World Design Capital® San Diego Tijuana 2024 is a year-long celebration of our innovative cross-border region as we come together to design a better future.
Capital Mundial Del Diseño® San Diego Tijuana 2024 es una celebración de un año de duración sobre nuestra innovadora región transfronteriza en la cual nos unimos para diseñar un mejor futuro.
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What’s WDO?
The World Design Organization® (WDO), is a globally recognized non-governmental organization that promotes and advances the discipline of design through collaboration and international programming, as well as engagement with more than 180 member organizations.
Through its rigorous review process, WDO has been awarding the prestigious biennial WDC designation to cities since 2008.
World Design Capital® (WDC) is designated every two years by the World Design Organization® (WDO). It recognizes cities for their effective use of design to enhance economic, social, cultural and environmental quality of life. This 2024 designation provides our region a year-long international showcase of design through unique experiences and explorations that stimulate thinking and bring our communities together to celebrate what makes San Diego Tijuana exceptional.
San Diego Tijuana is the first cross-border region to be designated World Design Capital® and the first time a U.S. city has been selected. San Diego and Tijuana were selected as the World Design Capital because of our unique history, rich and diverse design community, commitment to cross-border collaboration, and all the unique opportunities that exist in our shared community.
We are grateful for the countless contributors from both sides of our borders who helped us become a World Design Capital.
Our community has an incredible opportunity that only comes once in a lifetime. Through the World Design Capital® year-long program, we will establish San Diego Tijuana as a leader in community-driven design, promoting the region as a global center for innovation, creativity, and design. As the World Design Capital, this initiative allows us to redefine our collaborative efforts and work together to shape our future.
We are dedicated to leaving a lasting impact beyond 2024 that infuses design into our approach to address complex issues such as climate change, housing, and homelessness. Our goal is to demonstrate to the world how our collaborations transcend borders and unite us with a shared passion and purpose.
World Design Capital® San Diego Tijuana 2024 is the 501c3 organization convened to officially coordinate and oversee the region’s planning, programming, execution, and community involvement of the World Design Capital 2024 designation.
The WDC 2024 organization is governed by a board of directors with representatives from each of the founding partners; UC San Diego Design Lab, Design Forward Alliance, Burnham Center for Community Advancement, and the cities of San Diego and Tijuana.
Ideas:
Everyone is welcome to WDC 2024. Starting June 1, 2023 you can submit ideas for projects, exhibitions, events, activations and more to be included in the year-long program. Check back for details soon.
Support:
We are raising the funds to host this global event. We estimate that we will need to raise approximately $10M to support all that will occur in 2024. You can be a part of our shared legacy as a donor. Learn more about sponsorship and partnership opportunities.
Engage:
There will also be many engaging and inventive events in which that the public can participate and that will allow people to experience and explore what design is and what it can do to transform our cross-border community. This is a big endeavor, and we are also looking for people who want to help make the San Diego Tijuana design celebration happen. There will be no shortage of ways to get involved or interact with the World Design Capital events and programs. We want everybody to be a part of it.
The World Design Organization® (WDO), is a globally recognized non-governmental organization that promotes and advances the discipline of design through collaboration and international programming, as well as engagement with more than 180 member organizations.
Through its rigorous review process, WDO has been awarding the prestigious biennial WDC designation to cities since 2008.
WDC 2024 will feature a series of public events, conferences, exhibitions, summits and celebrations where we shine a light on all our region has to offer. We will bring together global leaders to exchange ideas and create opportunities to use design to solve some of our region’s most critical issues. The calendar of events will include seven signature events in partnership with the World Design Organization® as well as community events that will help achieve our program goals, demonstrate our cross-border collaboration or and promote design thinking.
WDC 2024 Signing Ceremony
The first official event kicks off WDC 2024 celebrating those who helped secure the designation, and honoring the San Diego Tijuana design community.
UC San Diego Park & Market
WDC 2024 Design Festival
Experience creativity and innovation through a public festival, open to both local residents and international visitors. Discover how design impacts every aspect of our lives and communities.
WDC 2024 Design Spotlight
Celebrate the importance of design in our region’s development. We will honor our unique identity as a design hub, recognize the contributions of our design community, as well as highlight international best practices in design.
Multiple Venues
WDC 2024 Design Experience
An interactive showcase of design from around the world.
Multiple Venues
WDC 2024 Design Policy Conference
The Policy Conference will connect people from all over the world to share ideas and knowledge and discover new, effective strategies for the use of design.
WDC 2024 Network of Cities Meeting
This forum for our regional leaders, led by WDO, offers an opportunity to establish partnerships with other design-leading regions and foster dynamic conversation about design in our region.
WDC 2024 Convocation Ceremony
We'll celebrate WDC 2024's success by recognizing significant accomplishments, honoring those involved, and sharing the immediate impact of the designation. We'll also reflect on our legacy and transfer the WDC title to the next city.
Salk Institute
Everyone is welcome to WDC 2024. Submit your ideas for activations, events, exhibitions, projects and more to be included in our regional year-long program.
A Legacy of Design
The WDC 2024 will engage 7.1 million residents in imagining the future of our transborder, multinational region using design. From green infrastructure, to housing, to transportation, to food security, to restoring our shared ecosystem — design-driven innovations can play an important role in building a thriving future for our whole community.
Through our Legacy Program, we are driving long-term, positive impact well beyond 2024. Our work is aimed at spotlighting the San Diego Tijuana region as a global hub of innovation, creativity and design. We are celebrating design that makes lasting impacts on the people who live and play in our cross-border region.
COMMUNITY /
COMUNIDAD
Our goal is to strengthen design values throughout our region, make design visible and celebrated and promote design leadership at all levels of government so that our work has an impact far beyond 2024.
CONNECTIONS /
CONEXIONES
San Diego and Tijuana are two independent yet deeply connected cities with histories, cultures, resources, and challenges that are at once shared and distinctive.
COLLABORATION /
COLABORACIÓN
Success is dependent on the collaboration we bring to this opportunity. We are calling for you and your community to join us in this effort.
CELEBRATION /
CELEBRACIÓN
Celebrate our unique history, diverse design community, commitment to cross-border collaboration, and all the incredible opportunities that exist here. We get to show how a region can unite, build bridges, achieve great things, and celebrate - together.
Our mission to design a better future is inseparable from our commitment to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. It is central to our mission that every individual has full opportunity to thrive in the many different kinds of communities in which we live, work, and design.
Self-discovery, and a sense of community belonging in the context of one’s relationship with others, as well as one’s relationship to the built environment, are keys to individual flourishing and to the creation of just, healthy and sustainable communities.
We are grateful to all our sponsors who are contributing to the success of WDC 2024. If you or your organization are interested in becoming a sponsor, please contact us at partnerships@wdc2024.org.
We are grateful to all our partners and sponsors who are contributing to the success of WDC 2024.
World Design Organization (WDO)® is a globally recognized non-governmental organization that aims to promote and advance the discipline of industrial design and its power to enhance economic, social, cultural and environmental quality of life. Founded in 1957, WDO services over 180 member organizations around the world, engaging thousands of individual designers through our innovative programming and initiatives that champion "design for a better world".
Visit WDOVisita WDOA CATALYST FOR THE FUTURE
Get to know design through these immersive experiences.
WDC 2024 is a stepping stone that will use design as a catalyzing force to create stronger bonds between San Diego and Tijuana as we envision our shared future together. Through a series of events, exhibitions, summits, and much more, we will shine a light on all that our region has to offer.
We invite you to get to know design and its lasting impact on our community and cultures through these immersive experiences.
