BEDA - The Bureau of European Design Associations

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België
Bruxelles / Brussel
BEDA - The Bureau of European Design Associations

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BEDA’s vision is for design to be embraced in Europe as a driver of sustainable growth and prosperity.

BEDA’s 45+ members include design promotion organisations and professional and trade associations from 27 countries of Europe. Through its lobbying and advocacy at the European level, BEDA seeks to enlarge the opportunity for design to be a positive contributor to a successful Europe, supporting design as a strategy for social and economic development and the sustainable evolution of society. It does this through promoting and enabling next generation design policy for Europe. Established in 1969 as a not-for-profit organisation and based in Brussels, BEDA is led by an elected President, Vice President and Board of Directors. Through its members’ members, BEDA represents to the European Commission and the institutions of Europe, some 800,000 designers in every discipline of work from industrial design and interiors to digital design and branding. Through its design promotion members, it taps into the national and regional agendas for design across Europe.

15/10/2026

“We call people ‘edge cases’ when their lives don’t fit our systems. That says more about the systems than the people.”

That’s Christopher Hildrey, one of our speakers at the next BEDA Connect, on 5 November.

Session theme: “The Standard is, there is no Standard: Fostering Change Through Accessibility”

Accessibility doesn’t always follow a fixed standard. When the people we design for are the exception, not the rule, change comes from trust, ethical collaboration with lived experience, and working with institutions, not against them.

📅 5 November, 16:00 to 17:15 CET
💻 Online via Microsoft Teams, free to join

Speakers
🎤 Niels Hendriks: on involving people with dementia in the design process, and why no design choice is ever neutral. Niels Hendriks
🎤 Christopher Hildrey: on designing without a “standard user”, drawing on his ProxyAddress project for people experiencing homelessness. Christopher Hildrey

🎙️ Moderated by Abi Hird

Link in bio to register ⬆️

13/10/2026

The Playbook won’t hand you a checklist. It’ll change how you start. 🔧

🎥 K**e Correcher, Rihards Funts & Teri Okoro on what the MADres Accessibility Playbook should help you fix first.

🔹 K**e: “I don’t really think it’s about fixing things, but about changing mindsets.”
🔹 Rihards: “If we start with thinking about accessibility, we will not need to fix our mistakes in the late stages of product development.”

💡 The biggest fix isn’t in your design file. It’s in when you start thinking about accessibility.

It’s one of three MADres Playbooks, alongside Artificial Intelligence and Digital Ethics, and Planetary Design. The Accessibility Playbook will launch in early 2027!

Save this before your next kickoff call.

MADres: Co-funded by the European Union • Powered by BEDA • Supported by Creative Europe

09/10/2026

Is generative AI creative? Can design help heal? And why does the world need more of it? 🤔

This month at Dutch Design Week | DDW, BEDA members are bringing these questions to Eindhoven. Two programmes to add to your calendar ⬇️

🔹 Design Innovation Sessions 2026
📍 Natlab | 20–22 October
Three morning sessions by CLICKNL where design, research and practice take on societal challenges:

🧵 20 Oct | Thriving Planet: can circular fashion and textiles scale beyond the niche?
🌐 21 Oct | Digital Futures: GenAI can create in seconds, but is it creative, and who benefits?
🩺 22 Oct | Health & Well-Being: how can design and MedTech deliver care that works in practice?

⏰ 11:15–12:30, followed by a networking lunch
🎟️ Free, in English, registration required. Every attendee gets a free DDW wristband!
👉 Register at clicknl.nl/dis-2026

🔹 CreativeNL Live 2026: Why the world needs more design
📍 Ketelhuis | 23 October
The creative industry is under pressure, while the value of design is more relevant than ever. Join designers, researchers, companies and policymakers for an informal afternoon of talks, matchmaking, food and drinks.

⏰ 16:30–19:30
🎟️ Free, registration required
👉 Register at creativenl.nl

Made possible by BNO, CLICKNL, ekip_engine in collaboration with TU Delft, and Dutch Design Foundation, with support from the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy.

08/10/2026

24,500+ entries. 35 jurors. One theme: Resilience. 🌏

BEDA General Secretary Prof. Regina Hanke joined the Final Selection Jury of the Taiwan International Student Design Competition in Taipei, alongside design organisations from around the world, from World Design Organization to The One Club for Creativity and many more.

💬 “It was inspiring to join outstanding colleagues from around the world in evaluating entries from talented design students. TISDC is an important international event that fosters design exchange across borders.” – Regina Hanke

Students explored resilience through cultural identity, the SDGs and the invisible aspects of our environment. Their work spanned visual design, animation, product, fashion, architecture and landscape design.

For BEDA, being in the room is more than judging. It’s design diplomacy 🤝

🏆 Winners will be announced at the end of the year, with BEDA President Mark Illi attending the ceremony.

📣 European design students: TISDC is free to enter, and the bar keeps rising. Be part of the global conversation.

🔗 More in our bio

📸 TISDC

07/10/2026

Think this Playbook isn’t for you? Think again. 👀

🎥 Christina Melander, Marzia Mortati & K**e Correcher on who the MADres Accessibility Playbook is actually built for.

🔹 Christina: “Smaller design units are the primary audience, but it’s just as relevant for larger agencies.”

🔹 Marzia: “The MADres playbooks should be for everybody.”

💡 Freelancer or large agency, designer or policymaker: if your work shapes how people experience something, this is for you.

It’s one of three MADres Playbooks, alongside Digital Ethics, and Planetary Design.

Save this and share it with a colleague who thinks accessibility “isn’t their department.”

MADres: Co-funded by the European Union • Powered by BEDA • Supported by Creative Europe

06/10/2026

10 years. 7 editions. BEDA on the DesignEuropa Awards jury every single time. 🏆

From Milan 2016, when BEDA President Robin Edman chaired the very first jury, to Ljubljana 2026, where our Board Member Isabelle Vérilhac and Past President Päivi Tahkokallio are long standing contributors. And for four years now, BEDA and its members have hosted hands-on workshops for the design industry as a DEA side event. ✏️

Thank you EUIPO for a decade of partnership! Here’s to making design recognised as a true value across Europe. 💛

⚖️ BEDA on the jury (★ = Chair)
Robin Edman: 2016★, 2018
Miklós Bendzsel: 2016
Päivi Tahkokallio: 2021★, 2023–26
Isabelle Vérilhac: 2023★, 2024–26
Anna Kohut-Jankó: 2023
Christina Melander: 2024, 2025★

Päivi Tahkokallio Isabelle Vérilhac Christina Melander

✏️ Workshops
Berlin ‘23 · Riga ‘24 · Copenhagen ‘25 · Ljubljana ‘26
Supported by our members: DESIGNTAG, Latvian Design Centre, Danish Design Centre, Fakulteta za dizajn

© images: European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO)

25/09/2026

Design pioneers Emma van der Leest and Anab Jain are the Beacons of Dutch Design Week 2026.

Dutch Design Week | DDW (DDW) has invited design pioneers Emma van der Leest and Anab Jain (Superflux) as Dutch and international Beacons to share their expertise with colleagues and visitors in Eindhoven from 17 to 25 October 2026.

💫Both Beacons are committed to improving and preserving the planet.
Through biodesign, Van der Leest utilises the smallest living organisms, such as fungi, whilst Jain presents large-scale works exploring future-oriented design technology.

During the design festival, Emma van der Leest will give a presentation on biodesign and Anab Jain will deliver a lecture.

Anab Jain will give a public lecture during the first weekend, as well as private keynote talks for designers.

🎟️Tickets will be available from now at ddw.nl.

SUPERFLUX Anab Jain
Emma van der Leest

📸 Emma van der Leest - fotocredit: Sarah Tulej | Anab Jain - fotocredit: Jamie Salmons, 2026

24/09/2026

One country can’t design for all of Europe. 🌍

🎥 Marzia Mortati, Karel van der Waarde, Raúl Álvarez González & Rihards Funts on why the Accessibility Playbook, one of three we’re building at MADres, is shaped by experts from across the continent.

🔹 Karel: “The last 25% needs to be included. That’s not optional.”
🔹 Rihards: “Together, we can build a playbook that actually works for SMEs and freelancers.”

💡 A navigation tool only works if it’s built by people who’ve hit the barriers themselves, not guessed at them.

Save this if you’re navigating accessibility barriers in your own work, and tag someone who’d find it useful.

MADres: Co-funded by the European Union • Powered by BEDA • Supported by Creative Europe

18/09/2026

✨ What if accessibility wasn’t a requirement, but a competitive advantage?

That was the key message from our latest BEDA Connect: Accessibility as a Business Opportunity, moderated by Pia Betton with insights from Jeremy Hugh Aston and Myles Igwebuike (Myles Igwe ).

💡 Accessibility benefits far more people than we often realise
💡 Inclusive design creates more value when built in from the start
💡 AI can support research, but real-world observation remains essential
💡 Accessibility knowledge can become a powerful business asset
💡 Collaboration leads to the most impactful solutions

As Myles put it:
“Accessibility is not a limitation on creativity and it is not just a compliance exercise. Accessibility is a business opportunity.”

🎥 Catch the key takeaways and watch the full recording — link in bio.
📅 Save the date: the conversation continues on 5 November 2026 at the next BEDA Connect in our accessibility series.

👏 Thanks to Regina Hanke and Antonella Andriani for hosting. Antonella Andriani

NJIKO esad—arte&design by

MADres: Co-funded by the European Union | Powered by BEDA | Supported by Creative Europe

11/09/2026

JBA27: Under Pressure 🎉 Submissions are now open!

The 17th edition of the Joseph Binder Award is here, exploring a reality every designer and illustrator knows: working under pressure.

Deadlines, expectations, constant change, new challenges. Pressure can be exhausting, but it can also spark creativity, innovation, and unexpected breakthroughs.

JBA is celebrating the outstanding design and illustration work that emerged from the past two years. Bold ideas. Fresh perspectives. Remarkable solutions.

✨ 15 categories across graphic design, illustration, print, and digital media, including special awards such as Design Fiction and the Henry Steiner Prize.

🌍 Open to graphic designers, illustrators, agencies, and design students worldwide.

Why enter? Selected works are featured in the official catalogue and touring exhibition, gaining visibility among designers, clients, and cultural institutions internationally.

🐦 Early Bird offer: Save 10% on submission fees until 25 September 2026. 📅 Submission deadline: 31 October 2026 👉 Submit now: josephbinderaward.com

🏆 Awards include trophies, Honored Selection, cash prizes for Design Fiction, and more.

The journey culminates on 29 April 2027 at Vienna’s MuseumsQuartier as part of designaustria’s 100th anniversary, featuring an exhibition, symposium, and award ceremony.

Adresse

C/o Wallonie-Bruxelles Design Mode (WBDM) Place Sainctelette 2
Brussels
1080

Site Web

http://www.beda.org/

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