Following the much-anticipated opening event in Montreal, Canada, the Icsid and Icograda Secretariats have now settled into their new home. Held on Monday, May 30th, the inauguration was very well received by the City of Montreal, the Media, the Design Community, Government Officials and both the Icograda and Icsid boards who gathered to commemorate this historic event.

It was a time for celebration for the city that has devoted much energy to make the joint Secretariat a reality. For a metropolis with a strong commitment to design, it is indeed a great accomplishment for Montreal, for Quebec and for Canada. Icsid is enthusiastic to collaborate with the 34 cities that bid for the Secretariat including first runner-up Copenhagen and second runner-up Torino.

Present during the morning press conference hosted by Montreal International were Mr. Luigi Ferrara, Icsid President and Mr. Mervyn Kurlansky, Icograda President, who spoke on behalf of their respective organisations. Many honored guests were also in attendance during the ribbon-cutting ceremony including Mr. Peter Zec, President-Elect Icsid; Mr. Jacques Lange, President-Elect Icograda; Mr. Gerald Tremblay, mayor of Montreal; Ms. Monique Gagnon-Tremblay, Minister of International Relations and Minster responsible for La Francophonie; Mr. Francis Scarpaleggia, Member of Parliament of Lac Saint-Louis who attended on behalf of the Honorable Jacques Saada, Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada; Marc G. Fortier, President and CEO Montreal International, and Ms. Eleni Stavridou, Honorary Chair of the IDA. During the evening cocktail, more than two hundred guests gathered to further celebrate the occasion.

There are indeed many sponsors and various organisations to thank, many of who have been involved in the Host City bid project since its conception. Without their generous contributions, none of this could have been possible. “It has been a pleasure to work with such esteemed designers recognised for their contributions to the industry of design and their astute vision, and it has been an honour for me to present the two designers to the Icsid and Icograda boards,” stated Mr. Ferrara. “The synergy between the design teams lead by Genevieve Grenier of Triplan and Renee Daoust of Daoust Lestage Architects were invaluable to the successful execution of our mandate and it is due to this nurturing relationship between them and our committee that they have delivered an outstanding signature project. In addition, many thanks must be given to the entire team at Montreal International. They have been a key player in the process from the onset and have been gracious hosts to our organisation during our transitional phase in Montreal.”

“We have been fortunate to work with exceptionally talented individuals on this team,” offered Mervyn Kurlansky, Icograda President. “Their dedication to creating our new space is a great example of the passion for design we knew we’d find in Montreal.”

The new headquarters located at 455 St-Antoine in the heart of Montreal’s Quartier international could not have been possible without the additional contributions from a number of key sponsors. Knoll furnishings, Prelco glass, Starwall moveable partitions, Sistemalux and Artemide lighting each contributed an outstanding attention to detail. Other local supporters include CEV, Construction Albert Jean, Contact Image, DuPont SentryGlas Expressions, SITQ, GO multimedia, Le Living and MPI impressions.

Icsid is delighted to be in the joint Secretariat and anticipates working closely with Icograda to share ideas, know-how and skills to grow in relevance to enhance member services while launching the International Design Alliance (IDA) which has been established with the purpose of identifying, developing and implementing collaborative programs. The joint Secretariat will be a cost effective initiative, as Montreal International will host Icsid and Icograda in Montreal for the next 10 years.

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For more information, please contact:

Dilki de Silva, Secretary General,
t: +1 514 448 4949 ext. 227
e: ddesilva@icsid.org

Andrea Springer, Communications Manager,
t: +1 514 448 4949 ext. 232
e: aspringer@icsid.org
office@icsid.org