Redesign Everything Challenge

What Design Can Do (WDCD) is proud to announce the launch of the Redesign Everything Challenge, its fifth Climate Action Challenge in collaboration with the IKEA Foundation, set to kick off on 17 January until 13 March 2024. WDCD invites innovators from every corner of the globe to submit ideas that radically redesign our world — from products and materials to stories, systems, services, and spaces. This call for creativity extends to all aspects of our lives, emphasising the need for circular and regenerative solutions. The challenge seeks to answer the question: What role can designers play in the transition to a fair and circular future?

The Time to Redesign Everything is Now 

Today, signs of climate breakdown are everywhere. The stark reality of having just endured the hottest recorded year yet serves as a wake-up call, as extreme weather events, rising sea levels, and disruptions to ecosystems become more pronounced. The adverse consequences are not confined to distant futures; millions of people are already grappling with the immediate, tangible effects of climate change, from extreme heat waves to devastating natural disasters. However, experts say we still have time to act —a critical window of opportunity in which we must reduce carbon emissions to avoid the worst scenarios that loom on the horizon. 

To make this change, we’ll need creative solutions of every scale and in every sector. Many of the problems we currently face are deeply—and increasingly—interconnected, whether we are talking about biodiversity loss in the Amazon, plastic waste in Kenya or the housing crisis in the Netherlands. It follows then, that the best solutions are too. That is why this year – as the planet enters an era of global ‘boiling’ – WDCD is throwing the door wide open and launching its most expansive challenge yet.  

“Redesigning everything is first and foremost a call to action,” Richard van der Laken, co-founder and creative director of What Design Can Do, expressed. “It’s also an invitation to think laterally about how our world should be redesigned, in ways both big and small. Now, more than ever, there is an urgent need for inclusive and circular solutions, and for the transformative and disruptive power of design.”

Design as a Catalyst for a Circular Society 

“In the face of our planet's greatest challenges, design emerges as a powerful catalyst for change", says Liz McKeon, Head of Planet at the IKEA Foundation. "The What Design Can Do design challenges that we supported have ignited innovative, design-focused solutions led by the creative community themselves, in addressing issues such as climate change, health, well-being, and social equity all around the world. This demonstrates that designers can become the architects of solutions, building a bridge between imagination and impactful change, and have the transformative ability to shape transformation towards a sustainable future." 

Tackling the climate crisis means changing how our economy works (and how it doesn’t). No sector can do this alone — but designers can make an impact by shifting from linear to circular ways of making, using and living. Next to this, the most important role of design is that of radical imagination: seeing what does not yet exist, making ideas real, and forging ahead with optimism. That is why for this competition, WDCD are looking for creative climate solutions that cut across various sectors and disciplines. This includes new ideas and existing enterprises for how we might reduce the overall impact of our industries: from food, fashion and packaging, to mobility, electronics, digital services and construction.

HOW TO APPLY 

Participants are invited to submit their project online from 17 January 2024 to 13 March 2024 via the Challenge website: redesigneverything.whatdesigncando.com  

The Redesign Everything Challenge seeks creative climate solutions across five main disciplines: products, materials, communications, spaces, and systems & services.  In April 2024, a jury of leading experts in design, social impact and climate action will select a minimum of 10 winners. Winning ideas are awarded €5.000 in funding and a global development programme, which includes online training, mentoring sessions and a bootcamp. This programme will support the winning teams in further strengthening their projects and propelling them through 2024 and beyond. As part of the WDCD Challenge network, winners will have the opportunity to appear in global publications and opportunities to speak at WDCD events. 

For more information and to participate in the Redesign Everything Challenge, please visit: redesigneverything.whatdesigncando.com.