Belgrade Design Week Festival 2011

In a country with no significant “design industry” to speak of, we have produced a “creative festival” with the international conference FUTURE. as main program segment. This was important in order to open, for the first time in Serbia and South East Europe, the discussion of shaping our future with the impetus of creative industries – people behind architecture, branding, urban planning, design, fashion, film, publishing, media, advertising etc. We accomplished this by bringing key representatives of the creative community – the core audience of BDW – in direct dialogue with key representatives of business and government, as well as with global creative stakeholders. BDW is the only highly professional multi – disciplinary EDUCATIONAL FESTIVAL of this magnitude in Serbia and the region, besides being non-profit, amidst a plenitude of entertainment and students / amateur content, where creative industry representatives generate real change in the global economy today, explain how a competitive and modern economy is being developed. Not just any experts, but THE GREATEST CREATIVE MINDS OF THE 21ST CENTURY, who eagerly await Belgrade’s famed audience and those unique BDW vibrations, so very well known all around the world! As part of the DESIGN WEEK from May 26th to 28th, our famous three-day educational conference FUTURE. was focused on scenarios for the future: finding solutions, ideas, models, tendencies for future needs based on European values and standards, with the goal to define, understand and establish frameworks for our future society. Our delegates had the opportunity to inform themselves about latest global developments trough the entire scope of global creative industries, from advertising to architecture and to learn from the leading international companies, brands and creative leaders coming from over 20 countries, on how to adapt to changes in the future economy.

For the first time within the BELGRADE DESIGN WEEK, our traditional late night program of passionate BDW DIZAJNIGHTS was organized as a full blooded urban music festival, with the appearance of world-known superstars four days in a row. Additionally, our well-established BDW DIZAJNLABS workshops and master classes, complemented the city-wide satellite daily program of film projections, exhibitions, cocktail receptions and promotions, known under the name of BDW DIZAJNPREMIERES.

And finally, 2011 marked the debut of our new 100% FUTURE SERBIA project, showcasing 100 top Serbian designers in over 100 shop windows in the city center, a unique design exhibition Belgrade has never experienced before in this scale. BDW wishes to THANK. everyone who helped create this wonderful festival again in 2011, against all odds, so to say. From our volunteers to esteemed partners and patrons, from global creative superstars who decided to come that week from all over the world to Belgrade – of all places, all the way to the nice book store clerk who allowed Serbian talent to display work in his shop window, and most of all to our biggest “sponsor” – our visitors:

THANK YOU. for your trust.

The BDW Team