RSD12-Toronto: Systemic Design Futuring

Thu Oct 12 2023 at 08:00 pm to Fri Oct 13 2023 at 05:00 pm

OCAD University | Toronto

Systemic Design Association Hubs
Publisher/HostSystemic Design Association Hubs
RSD12-Toronto: Systemic Design Futuring
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IN-PERSON | RSD12 | SDA-Toronto
About this Event

RSD12-TORONTO is an immersive hub event connected to 13 others around the world as RSD12: Entangled in Emergence, the annual Relating Systems Thinking and Design symposium.

This gathering, with a special workshop, speakers, and panels on Thursday* and Friday and breakout sessions and synthesis on Saturday, creates space for anyone who enjoys being in the company of other designers. It is a positive, affirmative time to be part of interdisciplinary groups and consider uncertainty and complexity in the context of possible, preferable, or avoidable futures.

* Thursday’s panel in partnership with Canadian Society for Ecological Economics, CANSEE 2023—BY DESIGN NOT DISASTER. To highlight our shared interest in facilitating systems change for prosperous futures and building connections between systemic design and ecological economic communities, tickets to CANSEE2023 are offered to RSD12-Toronto participants at a discounted rate. A discount code will be shared with your RSD12-Toronto ticket confirmation.

Complexity as normality

Systemic design thinkers, practitioners, and researchers are called to join an exploration of futuring, defuturing, and fictioning (Perera & Fry) during immersive Friday evening and Saturday sessions. Step into the messy mix of high opportunity, hard challenges, and accelerating complexity, and join other designers to envision audacious impacts in the face of future uncertainty and complacency of the present moment. We’ll go beyond conventional design approaches and into the complexities of systems change, AI, design fiction, experiential futures, exnovation, power, regeneration, and loss and transition.

In the modernist world, design has long been associated with the continuous production of consumer products and high-tech platforms, delivering value to customers. However, in the postmodern era, designers are reevaluating their role, seeking to break free from consumerism and high-tech innovation traps. As we navigate social bias, politics, and culture, we question whether designers—especially systemic designers—can guide the way toward futuring, challenging established norms, and embracing new approaches to design. We ask:

  • What actions can futurists and designers take to ensure that their decisions and innovations contribute to flourishing human and ecological futures—humanity-centred design—even when the long-term consequences are uncertain?

By coming together, we'll foster a collaborative network and community of forward-thinking designers, innovators, researchers, policymakers, and decision-makers committed to shaping a better future. Together, we will explore the possibilities of systemic design futuring, where innovation and responsible decision-making converge to create a more equitable, sustainable, and prosperous world.

Project Managers:

Shreya Chopra,(general inquiries)

Aakash Bhadra, a[email protected] (knowledge mobilisation and exhibits)

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About SDA-TORONTO

SDA-Toronto is a Systemic Design Association-affiliated group that serves as a platform for dialogue, exploration, and collaboration through thought-provoking speakers, captivating panels & discussions, interactive working sessions, and research presentations.

Chief Instigator: Nabeel Kassam, [email protected]


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS


Event Photos
Event Photos

RSD12-TORONTO is an RSD12 hub partner connected via RSD12-ONLINE, a 15-day pass to a world of systemic design from October 6 to October 20. A single link connects you to presentations of over 100 papers related to systemic design, 20+ online workshops and interactives, and dozens of livestreamed presentations from hubs in Ahmedabad, Amsterdam, Bogotá, Kihcihkaw-Âski (aka Edmonton), Kingston (UK), Loughborough, Monterrey, Nordmarka Forest (Oslo), Toronto, Turin, Vancouver, and Washington DC.

RSD12-ONLINE tickets are $35–$250 USD. REGISTER ON EVENTBRITE.

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Event Venue & Nearby Stays

OCAD University, 100 McCaul Street, Toronto, Canada

Tickets

CAD 0.00

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