, the appointment of World a half years the understanding of design in Finn- Design Capital 2016 have been conferred to the ish society was strengthened, citizen interest in Cape Town (2014), (2016) and City urban development was increased and the in- (2018.) Open Helsinki - embedding­ The residents’ expectations ternational image of Finland as a design nation Founded in 1957, Icsid is a non-profit organi- design in life was enhanced. sation that protects and promotes the interests The residents of Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, Kau- World Design Capital Helsinki 2012 wanted of the profession of industrial design. Open Helsinki – Embedding Design in Life niainen and Lahti expected the World Design to achieve things whose impact will reach far extends the concept of design from goods Capital year to mainly concentrate on housing into the future. The aim was to inspire dialogue www.icsid.org to services and systems, for example in the conditions, the living environment and services. on how design can be used to make life better, www.worlddesigncapital.com public health care sector. In short, it’s about The expectations were studied in a question- easier and more functional. One of the main improving our cities. naire carried out by WDC Helsinki 2012, with In its final strategy, WDC Helsinki 2012 ap- responses from more than 900 residents. proached the theme defined in Helsinki’s appli- Out of the eight emphasis points, the resi- cation for the World Design Capital title, “Open dents chose the ones most important to them. Helsinki - Embedding Design in Life”, through Improving everyday life through design was three subsidiary themes: Open City, Global Re- seen as the central task of the design capital sponsibility and The Roots for New growth. year. Every third resident also expected events The Open City theme was meant to launch a and an increase in awareness about their city. process of cultural change in Finland and to put A study carried out in autumn 2011 was part people in the core of design and services. of a research series initiated by WDC Helsinki The Global Responsibility theme focused on 2012 with which awareness of the project and solutions to challenges in the urban environ- materialisation of its aims were studied. ment that have a major impact on the quality of people’s living conditions and wellbeing. Organisation The Roots for New Growth theme present- ed new ways to utilize design as a source of World Design Capital Helsinki 2012 was a joint growth. venture of five neighbouring cities: Helsinki (595 000 inhabitants), Espoo (252 000 inhabit- ants), Vantaa (203 000 inhabitants), Kauniainen

1 City of Helsinkii WDC 2012 2 (8 700 inhabitants) and Lahti (102 000 inhabitants). (Ornamo), Association of Professional Graphic were 17.8 million euro. The Finnish State pro- Finnish State: €5 million Together these cities form the metropolitan Designers in Finland (Grafia), and Finnish Associ- vided 5 million euro and the participating cities • Ministry of Employment and the Economy: area with over a million inhabitants. ation of Architects (SAFA). a total of 6 million euro for the project. The €3 million The project had the following stake­ Foundations: Swedish Cultural Foundation additional funding came from corporate part- • Ministry of Education and Culture: €2 mil- holders: in Finland. ners and foundations, exceeding expectations. lion The Finnish State: the competent ministries The World Design Capital Helsinki 2012 International Design Foundation’s final accounts were the Ministry of Employment and the Econ- project was implemented and managed by In- show a surplus of 100,000 euro. Corporations and foundations: €6.8 million omy and the Ministry of Education and Culture. ternational Design Foundation. The foundation The finances of WDC Helsinki 2012 were • Corporate partners €5 million Besides these also other ministries, The Finnish collected, promoted and coordinated the aims, only partially channeled through Internation- • Foundations €1.5 million Innovation Fund (Sitra) and The Finnish Funding functions and the entire programme of WDC al Design Foundation. Projects had their own • Sales income €0.3 million Agency for Technology and Innovation (Tekes) Helsinki 2012. The board of the International budgets and were mainly financed from other were involved. Design Foundation was responsible for the ap- sources, such as public and private funds and When reviewing the project economy as Corporate partners: The World Design propriate organising of the foundation, manag- foundations as well as through project financ- a whole, it should be noted that the project’s ac- Capital 2012 was one of the largest cooperative ing the foundation funds and deciding on the ing and corporate partnerships. No estimate is tual funding is markedly higher than the budget ventures ever organised in Finland. Our main foundation’s operating principles. available of the total economic scope of WDC managed by International Design Foundation. partners were: Blue1, BMW, Finavia – Helsinki In addition to the board, the International Helsinki 2012. The budgets of the programme components Airport, Fortum, HOK-Elanto, KONE, Martela, Design Foundation was supported by a com- and other WDC Helsinki related activities by var- MTV MEDIA, Nokia, Sanoma Magazines Finland, mittee of opinion leaders and experts in di- Facts and figures on the budget ious actors are not reflected in the foundation’s UPM, Viking Line. Our partners were: Clear verse fields. The 45 members of the committee budget. No estimate is available of the total Channel, Deloitte, Fjord, Hasan & Partners, IBM, supported the management of the WDC project Budget for 2010-2013: €17.8 million economic scope of WDC Helsinki 2012. Iittala, Lapin Kulta, Paulig, Stockmann. and offered perspectives from the society as a Universities and Universities of Applied basis for decision-making. Funding Expenditure: Sciences: Aalto University and University of • Programme €7.2 million Helsinki. Also Universities of Applied Sciences Funding Cities: €6 million • Communications and marketing €6 million located both in the Helsinki metropolitain area • Helsinki €3 million • Personnel, licence fees and administration and in Lahti. The total funds for the entire World Design • Espoo €1.4 million €4.5 million Design Organisations: Design Forum Capital Helsinki 2012 project managed by Inter- • Vantaa €1.1. million Finland, The Finnish Association of Designers national Design Foundation during 2010–2013 • Kauniainen €0.06 million • Lahti €0.5 million

Kuva: Kimmo Brandt

3 City of Helsinkii WDC 2012 4