Design Conference "Celebrating Diversity, Creating Equality"
Thu 02.10.2025
at 10.00–16.00

Price 25-69 € (with lunch)
-50% for EIDD members / free for people with special needs
Tickets available here!

@The Repair Shop; Krulli Quarter

The conference aims to explore the principles and practices of inclusive design, bringing together a diverse range of speakers and experts from around the world. The event will feature keynote addresses, panel discussions, and presentations on various aspects of inclusive design.

Patricia Moore

linkedin.com/in/patricia-moore-7369b7a/

One of The 40 Global Most Socially Conscious Designers, one of 50 Americans Defining the New Millennium; The 100 Most Important Women in America. Inducted into “INNOVATORS Hall of Fame,” awarded Doctorates: Syracuse, Hasselt; Sheffield Hallam Universities, College of Creative Studies; the Rochester Institute of Technology.

Honored with the Cooper Hewitt’s prestigious National Design Award, The Center for Health Design CHANGEMAKER Award, the National Association of Schools for Art & Design Citation Award, the World Design Organization’s World Design Medal; the Sir Misha Black Medal.


Quality of Life: The Global Design Agenda

From birth to death, it is the lifespan that is the domain of the Designer.
With the dawn of the new millennium, the Designer has emerged as the navigator, the translator for what we want and wish, our hopes and our desires.
There has never been a more critical time for our work and never a greater opportunity for our impact.

Rama Gheerawo

instill.global
@RamaGheerawo

Rama Gheerawo is a global authority on inclusive design and creative leadership, and author of Creative Leadership: How to Design the 21st-Century Organisation, reaching leaders in 40+ countries.

Founder of INSTILL and President of EIDD – Design for All Europe, he formerly led the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design at the RCA. He has led 100+ engagements with organisations like Samsung and Panasonic, trained tens of thousands worldwide, and is recognised as a Creative Leader by Creative Review.

Design for All: Your Love Letter to the World

Creativity is not indulgence. It is life itself. Rama Gheerawo, President of EIDD – Design for All Europe and author of Creative Leadership, explores the living power of creativity as a force for dignity, equality, and belonging.

Rooted in empathy, clarity, and creativity, this keynote shows how inclusive design turns exclusion into empowerment. Design for All is not an afterthought but a powerful way to shape a future where every person and every life is valued.

Jannicke Hølen & Knut Bang

doga.no
@doganorway

Knut Bang and Jannicke Holen are senior advisors at Design and Architecture Norway (DOGA), a government funded national body for sustainable value creation through design and architecture in Norway.

Together they run DOGAs Innovation for All-program which has been part of the Norwegian government’s action plan for universal design since 2005 being the only program on inclusive design for innovation and business development. They have promoted strategic inclusive and sustainable design and leadership for over twenty years.

Inclusive Design the Nor Way

Every design decision has the potential to include or exclude people. Inclusive design is an opportunity to put diversity and inclusion at the heart of everything you do. It is an opportunity business and public sector innovations depend on. And we depend on designers and architects to do this right.

Designers bring a unique perspective on how to improve and develop new products, services and systems with people’s needs in mind.

We like to call it design done right. Universal design is often linked to the minimum requirement of accessibility instead of the true potential of design.

Anders Berggreen

byacre.com
@byacre

Anders has a background as a Film producer and went into industrial design educated by Professor Knud Holscher. His work has been awarded at most major festivals from Cannes Film Festival, to RedDot, IF, German Design Award.

Modern rollator walkers' case

byACRE was founded by Anders Berggreen in 2015. It was obvious that this industry had a lack of design.
The existing companies looked at users as patients, not people with hopes and dreams. Thus, our design brief reads “Can we make a rollator that combines functionality and aesthetics?”

Jasmien Herssens

linkedin.com/in/jasmienherssens
fourmind.be

Jasmien Herssens is an architect, researcher, educator, and Design for All expert with over 20 years of experience. Her work explores multisensory design through the lived expertise of people with disabilities. As founder of fourmind, she bridges theory and practice to foster inclusive environments. Jasmien is widely respected in the field, has received multiple awards, and serves as ambassador for EIDD-DfA Europe and delegate for the European Disability Forum.

Sensing the Future: Designing with Every Body and Every Sense

Jasmien Herssens shares how multisensory design methods can open up new ways of understanding space and experience. Drawing on the lived expertise of people with disabilities, she reflects on how we all perceive the world differently. By embracing this diversity, we can design environments that are more inclusive, meaningful, and connected to how people really live.

Antonio D. De Antonis

aipi.it

Antonio D. De Antonis, owner of ADWS, has built a distinguished career in interior design, bringing his expertise to an international array of projects. Currently, President of AIPI (Italian National Association of Interior Design), est.1969 in Milan, and recently vice president of EIDD Design for All Europe. Since 2021, has contributed to NEB the New European Bauhaus initiative.Until 2023, part of the BoD at the ECIA European Council of Interior Architects.

Inclusive Spaces for HoReCa Interiors, a new necessary paradigm.

As the hospitality industry evolves, designing inclusive interiors emerges as a crucial trend, reflecting the broader societal shift towards inclusivity and accessibility. This paradigm shift emphasizes creating spaces that accommodate diverse needs, enhancing the experience for all guests, regardless of age, ability, or background. Key design strategies include the integration of universal design principles, adaptable furniture layouts, and sensory-friendly environments.

Jakob Rosin

linkedin.com/in/jakobrosin/
ligipaasuke.ee

Jakob Rosin is CEO of Ligipääsuke, Estonia’s leading consultancy dedicated to accessibility across digital services, physical environments, and media. Blind himself, he combines lived experience with collaboration across disability communities to create human-centred, practical solutions. Alongside this, Jakob works with advocacy organisations such as the Estonian Blind Union and European Blind Union to influence accessibility laws, regulations, and standards, linking policy with practice. His work bridges strategy, testing, and design to make accessibility work in real life.

“From Accessory to Necessity: AI and the New Era of Assistive Tech” How AI-powered tools are going beyond convenience to become life-changing essentials.

AI is rapidly transforming assistive technology from a “nice-to-have” into a necessity. From real-time image descriptions and speech recognition to personalised learning and navigation, AI is opening new doors for independence. Yet alongside these breakthroughs come challenges: bias, reliability, and inclusion. This talk explores how AI is reshaping accessibility—where it empowers, where it falls short, and what it takes to ensure no one is left behind.

Cameron Sinclair

instagram.com/cameronasinclair
footballforlife.org

Cameron is founder and GM for Football for Life, an organization that designs adaptive sports facilities in areas of crisis and conflict. He also runs half kingdom gin, makers of the spiciest gin in the world

Cameron has dedicated his career to bringing innovative sustainable architectural solutions to humanitarian crises around the world. He has led teams that have built homes, schools, and health centers for more than 2.75M people in over forty countries.

Design for Adaptive Play

Beyond looking at various sports facilities Cameron will talk about two current projects. For the past three years, Cameron has partnered with Ukrainian organizations and amputee athletes to co-design and implement many football pitches and rehabilitation centers. In the United States, he has been developing Guns to Goals, an initiative to dismantle and smelt down decommissioned weapons and give them a new purpose as tournament grade goals.

Beata Fabisiak

linkedin.com/in/beata-fabisiak

Vice-dean for studies at the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology and an accomplished associate professor in the Department of Furniture Design at the Poznan University of Life Sciences, with a unique educational background that combines Industrial design and Management. For over 16 years, she has dedicated her work to enhancing the lives of vulnerable groups—children, seniors, and people with disabilities—through creative, sensory-friendly, and technology-driven furniture design. With a strong focus on international cooperation she has led and curated a number of EU projects and exhibitions.

Cultivating Inclusion: Empowering NGOs and Public Institutions in Fostering Children's Well-being by Implementing the Concept of the Superhero Sensory Garden

Wondering how to foster diversity, accessibility, and equality in public spaces, ensuring every child can thrive and feel supported? Discover real-life examples of sensory-friendly design developed with the power of international cooperation in the EU-funded Interreg Baltic Sea Region project: KidsLikeUs. Find out how the Superhero Sensory Garden concept can be adapted to help NGOs and public institutions create supportive, inclusive environments where all children are valued and can truly belong.

Teet Kallaste

Accessibility activist, educator and advocate for over 20 years. Specializing in improving accessibility for people with hearing loss. I have an IT infrastructure engineer (MSc) by education. I also have hearing loss and use various assistive devices and solutions. I am the Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Estonian Association of the Hard of Hearing People and actively participate in the work and activities of the Accessibility Forum.

Information space design for people with hearing loss

Accessibility Forum - works and activities. Hearing loss - a hidden disability. A little about the nature of hearing loss. The information space surrounding us and accessing the information distributed there. Universal design and hearing loss. Solutions that can be used by everyone interested.

Jonathan W. Williams

linkedin.com/in/jonathanwwilliams
pace.edu/profile/jonathan-williams

Jonathan Williams is a Clinical Assistant Professor at Pace University in the Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems in New York, NY, USA. Jonathan is a designer with expertise in information visualization, practice-based design research, design strategy, and innovation. Jonathan holds a BS in Mathematics from Wake Forest University, a MS in Strategic Design and Management from Parsons School of Design, and a Doctor of Design from North Carolina State University.

Knotting New Pathways in Beginning Design Education

From sailors and surgeons, to those tying their shoes or preparing a fishing rod, many have succeeded in the intricate dance of skill and coordination needed to tie a knot. But what happens if these knots become constructionist learning objects within beginning design education practice? This presentation explores instructional cases in which designerly knotting activities were used in the context of beginning design education to introduce, explore, and create new pathways into the design discipline.