DESIGN 21: SOCIAL DESIGN NETWORK LAUNCHES 'LANGUAGES MATTER!' A Design
Competition to Help Preserve the World's Languages
New York, NY (November 2008) - About every two weeks another language
dies, taking with it an unwritten account of history and culture. In an
effort to save languages from extinction, DESIGN 21: Social Design
Network--an online platform founded by Felissimo and UNESCO to inspire
and promote design for the greater good--is proud to announce its latest
call to action for designers. Developed by DESIGN 21 to help UNESCO
raise awareness about the importance of multilingualism, Languages
Matter! is a competition for its international base of 14,000 members
to design the official poster for International Mother Language Day
February 21st, 2009.
Linguistic and anthropology experts predict that within the span of a
few generations, more than half of the world's 7,000 languages will
disappear because they are absent from education systems, the media,
publishing and the public eye in general. As stated by UNESCO's
Director-General, Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, "languages lie at the heart of
all social, economic and cultural life. They matter when we want to
promote cultural diversity, and fight illiteracy, and they matter for
quality education, including teaching in the mother language in the
first years of schooling."
The Languages Matter! Competition was developed to benefit UNESCO and
support its critical role as the leading agency for International
Mother Language Day. Through this initiative, DESIGN 21 hopes to
utilize the remarkable creativity of its global base of designers while
harnessing the power of design for the greater good. "We understand
that cultural diversity is closely linked with linguistic diversity",
says DESIGN 21 founder Haruko Smith. "As such, we are pleased to offer
the talents of our large pool of designers to help promote the
importance of multilingual education and preserve native dialects."
Entrants are asked to design a poster for UNESCO that honors
International Mother Language Day based on the slogan "Languages
matter!" To be considered for the Competition, the poster must present
a visually compelling message that contains the slogan, date, and name
of the celebration in both French and English. The winning entry will
be chosen by representatives from UNESCO's culture sector and will
receive $3,000 as well as an invitation to attend Mother Language Day
at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. In addition, $1,000 will be awarded to
two DESIGN 21 Advisory Board members' picks and $500 to the Most
Popular design as voted on by DESIGN 21's members.
Deadline for entries is January 19, 2009.
For more information, please visit
http://www.design21sdn.com/competitions/17
About DESIGN 21: Social Design Network DESIGN 21: Social Design Network
is a joint venture of Felissimo and UNESCO (The United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). Functioning as an
online community that brings together socially conscious designers,
non-profits, individuals and organizations, DESIGN 21 promotes better
design for the greater good. To date, the network includes over 14,000
members from more than 170 countries and over 275 organizations from
the non-profit, corporate, education and government sectors. Membership
is free. www.design21sdn.com
The DESIGN 21 Competitions, produced in cooperation between Felissimo
and UNESCO with select member organizations as beneficiaries, invite
member designers of all disciplines to find solutions to social and
global issues. They are guided by UNESCO's premise that education,
science, technology, and culture are critical tools to disseminate
knowledge, create awareness and foster dialogue.
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Source: Kristin & Dana @ Novita Communications
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