Commons in Design Conference

The retreat of industrial societies, the scarcity of resources, climate change, and the digitalisation of everyday life are aspects that have fueled the economy of sharing, swapping, and lending – principles of commoning. In addition to the economic motivation of sharing – as evident in the disruptive business models of Airbnb, Uber or Spotify – a change in values is emerging in creative societies, characterized by conviviality and community. This includes sharing in the sense of ecological sustainability and free cooperation, which is evident in collective offerings such as food sharing or the free encyclopedia Wikipedia.

In our conference, we aim to explore the relevance of commons and commoning within design as a discipline and field of research. It aims to shed light on the complexity of commons and commoning from a design perspective and to present future models and scenarios pointing towards a more sustainable, just and peaceful world. Central to this is the question of how principles of commoning can benefit design processes, methods, and ways of working, ultimately changing the way designers position themselves.

The conference is held in hybrid mode at the FHNW Academy of Art and Design in Basel from February 15–17, 2023. You have the possibility to participate either on-site or online.

Thanks to the generous support of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) admission is free! Nevertheless, please register through our Conference tool Converia.

Registration is possible until February 10, 2023 at the latest.

Registration note
FHNW employees are requested to register exclusively as “FHNW employees” and thus by internal billing.

The conference is organized by Christine Schranz and Charleen Elberskirch.

https://www.commons-in-design.ch