Rhode Island School of Design Joins the Sustainable Markets Initiative’s Terra Carta Design Lab to Find Student-Led, High-Impact Solutions to the Climate Crisis
- The Terra Carta Design Lab invites students to design high-impact solutions to the climate crisis.
- RISD has joined the challenge, alongside Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation (UAE), National Institute of Design Ahmedabad (India) and the Royal College of Art (UK).
- The Global Judging Panel will be spearheaded by Sir Jony Ive.
- Two winners from each school will be announced in Fall 2024 and will receive funding and mentorship.
His Majesty King Charles III, in his former role as the Prince of Wales, and Sir Jony Ive launched the Terra Carta Design Lab in 2021, in partnership with the Royal College of Art.
This year’s Design Lab has expanded its search to partner with four design schools from across the world. Joining the competition alongside RISD will be Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation (UAE), National Institute of Design Ahmedabad (India) and the Royal College of Art (UK).
The Sustainable Markets Initiative is inviting students and recent alumni (graduated in the last five years) from the four prestigious schools to address the devastating damage being done to our planet and create breakthrough solutions for Nature, People and Planet, inspired by its guiding mandate – the Terra Carta.
“We are pleased to join The Sustainable Markets Initiative for its second Terra Carta Design Lab. Art and design are essential to realizing a sustainable future. This global effort is an incredible opportunity for RISD students and alumni to apply the question-based inquiry approach they learn at RISD,” notes RISD President Crystal Williams. “This is also an important opportunity to help elevate and include voices and people who have been historically underrepresented in conversations about sustainability and the climate crisis. Including a range of perspectives and experiences—particularly from those most immediately affected by these challenges—catalyzes new insights, new discoveries and new solutions that benefit us all. I look forward to seeing the results from the RISD community and our global counterparts.”
The Terra Carta Design Lab will harness the expertise of each school, with the power of the Sustainable Markets Initiative’s network of private sector supporters to bring to light innovative, scalable solutions and continue to highlight the urgent need to focus on the creative collaboration between art, science, design, and engineering.
Jennifer Jordan-Saifi, CEO, Sustainable Markets Initiative said. “Through the Sustainable Markets Initiative and the Terra Carta Design Lab, we aim to inspire accelerated action on the world’s sustainability targets while illustrating a vision of what is possible. Cross-disciplinary engagement, creativity, and design provide a unique opportunity to co-create and discover new paths that can drive the sustainable transition we so urgently need.
“Scaling the Terra Carta Design Lab globally allows us to expand our search to uncover ground-breaking sustainability solutions, created by the next generation of leaders. We are delighted to be partnering with such prestigious design schools who each place sustainability at the core of their curriculum.”
To celebrate the power of thinking differently and bringing together diverse, global minds, two projects from each school will be awarded funding and the opportunity to be mentored by Sir Jony Ive and the Sustainable Market Initiative’s vast network to help scale their ideas and bring them to market.
Sir Jony Ive, Chancellor of the Royal College of Art said: “Multidisciplinary collaboration has never been more important. It is incredibly rewarding to see an even broader group of students use deep creative collaboration to develop thoughtful ways of tackling the multifaceted challenges of the climate crisis.
“I’m incredibly proud to be part of the Terra Carta Design Lab and the momentum it has built over the past two years. The mission of addressing the climate crisis is more relevant and urgent than ever, and I’m very excited to see the ideas these international design students will have developed by next Autumn.”
All submissions will be judged by a panel of experts at each school, before they each present a top ten shortlist to the Global Judging Panel for final judging, spearheaded by Sir Jony Ive. The winning eight designs will be announced in Fall 2024.
Showing the real-world impact of the Terra Carta Design Lab, the inaugural four winning designs have raised £18m in funding, hired new employees and completed a range of pilot programs to further develop their climate solutions.
Full details on the Terra Carta Design Lab can be found here.
A short video can be found here.
Media Contacts:
Michelle DiLello
Blue Medium
michelle@bluemedium.com
Senior Director, Public Relations / RISD
jmarland@risd.edu
401 427-6954