Climate Action x Design – 8 projects selected

8 September 2022

background
The Creative Climate Coalition will meet for a three-day summit at COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt from 10 to 12 November. The 8 creative makers and designers were selected through the Open Call Climate Action x Design and join 10 impactful designers from African countries (including 5 from Egypt) who were invited by What Design Can Do. The aim of the Creative Climate Coalition is to exchange different perspectives, ideas and solutions to various climate issues, to establish key contacts for the further development and implementation of design projects, and to generate more attention for harnessing the power of design to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

general impression
In general, the committee was positive about the quality of the applications. Important criteria for this open call were proven support for the project and the potential impact of participating in the Creative Climate Coalition. Notable were the many proposals aimed at presenting sustainable materials, including those made from bio-based raw materials, textile waste and human body waste. The committee’s recurring question when discussing these proposals was whether these solutions for replacing or processing existing materials would not potentially create even more material and waste. The committee particularly appreciated the proposals that addressed the social aspects of climate change, such as climate inequality, social-ecological conservation and participatory planning and decision-making.

selection
The selection includes projects in the fields of architecture, design and crossovers between these disciplines. Three of the projects focus on various water issues, including water treatment, water harvesting and water recycling.

The following eight projects were selected:
Studio Sway – Aquatecture Water Harvesting System
Dirk-Jan Visser – New Horizons
Studio Makkink & Bey – Waterschool United Nations
Hannah Bosland - ComposTerra
Abla el-Bahrway (Ba7r) – Papayrus and New media
Olivier de Gruijter – The Jerrycan Water Filter
Arthur Guilleminot – Piss Soap
Taller Architects – Social and ecosystemic connectivity in Montes de Maria (photo above)

assessment
The advisory committee that assessed the applications consisted of Petra Stienen (chair), May al-Ibrashy, Anju Sharma and Tarek Atrissi.

The applications were assessed against the following criteria:

• The artistically relevant value of the project: the applicant's portfolio, their position within the professional field and the context in which the work is presented;
• The proven support for the project: the way the applicant reflects on the project, the extent to which the project is rooted (locally) and which partners are involved;
• The potential impact of participation: the expected opportunities and contribution that this participation creates for the applicant’s practice, for the wider creative industry and for addressing climate issues. This included the presentation format, communication and scalability of the project.

The assessment took the form of a tender: a number of proposals were preferred to the other submissions.

numbers
From the 26 proposals assessed, 8 were selected, bringing the percentage of applications being awarded grants to 31%. A budget of € 56,000 was available for this open call. The maximum contribution per project was € 7,000.

follow-up
The Fund has contacted the submitters of the selected proposals. At the moment, there is no prospect of a follow-up to this open call. Keep an eye on the newsletter for more news.