WDO elects new board in London
Pradyumna Vyas, Senior Advisor of Design at the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in India, was elected as the new President of the WDO. The new President-Elect is Makiko Tsumura, Director at the Japan Institute of Design Promotion (JDP). Vyas succeeds Thomas Garvey (Canada), who led the organisation from 2023 to 2025. Tsumura takes over from Vyas, who was President-Elect during the previous term.
In his inaugural speech, Vyas emphasised the responsibility of design in a time of global upheaval: „This year’s Congress in London reminded us of the extraordinary potential of design when it is placed in service of people and planet. I am deeply honoured to assume the role of WDO President at this pivotal moment in our organization’s history, as design has indeed never been more relevant, or more necessary for addressing the complex challenges of our time.”
Pradyumna Vyas was Director of the National Institute of Design (NID) in Ahmedabad from 2009 to 2019, having previously worked as a lecturer for almost two decades. Under his leadership, the institute strengthened its international reputation and focused more strongly on social development projects and sustainability. Vyas has also been a member of the jury for the German Design Council's German Design Award for several years. Makiko Tsumura is responsible for international programmes at the Japan Institute of Design Promotion (JPD) and played a key role in organising the World Design Assembly 2023 in Tokyo.
In addition to the election of the President and President-Elect, new members were also elected to the Board of Directors. Its future members are: Anna Barbara (Italy), Xavi Calvo (Spain), Laura Figueroa (Mexico), Mui Kinoshita (Hong Kong), Denys Lapointe (Canada), Oliver Lin (Taiwan), Sonia Manchanda (India), Ken Nah (Republic of Korea) and Eisuke Tachikawa (Japan). In addition, the General Assembly announced several new programme initiatives that will shape the work of the WDO in the coming term. Another highlight was the official designation of Busan as World Design Capital 2028, accepted by Mayor Dr Heong-joon Park.
