BITS Design School in collaboration with RMIT University, Melbourne hosted a unique Design Conference that seeks to apply design methodologies to community-led initiatives addressing ecological and social challenges. The conference, titled “Care, Value, Place” was held in Mumbai on 18-19 September. The two-day conference brought together designers and experts from across other disciplines to create transdisciplinary conversations that saw participants applying their minds to real-world, place-based projects collaborations between design, natural and social sciences, engineering, and technology.
John Thackara, curator of the conference set the context, “Sustainability and climate change only make sense when we adjust our actions to put care and value for people at the center. Care is a state of mind and India is a great example. People in India live radically lighter in terms of material needs compared to those at the center of the great acceleration. We need a society rooted in care, where economic activities take second place. Shifting care to the top of our value system—care for life over care for GDP—is a huge challenge. But if we define development based on care as the foundation for social complexity and success, India may already be the most developed country in the world.”
Dilip Gaur, Member of the Board of Governors, BITS Pilani shared his thoughts, “Birla Institutes were established with the vision of nation-building and shaping the leaders of tomorrow. This conference which brought together visionary leaders from diverse fields has seen meaningful discussions that will contribute to creating a better world. In this pursuit, the success of any initiative will depend on two crucial factors: its scalability and sustainability. It is important that while the initiatives are sustainable for the environment, they are also sustainable projects that continue to create value for society for a longer period”
Nandita Abraham, Dean, BITS Design School spoke on the vision behind the school, “BITSDES was conceived as a global hub where individuals from diverse disciplines could collaborate and innovate in the practice of design. When you say design what usually comes to mind are industrial, product, fashion, visual and other such forms. We saw this conference as an opportunity to do more. What we aimed for was to take design methods and a transdisciplinary approach to projects being done by grassroot development organisations on ecological and societal issues.”
The conference covered themes such as urban ecological restoration, community-managed natural farming, sustainable livelihoods in waste ecosystems, frugal innovation, and mobility solutions in 15-minute cities. One of its main goals was to explore emerging opportunities where design can drive scalable and sustainable solutions to environmental and social challenges.
The introductory session on the first day saw Andrea Siodmok, Professor and Dean, RMIT University bringing in her perspective on AI, “With AI adoption growing at a rapid pace, it is important for us to place people at the heart of smart technology. We must value and draw on the knowledge of indigenous peoples, who still manage a quarter of the Earth’s surface, and focus on planetary commons, civics, and future publics. The goal is to shift the Overton window in response to the climate crisis. We need a radical civics framework and bold experimentation with ‘planetary hyperobjects’—complex systems that go beyond traditional human understanding and boundaries. There is a need for a new design paradigm that will prepare the world for future generations. Wild hope is essential to achieve this transformation,”
The day later shifted focus to natural farming, P. Sainath, founder of the People’s Archive of Rural India, discussed the often-overlooked role of rural communities in urban systems. The conference also featured practical sessions led by Siddartha Hande of Kabadiwala Connect along with Ashik Krishnan, and discussions on the social life of mobility with Mick Douglas and Avinash Kumar. Discussions on water systems, social ecology and traditional knowledge saw S. Vishwanath, a water conservation expert and activist also known as Zenrainman contributing his thoughts from his experiences.
The second day began with Sandy Speicher, former CEO of IDEO sharing her insights on what the future of design holds. She said, “Ethical design should be transitional, focusing on co-creation, responsibility, and humanity-centered approaches. It must answer complex questions.”
Mayur Patnala Founder and CEO of Nirmaan Organisation took over from there and discussed importance of building organisations for a social cause. Later Swati Renduchintala presented case studies from Andhra Pradesh’s community-managed farming initiative. Swati Janu shared perspectives on Social Design Collaborative Building ‘Anganwadis’ (public day care centres) in marginalised Delhi. Samidha Patil and Kareena Kochery spoke on learning to design from Dharavi.
The conference also featured working sessions aimed at creating place-based partnerships for social change and developing action-based learning networks to ensure scalable and lasting impact. Participants collaborated to design frameworks that could be scaled and replicated across diverse communities and contexts, ensuring that the lessons from the event have a lasting impact.
Don Norman, Father of User Experience (UX) and Advisor to BITS Design School, delivered concluding remarks. His wise words left a lasting impression among the delegates and the students, “Complex problems have complex situational solutions. The problems and challenges discussed over the last two days are complex in nature and have existed for a long time. Problems around gender inequality, farming, healthcare, etc., are complex problems, hence we need to band together to solve them. However, you must remember that the first answer that comes to your mind to solve the problem is often wrong.”
He added, “The real problem the economic system has in the world is that it emphasizes short-term solutions and overemphasizes profit above everything else. We have to change the economic climate!”
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