As part of the Certificate of advanced Studies « Visible or invisible: design in international organizations », Ruedi Baur, and the University of Art of Geneva (HEAD – Genève) in partnership with The Graduate Institute Geneva (IHEID)  have organised a series of lectures on the issues of representation and design of intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations; a series of 10 seminars to better understand issues of images and communication at a global level and to decode interactions between citizens and organizations.

Next one will be the sixth seminar:

Different approaches to design in response to crisis situations

16-17 April 2015, UNHCR, Rue de Montbrillant, Geneva.

This seminar will bring together and analyse the various exemplary projects carried out by designers for humanitarian organizations and other NGOs, and will present the places where research and other experiments are being conducted around the world. Various approaches will be considered, not in order to contrast them, but to assess their relevance in response to the various issues. Analysis of work commissioned, or not commissioned, from designers will allow needs to be assessed and, perhaps, the reasons for certain failures to be understood. The first day of the seminar will consist of a succession of case studies, each lasting 20-30 minutes. The examples will be chosen to show a broad range of approaches and issues. Designers will present their projects in dialogue with their clients, to reveal both the benefits and the drawbacks of each experience. These examples will be enriched by others that concern social sectors but are not actually work commissioned by NGOs. The second day will be devoted to analysis of these cases. Guest observers will endeavour to draw conclusions.

Registration and further information: